4 Pork Production 



lot or pasture is clear gain and one of the most important 

 profit-determining factors in cattle-feeding. For every 

 bushel of corn fed shelled or on the ear to steers, the hogs 

 following will produce from one to two pounds of pork 

 on the average ; when the grain is fed crushed or as meal, 

 from a quarter to a half pound of pork will be produced. 



In crop production the yield of grain in proportion to 

 roughage is greater than necessary to meet the feed 

 requirements of cattle or sheep and horses. This leaves 

 a surplus of grain, much of which, in the case of corn 

 especially, can be marketed more profitably as pork than 

 in the raw condition. The value of small grain which 

 has been damaged seriously by frost, hot winds, or ele- 

 vator fire is very largely determined by its use in pig- 

 feeding. The ability of the hog profitably to use corn 

 which is so soft as to be practically unmarketable has 

 made him popular on farms which do not ordinarily pro- 

 duce many hogs. 



The important position which the hog occupies on the 

 American farm has been gained through his inherent 

 ability to render a profit above the costs of production. 

 These profits are due largely to certain advantages which 

 the hog enjoys as a producer of human food; these 

 advantages are separately enumerated in the following 

 paragraphs : 



1. The demand for pork is wide and insistent. Except- 

 ing dairy products, no animal food is so necessary in the 

 diet or so universally used. In this country more pork 

 is consumed than any other meat. Statistics collected 

 by the United States Food Administration 1 show the 

 following relative to the total per capita consumption of 



1 " Production of Meat in the United States," Stephen Chase, 

 1919. 



