Show pork production in the dy by W L carlyle Cir lyle doan dan and nd intermountain country cou director idaho atte valver vity oregon short lin airs train Lo ciure many abany farmers believe that it ft la is impossible to raise hogs and produce pork la in this intermountain country at a profit some and perhaps the majority 0 of them believe that I 1 hogs oga can not be grown and fattened fat timed at a profit in any country vh where e re corn cannot be abundantly find and cheady grown in fact they are not backward in expressing their conviction vic tion that hogs hoga cannot be grown and fattened without corn after some ome years experience in hog growing and fattening in this western country we are ar convinced that these me men aro are greatly mistaken and we believe that this section offers many advantages for pork corli production that aro are not to be found in any other section of the united states it may be said that thero there ara five prime factors that have to do dd with profitable pork production in any country these are first tho the ability experience peri ence cb and taste ot of the farmer second tho the nature of the climate third the character ot of the soil soft and its capacity to produce an abundance ot of suitable feed products cheaply fourth the prevalence of dist dl Bense alse and filth fifth and most important the demand dei aad tor for pork products or the availability ot of a good market let us consider briefly these five factors and apply them to our conditions and see sea how bow nearly wo we fill tho the bill in this section in tho the first instance we have as progressive a lot ot of farmers as may be found in any section of the country it la Is true that many in fact most of 0 them have no that knowledge knowledg and skill in the bustness business of rearing and feeding swine that insures success but this skill and knowledge can be secured in a very short time with a little practical experience peri ence and careful study it can therefore be said that in so BO far as the first factor la Is concerned that our con dillons are arc favorable As regards the climate this section cannot be excelled in III an any other part of this his continent for hog raising this Is a broad statement but I 1 believe the facts substantiate it the genther la Is uniformly dry the seasons tire are moderate the air pure and invigorating and the sunshine abundant and strong there la Is only one serious objection to our climate from the hogs hoga standpoint and that la in our extreme variation of 0 temperature in each twenty four hours homa and this objection while a very serious one it not guarded against la Is very readily overcome the hog la in b by y nai nature I a semitropical semi aemi tropical animal he be he has a light coat of very coarser coarse hair at a t boat and la Is consequently very abe to cold or again the me nog hog nas no perspiration or sweat glands in his skin akin and though he be be a aerni tropical animal naturally la is very easily over come with beat moat afoot other animals including man aro are providentially equipped with a means of cooling the surface of their bodies through the evaporation of the perspiration which exudes from the open pores or of their akin whenever the temperature of the body rises abnormally this merciful provision of nature has been denied the hog bog consequently when he be Is a exposed to tho the burning hot sun during the middle of the 10 day and his body becomes overheated abed he should be provided with some kind of shelter or shade and with some means of 0 supplying moisture ture for evaporation from the surface of his bis body on tho the other hand band when tho the sun goes down and tho the chill air from tile the mountains descends into the valleys in the evening or during the ilia night tho the hog having no adequate covering of hair Is very readily chilled the result of which Is very apt to be a serious losi lons from pneumonia and other pulmonary troubles particularly in the case of young pigs and very fat animals in summer it la Is important therefore that bogs should bo be furnished with some shelter in the fields we provide small A shaped eight toot foot square hog 1109 houses bouses these are cheap easily move moved d from froin place to place placa and ani ower every purpose both for shelter from the sun and from the coot cool night air providing they are well ventilated in addition to adequate shelter all pasture lots for hogs in summer should be provided with a bath in which the animals ran can go at will not so much to clean their bodies as to ool themselves clogs should not bo be forced I 1 to make a wallow in some som e dirty falt filthy h y stagnant t pool of water in order to cool themselves provide each ea ch pasture lot with a small tank eight by eight feet square and ten inches deep made of plank cr concrete set into the ground and have this supplied with fresh clean water once or twice a week which will not bold to exceed two or three barrels and to this bath each week you sou should add aad about two quarts of some rood good coal tar disinfectant it will be found an ext excellent ellent precaution against disease and particularly those of a parasitical nature and Is the most effective method that I 1 know of 0 for keeping the animals free from lice and vermin with sheso minor protections against sudden ex extremes in temperature this climate Is a certainly ideal for hogs hobs of all ages concerning tho the soll soil little need be said tor for it is such in almost every cery section bertlon that it will produce a maximum yield of all kinds of cereal gral grains as well as aa peas beans and other le legumes guines and in the tha moat favorable sections corn crops can bo be very successfully grown brown in addition to all this wo we grow hero here tho the most valuable ab to 0 of nil all hog feeds in almost perfect form namely alfalfa with alfalfa dwarf ussop rape and english kale for forage it a minimum amount of 0 concentrated high priced grain pra ln la is required tor for best results tho the trouble has been in many instances to depend altogether too much upon ali ai falfa because Ile causo it Is a good forage people should not mako make the jula mistake take of depending upon it alono borla tora a feed to raise and fatten their hogs tho the log hog is a 0 gregarious animal and la Is physiologically and anatomically more nearly like man than any other domestic animal his stomach intestines end and whole system of digestion and assimilation IR in almost a counterpart of the human and na as it i result lie ho annot cannot thrive on coarse bulky or very food it la Is abood n good rule to follow in hog raising in all particulars to put yourself in the other fellows place where yon yen would thrive and wax tat fat mr hog will also think that lie has haa entered hog heaven you would not long maintain your health and strength on such a food as an alfalfa either green or in tho the form of hay nor will tho hog do his best I 1 know that it la Is a common practice to turn brood sowa saws and young pigs pies into an alfalfa lot and there let them range during tho the most of the su summer intner without additional feed this la Is a very serious mistake at no time in hla his life history can as aa cheap gains bo be ninde mado on the hog as in tho the early stages of his life in an experiment conducted under my direction at the tha wisconsin experiment peri ment station a number of years ago it was learned that the ibe proportion or of food of support or maintenance to total feed in it a BO 60 pig was 18 per cent with a pig 25 per cent IGO pound pliz pie 27 per cent and a pound pig 36 per cent from this it will bo be scon that it twice na as much of the total percentage 0 of tho the food eaten to jakc up tho the food of 0 support between a RO 60 pound pig and a pound pig pg again it was waa found that in the case of a CO 50 pig jt lt required 2244 pounds of dry matter in teed feed to produce pounds dounda ot of gain in the IGO pound pi pig g I 1 it t ro quiren pounds ot of dry matter tt produce pounds gain and in a pound pig it required pounds nd s of at dry matter to pounds ot of pain gain from this tt it will bo be been mu in niu nm ii can be induced to eat largely of 0 grain tho the greater the returns that may too be secured from a given amount of feed and this Is 16 particularly true when the grain feed can be ba fed in combination with alfalfa pastures As AB it ft maintenance ration alfalfa will just about support n pig without allowing anything anthlny additional for rain gain in weight the more grain therefore that a hog can be induced to eat when on alfalfa pasture the more rapidly the gain and the greater the profit with barley roll stuffs wheat peas rye oats and a small amount or of corn such ns no can be grown in this country we have all of the grains necessary for the most profitable production of pork it may be said bald however that these grains must bo be fed in proper combination to give palata billay and to supply the various nut and other elements ele menta in proper tor for and develop anent without any waste during the winter months roots end and tubers such as beets mangels turnips carrots and potatoes all of may inny bo be readily grown in this country will be found very nery valuable as supplemental feeds to the grain ration in addition to this thin we live a rapidly growing dalit daht industry and the ilia products byproducts by from the dairy in the orm form of sulm skim and butter milk wo we have another valuable food supply which can best bo be utilized w when n fed to hogs hoga concerning the matter of oc alsen diseases there to Is no law large section of oe arable land in the untied united states that li Is ns an free from the many diseases to which the hog la Is heir as aa IN 1 this intermountain country tho the sunshine to Is so bright and strong and the atmosphere Is so BO rare that all kinds 0 of germ diseases have a poor chance tor for development As to the last and most important factor which to Is the demand or the markets wo we have every evidence that in this respect this section of the states la Is at the present time particularly favored the last census report for rave utah a population of people the same census save gave utah a total of 0 hogs hoga including young pigs or a trifle over one hog bog for every five and one halt half persons on an the tha average find thir would require that every hog in the state would have to bo be slaughtered during the year whereas wh erea a largo large percentage of them are i kept apt over for breeding stock in the tha caso case of idaho with a population ot of we wa have a hog population ot of in which case we have a little over one halt half ft a hog her for each person providing fill all were slaughtered it can be readily seen that these two stater staten I 1 do not in themselves produce nearly enough pork tor for their own supply |