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A Call For Carcass Qualify
“When one out of three market barrows from a selected group
have loin muscle areas so small that they will not certify as meat
type hogs, it means the industry has a lot to accomplish in this day
when keen competition exists for the lean meat sales to con
sumers.” Dr. John Ziegler, professor of Food Science, Penn State
University, commenting on the high percentage of hogs not cer
tifying in the Keystone International Livestock Exposition carcass
show.
“Because it’s important to support our economy, most of the
hams I buy are U.S.-produced. But I consistently find better quality
hams from Canada. So much better that buying Canadian hams is
more profitable for me, and they make it easier to produce an end
product that will meet the low-fat specifications stated on the
label.” Werner Jonas, president of Dutch Master Meats,
Harrisburg, PA, commenting on differences in quality between
U.S. and Canadian hams.
Two powerful statements from
two different people on two dif
ferent subjects. But look at the
common thread in both comments.
Carcass quality is a problem; so
much so, that pork from other
countries and meat from other
animals is a threat to our industry.
Is there any truth in what they
say? Ziegler’s statement on a
sample of U.S. hogs is based on
actual figures which usually
don’t lie. Jonas’ statement on
Canadian pork is based on per
sonal experience, which you might
question. But on Nov. 20, I toured
Dutch Master’s facilities. Jonas
showed me containers of Canadian
hams and U.S. hams. Even to my
untrained eye, it was obvious that
the best quality hams came from
our neighbors to the north.
How do other processors feel? I
spoke with people at Kessler’s,
Inc., Kunzler and Co., and Berks
Packing Co., Inc. three major
pork processors in our state. Most
Farrowing Short Course
11:00 a.m. Registration - 111 Henning
12:00 noon - Lunch on your own
1:00 p.m. - Welcome and Course Overview, Paul Wangsness,
Kenneth Kephart
PRB-FARROWING PREPARATION
1:15 p.m. - Vaccination Programs, Parasite Control - Lawrence
Hutchinson
2:00 p.m. - Feeding the Pregnant Sow - Kenneth Kephart
2:20 p.m. Break
MANAGING THE SOW AT
FARROWING
2:30 p.m. Feeding Strategy for the Lactating Sow - Kenneth
Kephart
2:50 p.m. Coping with the Sick Sow - Lawrence Hutchinson
3:25 p.m. Break
3:35 p.m. When to Cull, How to Select - Michael Miller
4:10 p.m. Keeping Your Farrowing House at Capacity - Kenneth
Kephart
4:40 p.m. Sow Identification Systems - Michael Miller
5:00 p.m. Break for Supper
7:00 p.m. Practice With Sow and Pig Processing Techniques -
Animal Maintenance Center, Kenneth Kephart and Michael
Miller
Friday, January 9
BABY PIG MANAGEMENT
8:30 a.m. Prevention and Control of Baby Pig Diarrhea - Lawrence
Hutchinson
9:10 a.m. Creating a Good Environment for the Baby Pig - Kenneth
Kephart
9:30 a.m. Staying Ahead of Respiratory Problems - Lawrence
Hutchinson
10:10 a.m. Selecting the Most Profitable Weaning Age - Michael
Miller
10:45 a.m. Question and Answer
agreed that Canadian hogs have
the edge on carcass quality. They
til felt that U.S. hogs in general
needed improvement in quality.
I also spoke with Tom Hartsock,
swine specialist at the University
of Maryland. Tom spent several
years in Canada. He agreed that
the quality of the Canadian hog, at
least in terms of fat cover, is
superior to the U.S. hog. Two
reasons for that. One, Canadian
producers for years have selected
for lean bellies, which also tran
slate into lean hams. And secondly,
any Canadian hog that’s federally
graded (most of them are) is paid
on the basis of carcass weight and
backfat thickness.
So if this problem is real, and I
think it is, how do we solve it? The
simpliest answer is that hogs must
be paid on the basis of carcass
merit. Many producers, out of
pride alone, will market a hog of
average or better quality. But to
produce a superior animal, it takes
111 Henning Building
University Park, PA
Thursday, January 8,1987
Dauphin Co. 4-H Roundup Champions
ifl
■ft it®”
■■ /
Dauphin County 4-H'ers held their annual Beef Round-up recently at the Farm Show
Complex, and Tim Foreman (left) of Hershey showed his steer to champion honors.
Melanie Messick of Middletown captured reserve champion honors with her first 4-H
project steer.
The champion heifer at the show was shown by Mark Foreman of Hershey
ince incentive.
Roughly 4,000 Pennsylvania hogs
go to market each business day.
While most buyers pay more for
better quality hogs, Hatfield
Packing has the only true grade
and-yield program in the state.
The problem with all the buyers,
Hatfield included, is that not
enough is paid for the excellent
hogs. And more importantly, too
much is paid for the poor hogs.
For example, at most buying
stations, the maximum price
spread between a good hog and a
poor hog at the same weight is
about $3.50 per head. Even with
Hatfield’s present grade and yield
program, the difference in value
between a “good" hog (76.5%
dress, .8 in backfat) and a “poor"
hog (73.5% dress, 1.5 in backfat) is
only about $2.70 per head.
Why is this the case? First,
grade-and-yield programs cost
money. Money for im
plementation, for operations and
for special personnel. Case in
point: Hatfield for more than a
year has been re-working its
grade-and-yield program. They’ve
spent many thousands of dollars
already. And Jerry Clemmens of
Hatfield Packing tells me it could
be another six months before the
new program is in place.
The second hang-up with tough
grade-and-yield programs is that
they can be disastrous to the
packer if the producers of the
poorer hogs sell their critters
elsewhere. Packers say volume is
as important as quality.
So is the situation hopeless? No.
Grade-and-yield programs are
appearing that place a $lO to $l5
spread between the excellent and
poor hogs. Wilson Packing and
Hormel have new programs. The
Pork Value Program sponsored by
the National Pork Producers
Council is a good one. Hatfield is
working to improve theirs.
In 1968 only 8 percent of U.S.
hogs had less than 1.5 inches of
backfat. By 1980, that proportion
climbed to more than 70 percent.
So we’ve come a long way. But we
have a long way to go. Imports and
other types of meat still threaten
the pork industry. This com
petition may be due in part to
price, which is hard to change. But
we seem to be getting beat on
quality, too. That’s a factor we can
change.
FARROWING SHORT
COURSE REMINDER
Penn State will offer a
Farrowing Short Course Jan. 8-9,
1987. Registration fee is $3O per
adult, $l5 per additional family
member, and $l5 per student. Mail
registrations to FARROWING
SHORT COURSE, 306 Ag Ad
ministration Bldg., University
Park, PA, 16802. Make checks
payable to The Pennsylvania State
University
r i
Hv ~tv
UNIVERSITY PARK - The
animal science staff at Penn State,
with staff from agricultural
engineering, veterinary science,
and agricultural economics con
tributing lessons, have written a
course about swine.
Commardal Smha Production and
Markating, a correspondence course
available from Penn State, is a
comprehensive guide for the
commercial swine producer or
farmer with a hog enterprise.
USDA Reconfirms Ruling
To Allow Pork Irradiation
WASHINGTON - The U.S.
Department of Agriculture
recently reconfirmed its Jan. 15
rule allowing irradiation of pork
for trichina control.
Public comments on the rule
raised no compelling arguments or
information that raised questions
about the action, according to
Donald L. Houston, administrator
of USDA’s Food Safety and In
spection Service.
Houston said that low-dose
irradiation of fresh or previously
frozen pork is an effective way of
controlling trichinae larvae, the
parasites that cause trichinosis.
FSIS food safety specialists
advise consumers to cook fresh
pork roasts irradiated or not
to at least 160 degrees F. to prevent
other food-borne illnesses.
USDA’s approval of pork
irradiation followed that of the
U.S. Food and Drug Ad
ministration. FDA has primary
responsibility for assuring the
safety of food additives, and USDA
approves additives for use in meat
ITHACA, N.Y. A 140-day
performance test for 97 bull calves
from throughout the Northeast is
under way at Cornell University to
help breeders of beef cattle im
prove the quality of their herds.
The “Class of 1987“ consists of 36
Polled Herefords, 21 Angus and
Simmentals each, 7 Charolais, 5
Shorthorns, 3 Red Angus, 2
Ijmousins, and 1 Salers and Santa
Oertrudis each.
These calves came from New
York, New Hampshire, Vermont,
Connecticut, New Jersey, Penn
sylvania, Maryland and West
Virginia.
)
'*%*b ***
Swine Course Offered
Cornell Testing 97 Bulls
This 16-lesson course includei
information on planning ami
financing the enterprise, buildings
and equipment, improving th|
swine herd through breeding
feeding and nutrition, marketing
live hogs, and all aspects of swinS
health.
The course is available by
sending $l4, including handling, to
SWINE, Dept. 5000, University
Park, PA 16802. Make check
payable to PENN STATE.
and poultry products. The sources
of energy used in the food
irradiation process, such as
radioactive cobalt, are legally
classified as food additives. FDA
approved gamma irradiation of
pork for trichina control in July
1965, thereby enabling USDA to
consider its use.
“In developing its own
regulations, USDA accepted
FDA’s determination that
irradiation of pork in the approved
dose range is safe,” Houston said.:
“The public comments on USDA’i
regulations provided no significant
new information.”
USDA considered a total of It
public comments on the rule, in
cluding nine that were received
after March 17, the end of the 60-
day official comment period.
No irradiated pork is yet being
marketed, Houston said, because
no company has satisfied USDA’s
stringent inspection and quality
control requirements for the
irradiation process.
William M. Greene is director of
the test program and a beef
specialist in the New York State
College of Agriculture and Life
Sciences at Cornell.
Greene said that the per
formance test offers beef cattle
breeders the opportunity to
acquire bulls with superior genetic
and economically important traits
to upgrade the quality of their
herds.
Most of the bulls being tested will
be sold in an auction scheduled for
May 1,1987, at Cornell's Livestock
Pavilion on campus i