Two records achieved by Pig Marketing Board meeting is told (June 1966)
Two records had been achieved by the Northern Ireland Pigs Marketing Board in 1965 – a record level of marketings, a total of 2,065,285 pigs, which exceeded the 1964 level by 200,000, and a record level of bacon production of 88,000 tons, reported Farming Life during this week in 1966.
Announcing this at the first annual conference of registered producers of the board which was held at Balmoral, Mr A E Swain, chairman, said that on average nearly 40,000 pigs were marketed each week during the year.
“In many weeks, of course, it was much higher than this,” he said.
“In September and again just before Christmas marketings exceeded 45,000 a week”.
Recalling that in 1954 serious dislocation and a prolonged glut was occasioned by an output of around 25,000 pigs a week, Mr Swain said they would appreciate that it was a matter of considerable satisfaction that they are now in a position to handle numbers such as these without any disruption.
88,000 tons of bacon
Mr Swain pointed out that the record level of bacon production totalling 88,000 tons, represented some 14 per cent, of the total bacon supplies on the United Kingdom market.
The successful marketing of their output in Great Britain in the form of bacon was “still the key to a prosperous pig industry in Northern Ireland” and in 1965 two steps had been taken in this connection which had a considerable significance for the industry.
He explained: “Firstly, new selection standards were introduced for Ulster Bacon. The maximum fat measurements for No 1 and No 2 selections were reduced by 2mm and that for No 3 selection by 5mm.
“This change in the selections standards for Ulster Bacon was in line with the trend of the market where the tendency in recent years had been for many of the overseas nationalities to offer, and for the trade to look for ever leaner bacon.”
Bacon prices
He continued: “Secondly, to help ensure that the weekly price of Ulster bacon on the British market remained consistent with both the demand created for the product and the general level of bacon prices, the Ulster Bacon Agency assumed responsibility for determining the first-hand price.
“This meant that through the board's representatives on the Ulster Bacon Agency the producing side of the industry was now directly concerned with the selling price of the final product - a very important point for producers since virtually all sales by the board were made at prices which were related to bacon values.”
Mr Swain declared: “We as producers have come a long way since the old days, and I am speaking of the position before the Board was set up, when the farmer's price depended on the number of carcases that happened to be on offer on a particular day in a particular country pork market.”