COMMERCIAL PIG PRODUCTION IN 1958

A. Annual Reports on Financial Results of East of Scotland Farms P ()REWORDThe controversy which has raged in recent months around pig production in relation to market concLitions makes the -publication of any information a matter of considerable interest to producers and others concerned with the .:eifal'e of this section of the agricultural industry.This report covers a period before the disparities between the pork and bacon markets led to serious difficulties in the marketine of bacon pigs.Problems on the marketing side cannot be doajt with in this type of investigation which is confined primarily to a study of the variable conditions under which producers operate and which lead to wide differences in costs.The realisation values, selling prices plus any deficiency payments due, constitute only half the equation which decides. the profitability of pig production; the other half -costsis just as important,The study of the eighteen enterprises covered by the report brings out the complexities which are a feature of pig production.But the real importance of the d6,ta is the way in which those aspects of management which are critical for efficiency and low costs are underlined.These points have been made many times and in many places but the existence of high cost producers continues to call for information of this nature.Figures which demonstrate what can be achieved under commercial conditions can be useful guides to producers who wish to improve their management.J. D.