The Rural Voice, 1978-12, Page 27Advice on Farming
Hog grading is under review
Canada's hog grading system is under-
going a thorough study by Agriculture
Canada's Livestock division.
A team of department officials and
support staff is analyzing 4,500 carefully
selected hog carcasses at three meat
packing centers --Kitchener, Ont.,
Montreal, Que., and Edmonton, Alta.
The study, which is being done in
co-operation with the Canadian Pork
Council and the Meat Packers Council of
Canada, will find exactly how much lean
meat and fat exists in all kinds of market
hogs.
A similar wide-ranging study of hogs 11
years ago was the basis for Canada's cur-
rent hog grading index.
Index numbers range from 80 to 114.
The "average" hog, as determined by the
1967 study, has an index of 100.
The index is composed of two factors --
carcass weight and backfat thickness.
Backfat is currently measured at the loin
and the shoulder, and the two figures
are added together. The measurement is
used to calculate the total amount of lean
meat in the carcass, hence its economic
value.
For example, 1 170 pound carcass with
3.4 inches of backfat will index 100. The
same weight of carcass with only two
inches backfat will index 112.
In the latter example, the pork producer
would get 12 per cent more money than he
would for an index 100 hog.
Because there is a premium for
leanness, the industry stays on -course in
providing consumers with the type of meat
they prefer.
Canadian pork producers have respond-
ed to the demand for lean meat by
improving their breeding and feeding
programs.
The study now underway will provide an
accurate gauge of how hogs have changed
since 1967, and what economic differences
exist among hogs.
The first set of tests were performed in
Kitchener, Ont., in October. About 1,250
carcasses representing every combination
of carcass weight and backfat, of both
sexes, were selected from the hog run.
The selected carcasses were measured
for backfat using ultrasonic and mechanical
probes. Measurements were taken at the
shoulder. Department officials need to
know how this measurement reflects the
overall lean -fat composition.
The carcasses were cut up by a team of
professional butchers, and each piece was
carefully weigned and measured. Color
and pH were also noted.
The finished pork cuts were then sold
through regular commercial channels.
The tests should be completed by
December and the department hopes to
release the results next year.
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at Amberley
Phone 395-5286
THE RURAL VOICE/DECEMBER 1978 PG. 27