The Rural Voice, 1983-09, Page 45FARM ADVICE
through the tough times. The Toss of
businesses that provide goods and
services to farmers can lead to an ad-
ditional difficulty once the economic
climate turns around. At that time,
because there are so few left to look
after the farmer's expanded needs,
the demand will be high - leading to
scarcity and high prices. Again - the
farmer loses.
The bottom line is to endeavour to
get a "good" deal - not necessarily
the lowest price.
H.E. Bel!man, P. Eng.,
Rabbit's
grain
needs
low
The rabbit's breeding ability is the
subject of countless jokes. However,
for some Agriculture Canada resear-
chers, rabbit production is no light-
hearted matter.
"Rabbits are an excellent source of
meat and could become an important
part of the commercial meat
market," says John Hunt, an animal
nutritionist at Agriculture Canada's
Agassiz, B.C. Research Station.
"On a given amount of alfalfa, the
female rabbit can produce almost five
times as much meat as a beef cow. In
addition, their grain consumption is
low compared to pigs and poultry.
The meat is low in fat and they have
the best meat to bone ratio except for
the heavy tom turkey."
A rabbit research program under
Dr. Hunt's direction is presently
underway at the federal research sta-
tion. It is designed to determine the
nutrition and management re-
quirements of rabbits.
The program consists of trying to
develop the best feeding programs for
California and New Zealand Whites,
the two breeds used for meat produc-
tion.
"Rabbit meat is considered a
delicacy in Europe and it makes up a
good portion of the European diet. In
Canada, however, the supply of rab-
bit meat has been irregular, making it
difficult to establish a healthy
clientele amongst Canadians of non-
European background. Despite this
irregular supply, demand still exceeds
supply.
See
What's
Going
On,
On
Page
62
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519-482-3418
VISTA VILLA FARMS LTD.
R.R. #4 WALTON, ONT.
Introducing
" GDF Bionic"
Sired by GDF Kaw-Liga
Purchased from
Stan Martins,
Iowa, U.S.A.
First pigs born in Jan. '83 indicate he will meet our....
Breeding Objectives
• WIDER MADE - Improves hog health & ruggedness.
' LEVEL TOP - Breeding performance of boars that don't need
a lot of assistance to mate.
• FASTER GROWTH - Boars tested at New Dundee R.O.P.
station have averaged 11.7% faster A.D.G. than average of
test groups.
* IMPROVED FEED EFFICIENCY - Feed represents 50-60% of
total costs of raising hogs. Our tested boars average 7.5%
less Feed than average of test groups.
Put all these together, then you be the judge of
where you buy boars.
VISTA VILLA FARMS LTD.
Robert J. Robinson
R.R. 4 WALTON, ONT. NOK 1Z0
TEL. 519-345-2317
THE RURAL VOICE, SEPTEMBER 1983 PG. 43
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