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ROAD TRANSPORT AND THE PIG INDUSTRY.
Page 75
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The Great Utility of the Motor Lorry in the Transport of Pigs, with a Consideration of Comparative Costs.
WE have before pointed out that no single branch of the farming industry has benefited by mechanical road transport more than the pig business. It appears, too, that there is very considerable scope for further extension in this direction. Several factors are operating towards a.much, greater development of the trade in this country, and activities have never been more reassuring than during the past twelve months. The Government itself takes a very lively interest in the industry, and a short while back a report on the marketing of pigs in England and Wales was issued by the Ministry of Agriculture. It includes a discussion of the advantages of road transport. The report states that for distances of under 50 mites the motor vehicle has considerable advantages.
Many bacon factories collect a substantial proportion of,their supplies by motor direct from the farms ; wholesale and retail butchers from large towns collect from farms and markets in their own motor vehicles; similarly, many large feeders despatch their pigs by lorry direct to factories and markets. In both cases, the cost of driving from farm to loading point and from arrival station to factory or abattoir is avoided.
The average length of haul by road is said to be extending, and though this use of road transport for livestock has developed steadily rather than rapidly, it has widened the selling range both of farmers and dealers. Producers who formerly were compelled to undertake tedious and expensive journeys by road and rail are now able to sell directly in the best markets. It is stated that comparative costs of road and rail transport are difficult to obtain, and are apt to be misleading, since no special rates exist for the carriage of pigs by road. Hauliers usually base their charges for the load on the actual workiug costs of the lorry, while the railways charge "what the traffic will hear."
How the Cost Works Out.
The running costs of farmer's own lorries are usually charged to the general expenses of the farm. The common rate for a lorry is given as 1s. 6d. per vehicle mile, which is presumed to represent 1d. to per pig, and is stated to be actually higher than the corresponding railway rate; but, for short distances, the countervailing advantage of point-to-point transport makes the net cost compare favourably..
The Ford one-tonner is given as the type of vehicle most extensively used, though special vehicles are employed by large producers, and, in a few cases, by haulage contractors, who are to be found .in most localities. The vehicle that has become most popular with farmers is fitted with detachable racks, and having drop sides and tail. A hinged loading ramp facilitates loading with least damage to the animals.
One paragraph says that the capital cost of specially constructed vehicles is too great for their general employment by farmers. The point is one that might quite well receive further investigation. The extra cost of such vehicles is really no great item, and it would be interesting to' know exactly what the committee had in mind when thus reporting on this particular matter.