4
Industry history
Pork production has been a part of American agriculture since the earliest
Europeans settled in this country. Figure 5-3. Columbus brought pigs on his first
voyage to the new world to be used as food for the sailors.
The first pigs were introduced by the Spanish explorer Hernando De Soto when
he landed on the coast of Florida in 1539. It was reported that be brought only
13 head, but in a period of only three years, this small herd had grown to over
700 head. Native Americans developed a taste for pork and began to hunt the
pigs that escaped captivity. These escaped pigs are the ancestors of the wild
pigs prominent in many parts of the country today.
Historia de la industria
La produccin de carne de cerdo ha formado parte de la agricultura de
Amrica desde los primeros colonos europeos que se establecieron en
este pas. Figura 5-3. Coln trajo cerdos en su primer viaje al nuevo
mundo utilizndolos como alimento para los marineros.
Los primeros cerdos fueron introducidos por el explorador espaol
Hernando De Soto cuando desembarc en la costa de Florida en 1539.
Se inform de que l llev solamente a 13 cabezas, pero en un perodo
de slo tres aos este pequeo rebao creci a ms de 700 cabezas. Los
5
As settlers moved west, they inevitably took pigs with them. These animals
easily adapted to differing environmental conditions. They could live off the
land by eating acorns, roots, and wild plants, and they were often allowed to
roam free range through the woods. As the settlements became more dense,
the practice of free range often caused problems with neighbors crops.
Roaming pigs caused such a problem in the colony of Manhattan in New York
that a wall was built to keep the pigs out. Even after all these years, the street
along this wall is still known as Wall Street.
Cuando los colonos se trasladaron al oeste, inevitablemente llevaron
cerdos con ellos. Estos animales se adaptaron fcilmente a diferentes
condiciones ambientales. Ellos podan vivir de la tierra comiendo bellotas
, races y plantas silvestres, y con frecuencia se les permiti vagar "al
aire libre" por el bosque. A medida que los poblados se volvieron ms
densos, la prctica de la granja al aire libre causaba a menudo
problemas con los cultivos de los vecinos. Los cerdos sueltos causaron
tantos problemas en la colonia de Manhattan en Nueva York que se
construy un muro para mantener a los cerdos afuera. Incluso despus
de todos estos aos, la calle junto a ese muro todava se conoce como
Wall Street.
6
Pigs provided food for the settlers. They were proficient breeders and each
female could produce several offspring each years. When the weather turned
cold, pigs were slaughtered and the meat was preserved by smoking and
salting. People could eat all winter long on the preserved meat. The fat from
the animals was cut into chunks, placed into large iron kettle, and rendered.
This meant that the fat was heated until it melted and could be separated from
the solid particles. The resulting fat, called lard, was kept for use in cooking and
also as one of the central ingredients in the making of soap. In fact, until about
1950, the major reason for raising pigs was to obtain fat for lard. With the
advent of vegetable oils, lard became less prominent in the American diet, and
hogs began to the raised primarily for meat.
7
At one time in this country, most of the people who lived on farms raised pigs.
The animals required relatively little space and fit well into most enterprises as
a sideline income. It has been said that hogs have sent more farm youngsters
to college than any other enterprise. Most of the feed was raised on the farm
and very little had to be bought. Today, many hog producers buy their feed
already mixed and delivered to their farms ready to feed.
En un tiempo atrs en este pas, la mayora de la gente que viva en las
granjas, criaba cerdos. Los animales requieren relativamente poco
espacio y encajan bien en la mayora de los hogares como un ingreso
adicional. Se ha dicho que los cerdos han enviado ms jvenes de la
granja a la universidad que cualquier otro emprendimiento. La mayor
parte del alimento era sembrado en la granja y una muy pequea parte
tena que ser comprado. Hoy en da, muchos productores de cerdos
compran su alimento ya mezclado y entregado a sus granjas listo para
alimentar.
8
Since the gestation period is short and there are several pigs born in each
litter, the time required to build up a herd of hogs is short compared to many
other agricultural animals. For this reason, an operation can be built up in a
relatively short time. Also, the type of pigs produced can be changed in less
time than with most agricultural animals.
10
Breeds of swine
Although there are not as many breeds of hogs as there are breeds of cattle in
this country, there are still several popular breeds. Modern swine are bred to be
leaner and more efficient than the swine of several years ago. Efficiency means
that they can grow faster, mature at an earlier age on less feed, and have more
pigs per litter. Today, most pork producers raise one or more of nine major
breeds. These are Yorkshire, Duroc, Hampshire, Landrace, Berkshire, Spotted,
Chester white, Poland, China, and Pietrain.
Razas de cerdos
Aunque no hay tantas razas de cerdos como hay razas de ganado en
este pas, igualmente hay varias razas populares. Los porcinos modernos
son criados para ser ms agiles y ms eficientes que los cerdos de hace
varios aos. La eficiencia significa que pueden crecer ms rpido,
madurar a una edad temprana con menos alimento, y tienen ms cerdos
por camada. Hoy en da, la mayora de los productores de carne de cerdo
cran una o ms de nueve razas prinicpales. Estos son Yorkshire, Duroc,
Hampshire, Landrace, Berkshire, Moteado, Chester blanco, Polonia, China
y Pietrain.
15
Of all animals raised, pigs are the closest to humans in terms of the type of
digestive, circulatory, and other systems. Tissue from pig skin is used to
replace human skin that has been badly burned. Valves from the hearts of pigs
are used as replacements for human heart valves that have worn out or been
damaged by disease. Also, pigs are used in many areas of research for
products that will eventually be used by humans.
De todos los animales criados, los cerdos son los ms cercanos a los
seres humanos en cuanto al tipo de sistema digestivo, circulatorio, y
otros sistemas. El tejido de la piel de cerdo se utiliza para reemplazar a
la piel humana que ha sido gravemente quemada. Las vlvulas de los
corazones de los cerdos se usan como reemplazo de las vlvulas
cardacas humanas que se han desgastado o han sido daadas por una
enfermedad. Adems, los cerdos se utilizan en muchas reas de
investigacin para productos que eventualmente sern utilizados por los
seres humanos.
21
Pigs are said to be more efficient than cattle. This means they put on a pound
of body weight with less feed consumed. However, pigs cannot make use of
large amounts of roughages like cattle and must be fed on a ration of grain. On
the average, pigs will gain a pound for about every five pounds of feed
consumed as compared to about nine pounds of feed per pound of gain for a
beef animal. This is known as the feed conversion ratio.
Se dice que los cerdos son ms eficientes que el ganado. Esto significa
que aumentan en una libra de peso corporal con menos alimento
consumido. Sin embargo, los cerdos no pueden hacer uso de grandes
cantidades de forrajes como el ganado y deben ser alimentados con una
racin de cereales. En promedio, los cerdos aumentarn una libra de
peso por cada cinco libras de alimento consumido en comparacin con
alrededor de nueve libras de alimento por libra de aumento de peso para
un animal de carne de vacuno. Esto se conoce como la tasa de
conversin del alimento.
22
Scientists have developed different diets to be used in all aspects of the growth
period. As with the weaned pigs in the nursery, growing pigs are given different
diets as their nutritional needs change in the maturation process. The pigs are
sometimes segregated into barrows and gilts. Gilts are female pigs that have
not had a litter of pigs, and barrows are male that have been castrated. By
separating the pigs according to sex, the diets can be fine-tuned to provide
even greater efficiency.
Los cientficos han desarrollado diferentes dietas que se utilizan en todos
los aspectos del perodo de crecimiento. Al igual que con los cerdos
destetados, a los cerdos en crecimiento se les da diferentes dietas ya
23
Pigs are fed a high-protein diet to promote growth and muscle development. As
the animals mature, the diet is switched to one with a lower protein content
and a higher carbohydrate content. A ration rich in protein is needed in the
early stages of growth to build muscle and bones. Without the proper amount
of protein, neither muscles, bone, or internal tissues and organs will develop
properly. When the animal approaches maturity less protein is needed and
more carbohydrates help the animal develop fat as their skeletal and muscular
systems mature. Some fat is required in the meat to produce the juiciness and
flavor wanted by consumers.
Los cerdos son alimentados con una dieta alta en protenas para
promover el crecimiento y el desarrollo muscular. En la medida que los
animales crecen, la dieta se cambia a una con un menor contenido de
protena y un mayor contenido de hidratos de carbono. Se necesita una
racin rica en protenas en las primeras etapas de crecimiento para
formar msculo y huesos. Sin la cantidad adecuada de protenas, ni los
msculos, los huesos, o los tejidos y rganos internos se desarrollarn
correctamente. Cuando el animal se acerca a la madurez se necesita
menos protenas, y una mayor cantidad de hidratos de carbono ayudan
al animal a desarrollar grasa cuando sus sistemas esqueltico y
muscular estn maduros. Una cierta cantidad de grasa es necesaria en la
carne para producir la jugosidad y el sabor requeridos por los
consumidores.
25
The pig should be finished (reach the proper market weight and condition) at
about 20 weeks. Packers like to buy market hogs that weigh in the range of 200
to 260 pounds, Figure 5-10. Most pigs are marketed by directly selling them to
the processor, although a few are still marketed through live auctions. When
sold directly to the processor, hogs are often sold on carcass merit. This means
that premium prices are paid for pigs with low amounts of fat and high
amounts of muscle.
28
Pigs have been a part of American agriculture from the beginning and still hold
a large portion of the agricultural industry. They are relatively efficient, highly
intelligent animals that are often wrongly depicted. Modern pork production
systems provide comfortable, clean facilities for all phases of the industry. Diets
are scientifically balanced to give the animals the nutrients they need. The
future of this industry is bright, and pigs will continue to play an important role
in agriculture and the diet of Americans.
Los cerdos han sido parte de la agricultura de Amrica desde el principio
y todava significan una gran parte de la industria agrcola. Son animales
relativamente eficientes, altamente inteligentes que son a menudo
errneamente representados. Los sistemas de produccin de carne de
cerdo modernos proporcionan cmodas y limpias instalaciones para
todas las fases de la industria. Las dietas son equilibradas
cientficamente para dar a los animales los nutrientes que necesitan. El
futuro de esta industria es prometedor, y los cerdos seguirn
desempeando un papel importante en la agricultura y la dieta de los
americanos.
29
True or false
1.
In the past 30 years, the number of hogs slaughtered has decreased.
______.
2.
The United States ranks second only to China worldwide in the number of
hogs produced annually.______.
3.
In term of meat, pork consumption rank second only to beef in this
country.______.
4.
The first pigs were probably introduced to the United States by the
Vikings.______.
5.
6.
7.
8.
Packers like to buy market hogs that weigh in the range of 220-260
pounds.______.
9.
10.
Verdadero o falso
1.
En los ltimos 30 aos, el nmero de cerdos sacrificados ha
disminuido. ______.
2.
Los Estados Unidos ocupa el segundo lugar mundial despus de
China en el nmero de cerdos producidos anualmente.______.
3.
En trminos de carne, el cerdo ocupa el segundo lugar en el
consumo de carne de este pas, solamente detrs del vacuno..
4.
Los primeros cerdos fueron probablemente introducidos a los
Estados Unidos por los vikingos.______.
5.
Hasta 1950, los cerdos fueron criados principalmente para el
tocino.______.
6.
7.
En el parto, la hembra suele entrega de tres a cuatro
lechones.______.
8.
A los Packers les gusta comprar cerdos de mercado que pesan en
el rango de 220-260 libras.______.
9.
Un problema importante con la crianza de cerdos es que con
frecuencia comen en exceso.______.
10. Un gilt es un cerdo macho castrado. ______.
31
1-
2-
3-
4-
Why are pigs often used in medical research for products that will
eventually be used for humans?
5-
6-
1-
2-
3-
4-
5-
6-