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PRIMARY PRODUCTION
are often kept on traditional lines in the villages, but an overall improvement in management is taking place as a result of extension and advisory services. During the year the pig artificial insemina- tion service was further expanded and over 2,250 sows were in- seminated with a total conception rate of 92 per cent and a first service conception rate of 78 per cent. The artificial insemination services provided semen from boars of the Berkshire, Middle- White, Large-White and local breeds. In 1953 only 64,000 pigs of local origin were slaughtered in local abattoirs, compared with some 460,000 in 1962. The 1962 figure represented 30 per cent of the total number of pigs slaughtered in the Colony and the value of pig production during the year amounted to some $52 million.
Many of the larger poultry farmers are now producing their own hatching eggs and this is important in helping to stabilize the poultry industry within the territory. In wetter areas ducks and geese are raised for home consumption and for export. The rearing of ducks and geese for the local market has become increasingly important in recent years. Pigeon-keeping is now a thriving industry and prices in 1962 averaged $7 for a pair of squabs. The total value of squabs marketed during the year was estimated at $1,700,000. The most popular types of table birds are the white or blue king crossed with the homer.
Local brown cattle and buffaloes are kept for work purposes and surplus stock is sold for slaughter. The Chinese brown cattle are particularly well suited to the local environment and manage- ment. Some 3,400 surplus local cattle were marketed for slaughter at an estimated value of $1,612,000. The dairy cattle in Hong Kong are mainly Friesians and are kept in isolation on one large farm on Hong Kong Island and in smaller farm groups on the outskirts of Kowloon. All dairy animals are regularly tested and must pass the single intradermal (comparative) test for tuberculosis. During 1962 there was a slight increase in milk production and the estimated total production was about 13 million pounds of milk, valued at $1 a pound. During the autumn a resettlement scheme necessitated the removal of 14 small dairy farms containing 916 dairy cattle from the Diamond Hill area of New Kowloon. Of these cattle 398 of the less productive animals were slaughtered and the remainder accommodated in already-licensed dairies out- side the area while awaiting re-siting in the New Territories.