BUREAU OF MARKETS A^SiD CROP ESTIMATES. 535 



range States. A large volume of information has been secured 

 ■which will prove very valuable in answering the many inquiries 

 for information along this line. In carrying out this work it is 

 necessary to observe a wide range of related factors and an oppor- 

 tunity is afforded to collect additional information which is useful 

 for a number of purposes. The information has in all cases been 

 secured from accounting records. 



Data were obtained from 219 organizations which ship live stock 

 on a cooperative basis, 37 local buyers, and 27 producers who ship 

 their own stock independently. These oi'ganizations are located in 

 the States of Wisconsin, Minnesota, South Dakota, loAva, Nebraska, 

 Kansas, Missouri, Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, and Kentucky. 



Tabulation of this material has proceeded to the point where it is 

 possible to state that the cooperative agencies from which informa- 

 tion was secured shipped more than $22,000,000 worth of stock dur- 

 ing 1921. This is divided among species as follows: 



In studying the detail of these figures it is interesting to note that 

 68 per cent of the hogs were shipped in straight carloads, 35 per 

 cent of the cattle, 9 per cent of the calves, and 50 per cent of the 

 sheep. These figures reflect the type of live-stock raising which ob- 

 tains in the areas under observation. 



A very large volume of data has been gathered during the prog- 

 ress of this study. Out of these figures will be compiled informa- 

 tion which has not hitherto been available with regard to the fol- 

 lowing subjects: Conditions under which shrinkage, crippling, and 

 killing in transit and in terminal markets occur most frequently; 

 costs of transportation to selling market; of selling through live- 

 stock commission men ; of selling direct to contractors ; of handling 

 through the local shipping agency; and much other valuable statis- 

 tical information regarding the marketing practices in this industry. 



"When sufficient progress has been made in the compilation and 

 tabulation of these data, it is planned to publish a series of bulle- 

 tins, each dealing with a specific phase of the marketing of live stock 

 through the agencies studied. In each case it is felt that information 

 is now available through which a comparison can be made between 

 the various services and their respective costs for a number of meth- 

 ods of marketing live stock. A preliminary report of this work 

 will be released in the near future. 



These studies have been carried on from the viewpoint of being 

 helpful to the individual in making his business more efficient; of 

 furnishing standards whereby the relative efficiency of two or more 

 marketing agencies can be judged; of establishing the necessary costs 

 in each step in the marketing of a particular product; and of en- 

 abling the dealing public to see more clearly the part that the cost 

 of service plays in the establishment of consumers' prices. 



256S4— AGR 1923 35 



