160 ANJSrUAL EEPOETS OF DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 



to the usual dissemination through the press and to individuals re- 

 questing the reports. It was necessary to close this office on account 

 of lack of appropriation, although the service was very popular and 

 many protests were made when the distribution of these reports was 

 discontinued. 



LOS ANGELES AND SAN FRANCISCO RECEIVED SERVICE. 



A local livestock-market reporting service was established at Los 

 Angeles and San Francisco, through a cooperative agreement made 

 with the State division of markets of the California Department of 

 Agriculture, in response to requests from California cattlemen. 

 Every effort was made to obtain the widest dissemination through 

 the press, the radio, and through producers' organizations. Daily 

 reports were furnished the press association and the metropolitan 

 newspapers, and weekly summaries were prepared for country news- 

 papers and farm journals. 



REPORTS ON CALIFORNIA LAMBS ASSIST PRODUCERS AND TRADE. 



California, on account of its strategic location, is the first early 

 large commercial lamb-producing district in the United States, and 

 probably the most distant from the larger centralized livestock 

 markets. Early in the season the San Francisco representative 

 attended a meeting of the producers and of the executives of the 

 leading railroads traversing the districts having transcontinental 

 connections to the large livestock markets to work out a fast 

 service schedule which would put California lambs on the Omaha 

 market in seven days and to Chicago in eight days. Through the 

 cooperation of the shippers with the carriers this service was main- 

 tained throughout the season and resulted in moving 1,970 carloads 

 of spring lambs during the period of March 15 to June 3 out of the 

 State. 



As the spring-lamb season progressed a drought developed in the 

 San Joaquin Valley which promised to curtail production by the 

 loss of thousands of lambs. This lack of rain cut down pastures and 

 prevented the young lambs from becoming fat enough to fmd outlet 

 for immediate slaughter, thus producing a larger number of thin 

 lambs suitable for a short turn on green pastures in other sections of 

 the State and for feeding purposes in other States. 



A quick detailed survey was made and telegrams dispatched to all 

 local offices of the bureau through the Washington office, which re- 

 sulted in considerable inquiry from Texas, Colorado, Nebraska, and 

 territory contiguous to Chicago as to the quality, average weights, 

 range in weight, and prices f. o. b. cars in the San Joaquin Valley, 

 while local publicity given the situation resulted in moving these 

 lambs to other counties in the State. The gravity of the situation 

 was presented to the railroad companies, which in turn published 

 feeder rates and drought rates for the movement over the various 

 railroads and resulted in a one-way rate within the State from points 

 in the San Joaquin Valley on the round trip. The movement saved 

 many ewes which otherwise might have been lost to potential produc- 

 tion. The exact number of cars moved can not be definitely deter- 

 mined, but officials of the railroads stated that the movement was 

 large in the aggregate. 



