548 IOWA DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 



July 1.00 to 1.21 1.00 to 1.15 



1.00 to 1.19 1.00 to 1.14 

 1.00 to 1.10 



August 1.00 to 1.13 1.00 to 1.13 



1.00 to 1.12 1.00 to 1.14 



September 1.00 to 1.11 1.00 to 1.11 



1.00 to 1.10 1.00 to 1.12 



October 1.00 to 1.07 1.00 to 1.08 



1.00 to 1.09 1.00 to 1.00 

 1.00 to 1.09 



November 1.00 to 1.09 1.00 to 1.05 



1.00 to 1.12 1.00 to 0.97 



These two charts are an attempt to show something about what has 

 been the weekly ratio between the market value of a good steer, or of 

 good steers, and the market value of resultant products, based on steers 

 dressing out 60 per cent of good beef, and based on a test of some forty- 

 seven cattle averaging about 1,400 pounds. Now, according to that test 

 the beef production of the dressing yield was about 60 per cent, there was 

 a yield of about 5 per cent of cured packer hides, of about 6 per cent of 

 tallow, about 5 per cent of edible by-products, and about 6 per cent of 

 inedible by-products. Taking the 100 per cent as representing the whole 

 steer, you have 60 per cent beef, 5 per cent hide, 6 per cent tallow, 5 per 

 cent edible by-products, and 7 per cent inedible by-products. Figuring 

 those at the weekly range of average top good steers, and the weekly 

 range of average top good steer beef, you will find that the average top 

 of good steer beef was 19 cents, the packers hides were 36 cents, the aver- 

 age price of tallow (which is the average edible tallow called Packers 

 No. 1) was lZy2 cents, and setting an arbitrary price of 10 cents a pound 

 on edible by-products and 5 cents on inedible by-products, gives a total 

 of $14.85. The average price of good steers during that time was $13.75. 

 So that you have $13.75 representing the price of steers and $14.85 repre- 

 senting the price of the products; or, taking the ratio out of them, it 

 represents a ratio of 1.00 to 1.08. That is, that the products were selling 

 at about an advance of 8 per cent over what the animal was costing on 

 the hoof. 



I computed that for the various weeks just to try to find out what 

 the actual result, in a general way — what has been the actual result of 

 the packers' operations with regard to one class of cattle. This should 

 not be taken as representing profits of the packers, because it doesn't do 

 anything of the kind, because the figures are too indefinite and too un- 

 certain; but simply as using the same method from week to week it does 

 show something as to what the variations in those ratios have been; but 

 during May — and May is the month we are after — where the price of dif- 

 ferent entries of cattle were fluctuating quite rapidly, we have a ratio of 

 1.00 to 1.25 the first week, 1.00 to 1.15 the second week, 1.00 to 1.15 the 

 third week and 1.00 to 1.10 the fourth week. In June we have 1.00 to 1.08, 

 1.00 to 1.13, 1.00 to 1.26 and 1.00 to 1.27; July, 1.00 to 1.13, 1.00 to 1.15, 

 1.00 to 1.19, 1.00 to 1.14 and 1.00 to 1.10; August, 1.00 to 1.13, 1.00 to 1.13, 



