390 TWENTY-THIRD ANNUAL YEAR BOOK— PART V 



about the very things the Committee of Fifteen realized are necessary 

 to make the co-operative marketing of livestock a success. 



The National Livestock Producers' Association acts in an advisory 

 capacity over the various terminal market associations. Each terminal 

 association is a member of the National Livestock Producers' Associa- 

 tion, and contributes 50 cents a car to its support. At the present time 

 the Association has established selling agencies at St. Louis, Chicago, 

 Indianapolis, Peoria, Buffalo and Fort Worth, and is considering similar 

 agencies at Sioux City, Cleveland and Buffalo. 



Business Shows Consistent Growth 



Now about our Chicago house and our experience in the Chicago yards. 

 I talk to you about Chicago because that is our market, Iowa furnishing 

 about 40 per cent of the receipts at the Chicago yards. We opened there 

 for business June 19, 1922. The first ten days, June 19 to June 30, we 

 received 177 cars of stock. In July we received 549 cars. In August we 

 had 561 cars. In September, which as you all know is a light month, 

 we had 439 cars. October 541 cars. In November we received 800 cars. 

 In December 963 cars. These figures, you will note, show a healthy 

 increase right from the time we opened for business. In November we 

 had 172 straight loads and 628 loads of co-operative stuff. That is, one- 

 fifth of our business at the present time runs to straight loads, the bal- 

 ance being made up of shipments that contain two or more owners — 

 sometimes as high as thirty. The total number of owners represented in 

 the November receipts was 5,289. 



During December we received 194 straight cars and 729 co-operative 

 loads. The percentage of straight cars in December was about the same 

 as in November, a total of 936 cars, representing 6,012 owners, with an 

 average of 7.8 persons to the car. The value of business done the first 

 six months — up to December 19 — was $5,200,000. During December we 

 ranked from second to fourth place in total number of cars received, and 

 have stood first on hogs for the last three months. During the past week 

 we received 246 cars and stood in first place on both hogs and the total 

 number of cars received. This gives you some idea of the volume of 

 business handled at Chicago by the Producers the last six months. 



Firm Has Wide Outlet for Stock 



Now, we have had some problems to solve. Some of you men know 

 that years ago we attempted to operate a co-operative livestock com- 

 mission company at Chicago. For various reasons we found it impracti- 

 cable and had to close. In other words we were forced out and had to 

 quit. We have not encountered as stringent opposition as the old co- 

 operative concern had to face, but we did encounter severe competition 

 at first, and no doubt that was responsible for some of the criticism that 

 we received from shippers over this state. 



But we are getting along nicely now. We sell to everybody that is 

 responsible that the others sell to. We have the same competition in 

 our buying alleys that the old-line companies have, and there is no re- 

 striction so far as our company is concerned. This is due largely to the 

 Packer and Stockyards Act enacted by Congress, which, under the su- 



