PROCEEDINGS CORN BELT MEAT PRODUCERS' ASSN. 499 



self to urge upon every feeder to do everything he can to help us along 

 in this activity. 



With regard to the report as to the number of sheep and lambs on 

 feed, I can say there is apparently 20 per cent more lambs on feed this 

 year than December 1 of last year; that there is apparently 10 per cent 

 increase in the corn belt and an increase of 25 per cent in the west, 

 the irrigated region, which includes Colorado, western Nebraska, Utah, 

 Nevada, Idaho and a few in Wyoming and Montana. This works it out 

 to about 120 per cent for the country as a whole. 



Now it seems that from this estimate there is hovering over the mar- 

 ket a considerably larger supply of meat animals than were available at 

 this time last year, or would probabl} be available in the next six months 

 above what there were available in the same time last year. What is 

 going to be the effect of this apparent increased supply? I am going 

 rather out of my line when I undertake to express an opinion as to that. 

 I would, however, like to give you just a few figures that I have here, 

 which may be of some encouragement to you men who are engaged in 

 producing this extra supply of meat animals. ' 



Along with this apparent increase of cattle and sheep, as I think you 

 all know, there is an apparent increase, a considerable increase, in hog 

 production, and in the number of hogs that will be available for market 

 in the next eight or nine months. So that it seems that somewhere and 

 somehow we are going to have a very large supply of meat to go into 

 consumption during the next six months or the next nine months. What 

 are the chances that this can be taken and consumed and prices paid 

 for it that will be at all remunerative to the men who have been pro- 

 ducing it? I think the most favorable aspect in the situation is the enor- 

 mous consumption of meat that is taking place in this country at the 

 present time, and has taken place during the last six months. 



I think if anybody would have known eight or nine months ago that 

 the supply of hogs and the supply of cattle going on the market were 

 going to be slaughtered and consumed in the months following — had 

 known of that supply — that they would have been almost certain that 

 the prices that were prevailing could not have been obtained for them. 

 More than that, the supplies of finished cattle and fat cattle at Chicago 

 during the past six months have been much larger than they have been 

 in the same period at least for the past four years, and instead of being 

 sold on a falling market have advanced almost continuously up till the 

 present time, which shows that there is an enormous consumption or de- 

 mand for a pretty good grade of beef in this country. 



When we come to pork consumption, for the hog crop year ending 

 November 1 this year, the reports of the inspectors of slaughter show a 

 slaughter of 40,795,000, which has only been exceeded in numbers two 

 years in the history of the industry. That was the crop year of 1918-1919 

 and 1915-1916, when there were 43,600,000 in the former and 42,200,000 in 

 the latter. When it comes to pork production, the pork production this 

 year, because of the greatly increased weight of the hogs that were mar- 

 keted, has amounted to almost as much as the production in the year 

 when there were 43,600,000 hogs slaughtered, simply less than 40,000,000 

 pounds of pork than in that year. But whereas in 19184919, out of the 



