342 IOWA DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 



fortunate man will be he who clears his farm of inferior stock and establishes 

 himself well with a herd of good blood at the favorable prices now pre- 

 vailing. 



An evidence of this advantage has been in the low prices of ordinary 

 feeding cattle all over the country this year, while young cattle that have 

 shown the breeding desired by feeders have been bought at very satisfactory 

 prices to the producers. The successful ranchmen of the south and west 

 have almost doubled their profits by the breeding up of their herds, as com- 

 pared with a time fifteen to twenty years ago. It is possible for the farmer 

 to do the same and the necessity for him to do it at once on his higher-priced 

 land seems obvious. 



A FAVORABLE CATTLE FUTURE. 



General conditions for the feeders who handle good cattle the coming 

 year seem promising. The tremendously great corn crop and its excellent 

 quality with prices continuing at a level that can not be regarded as cheap, 

 are all in favor of the men who are producing good cattle and other classes 

 of live stock as well. 



Experienced feeders who have made the most striking successes of the 

 business have frequently declared that the years of very low prices for corn 

 have generally been far more disastrous for feeders than the years of very 

 high prices for corn. The opportunity for feeders the coming year, there- 

 fore, seems a remarkably favorable one. Money is obtainable for safe enter- 

 prises at favorable rates, supplies of grain and roughage are abundant, and 

 the price is neither too high nor too low. Good feeders have been available 

 at reasonable cost, and the consumption of all classes of meats is increasing 

 steadily enough to seem to demand increased productions of all classes of 

 farm stock. The year is closing with an exceptionally favorable outlook for 

 the farmers and stockmen who conduct their business in the progressive 

 way that is demanded in this age of progression. 



Altogether, the outlook for the coming year on the Chicago cattle market 

 is favorable, especially for well-bred and well-fed consignments. 



HOGS. 



Receipts of hogs for 1904 show a decrease in numbers, the shortage being 

 87,176 head or about 1^ per cent, also a decrease of six pounds per head in 

 average weight, as compared with 1903. The total decrease equals about 

 63,000,000 pounds of pork, or the equivalent of 285,000 hogs. The strike 

 was responsible for the shortage in number, and scarcity of corn explains 

 the shrinkage in weight. 



The general average of hog values declined nearly $1.00 per hundred 

 pounds during the year, the average price of all grades being about $5.00 

 as compared with $6.00 for 1903, and $6.85 for 1902, making a general 

 average decline of approximately $1.85 per 100 pounds in two years, not- 

 withstanding a decrease in receipts on this market both years. The decline 

 of values occurred, of course, on all markets, notwithstanding the fact that 

 the general supply of hogs at the six principal markets in 1903 was 655,000 

 head short of 1902, and the further fact that the combined receipts at these 

 six markets for 1904 reveal a shortage of, in round numbers, 3,000,000 hogs 

 during three years since 1901. 



