A Day with the Producers 



8:30 a. m. to 4:45 p. m., Monday to 

 Friday inclusive. Saturdays from 8:30 

 a. m. to 12:40 p. m. 



ing houses) 10.87, traders 917, coun- 

 try buyers 5.07, other commission firms 

 .35 per cent. The picture is a little dif- 

 ferent on hogs. The big packers that 

 day purchased only ^9.87 per cent, 

 small packers 6.12, shippers 2.22, trad- 

 ers (they buy for small packers and 

 shippers) 51.67, other commission firms 

 .12 per cent. 



Last year the Chicago Producers re- 

 ceived 112,000 livestock shipments 

 from 50,000 shippers. From 30,000 to 

 35,000 are Illinois farmers who in- 

 creased their shipments to Producer 

 agencies 133 per cent the first six 

 months of this year. An average of 

 400 to 500 shippers have livestock on 

 the market every day to the Producers. 



To help these shippers, the Producers 

 have developed some valuable services. 

 Market information is broadcast daily 

 by Jim Clarke over stations WIND and 

 WJJD. There is,, a weekly summary of 

 the market on station WLS each Satur- 

 day. Letters to cattle feeders give per- 

 tinent market news trends, and future 

 outlook. This information is supple- 

 mented by regular trips in the field by 

 salesmen and other employees. The 

 Transportation department collects 

 claims, checks rates, and freight bills. 

 Chicago Producers loans to feeders to 

 clear through the National Livestock 

 Credit Corporation which is affiliated 

 with the National Livestock Marketing 

 Association. The services of the market 

 analyst, the transportation department, 

 and the magazine, National Livestock 

 Producer, maintained by the national 

 association are all helpful to the Pro- 

 ducer agencies and other members. 



What about the Producers' financial 

 condition.' It's sound. A shipper never 

 lost a cent due him. The Association's 

 net worth at the end of last year was 

 $206,091.30 An audit is made every 

 month by the I. A. A. auditing service. 

 Nearly $100,000 is invested in liquid 

 assets. The Producers must maintain a 

 bank account of around $80,000 to 

 clear daily operations. 



The primary interest of this farmer- 

 owned and farmer-controlled co-opera- 

 tive is to return its members the most 

 dollars for their livestock. It has an 

 enviable record in carrying out this 

 ideal. When lower commissions aver- 

 aging 20 to 25 per cent less were or- 

 dered by the Secretary of Agriculture 

 two years ago, the Producers was the 

 first to respond. In a litle more than 

 two years the saving to shippers 



amounted to approximately $140,000. 

 More recently the court of appeals 

 ruled that private companies must re- 

 turn the "excess" commissions (around 

 $750,000.00) collected and held in 

 escrow during this period. 



You see empty pens out in the stock- 

 yards these days. Two years of 

 drought, coupled with crop adjustment 

 to meet the sharp drop in foreign de- 

 mand for hogs and lard are the rea- 

 sons. Lower receipts and reduced com- 

 missions cut the Producers income last 

 year slightly below expenses despite a 

 10 per cent slash of salaries and wages. 

 Ample reserves made it possible to 

 cover the small loss without hurting 

 anything. The outlook is better this 

 year. 



An ideal of the board of directors is 

 to maintain the Chicago Producers as 

 the safest place on the market to sell 

 livestock. The Association is bonded 

 for more than $250,000.00 to guarantee 

 shippers against loss. In the five years 

 beginning in 1931 the agency handled 

 more than 80,000 cars of livestock with 

 a value in excess of $89,000,000.00. The 

 net profit for the period after deduct- 

 ing last year's loss was $68,411.05. The 

 Producers percentage of receipts has 

 advanced about one per cent a year 

 from 8.96 per cent in 1930 to 1385 

 per cent in 1935. 



There has been much talk about evo- 

 lution in livestock marketing during 

 the past decade. The problem is an 

 acute' one. The picture has changed 

 fast. Trucks and paved roads wiped out 

 hundreds of shipping associations since 

 the middle twenties. Livestock con- 

 centration points and auctions in the 

 country have come in. More hogs are 

 moving direct to Eastern packers and 

 markets from the smaller cities in the 

 corn belt. But the terminal markets, 

 particularly Chicago, continue to set 

 the pace as price makers. The price in 

 the country is still based on Chicago 

 and other terminals. So long as this 

 is true thinking farmers will insist on 

 maintaining strong co-operative selling 

 agencies on the big markets that work 

 daily to return them the maximum 

 price for their livestock. — Editor. 



lAA Office Hours 



Beginning Monday, November I6th. 

 with Chicago's return to Central Stand- 

 ard Time, the office hours of the Illi- 

 nois Agricultural Association and As- 

 sociated Companies were changed to 



Export - Import Trade 



With Canada Gains 



Drought has taken its toll, but not 

 in exports of farm produce to Canada, 

 reports the Bureau of Agricultural Eco- 

 nomics. On items on which Canadian 

 duties were reduced under the United 

 States-Canadian trade agreement, ex- 

 ports were substantially higher during 

 the first eight months of 1936 than 

 during the corresponding period of 

 1935. 



Exports this year totaled $12,744,000 

 compared with $9,379,000 for last year. 

 Exports of farm products not included 

 in the agreement were valued at $19,- 

 922,000 as compared with $17,951,000 

 for the first eight months of 1935. 



Turning the picture around, products 

 imported from Canada during the 8 

 months period amounted to $12,372,- 

 000 for items on which the United 

 States granted duty concessions, and 

 $43,000,000 for those on which no con- 

 cessions were made. In 1935, com- 

 parable imports in the two classes were 

 $6,306,000, and $31,653,000. 



Biggest gains were made in exports 

 of vegetables, fruit, meat products, 

 cereal products, lard, fruit juice, dried 

 and canned fruits, nuts, field and gar- 

 den seed. 



Increased imports from Canada in- 

 cluded live cattle and horses, cheddar 

 cheese, maple sugar, seed potatoes, tur- 

 nips, rutabagas and poultry. 



•WIT 

 ONT 

 YOUl 

 COLl 



1 MIGHT 



ANDCA 



DAUj 



U auton 

 story of 

 traffic . 

 poppin( 

 a thous 



Sure Y< 

 opplica 

 chance' 

 loss in 

 pony o 

 only, ."i 



CLAUDE R. WICKARD 

 Named by Secretary of Agriculture Henry A. 

 Wallace as director of the North Central Divi- 

 sion of the Agricultural Adjustment Administra- 

 tion. He succeeds Gerald B. Thorna, who 

 went with a Chicago packer. 



12 



L A. A. RECORD 



