AGRICULTURAL DISCONTENT 



keting season, the one that asked for the buying up of unfinished pigs and 

 sows soon to farrow carried much favor. This was an unknown practice 

 in the United States, but "pig-buying programs" such as these had been 

 carried out with some success in recent years in several of the European 

 countries, particularly in the Netherlands and Denmark. 



It was decided to buy up several million pigs weighing less than a 

 hundred pounds and about one million sows due to farrow in fall. The 

 sows bought were to weigh not less than 275 pounds. As a result of these 

 purchases, it was expected that hog supplies would be reduced from 10 

 to 15 per cent. The packers were to process and otherwise handle the 

 animals for the Secretary of Agriculture, who, in turn, was to dispose of 

 them as he saw fit. 



On August 18 Wallace approved of the plan in an address in Chicago 

 and announced that it would be put into operation on August 23. The 

 authorized processors were to make the purchases and continue to do so 

 until October i, but the buying could end sooner if the maximum of pigs 

 and sows had been reached. In so far as practicable, the sows were to be 

 converted into salt pork and be distributed among the unemployed by 

 the Federal Emergency Relief Corporation. Pigs weighing more than 

 eighty pounds were to be processed into dry salt pork, and those weighing 

 less than that were to be processed into the inedible products of grease 

 and fertilizer tankage. 



As announced, the emergency buying program began on August 23 in 

 six of the principal livestock markets of the Middle West: St. Paul, Sioux 

 City, St. Joseph, Kansas City, Omaha, and Chicago. Buying was to start 

 on other markets as soon as practicable. On the first day the shipments 

 were relatively moderate about 30,000 pigs and sows but on the second 

 day there were received more than 100,000 hogs. This was an unusually 

 heavy load. In fact the administration had expected heavy shipments to 

 the six designated markets and hence it had urged farmers who normally 

 did not ship to these points to await the opening of their own markets. 

 These admonitions were of no use. The number of hogs reaching the 

 markets taxed the capacities of the processors to the point of bringing a 

 temporary halt in shipments, at least until they had had the time to dis- 

 pose of the excess shipments. To check similar future developments, the 

 administration stated that henceforth the shippers would have to obtain 



