family. There is a somewhat lower proportion in the higher income groups 

 than for the United States, but net cash incomes below $2,000 per year are 

 less common in New Hampshire than for the nation as a whole. 



J. R. BOWRING 



A Description and Analysis of the Livestock Markets Available 

 to New Hampshire Dairymen and Beef Producers 



There is active trading in livestock in New Hampshire. The sale of cull 

 cows, dairy herd replacement cattle, and a few hogs and sheep justifies the 

 existence of numerous small packing houses and custom slaughterers in the 

 state. In addition, licensed dealers trade in livestock and buy from farmers 

 to sell on local or out-of-state markets. 



This study describes the size and location of dealers and packers and 

 discusses the market process. It shows the influence of the Brighton market 

 on local prices and the influence of Chicago price in New England. The 

 majority of hogs and sheep sold are custom slaughtered and the cull cows 

 or beef cattle are in general slaughtered by the packers in New Hampshire 

 and Massachusetts. 



The price that producers receive from dealers is based on the dealers' 

 expected sale price. Market news from Brighton is published once a week 

 only, so that there are chances of inter-week price changes which may be 

 known by a dealer actively selling on the market but not known by the pro- 

 ducer. Independent selling by farmers reduces their bargaining position. 



The predominance of meat and livestock shipments into New England 

 from western sources limits the extent to which livestock sales either for 

 slaughter or for dairy herd replacement can become more profitable. Within 

 this national price framework, certain economies of assembly by consolida- 

 tion of loads might be possible ; producers also might organize into a bar- 

 gaining cooperative to protect individual farmers not familiar with market 

 price changes and to protect buyers against diseased and low producers. 



The competitive nature of the industry, however, relates prices in New- 

 England to prices in other livestock producing areas. Prevention of price 

 fluctuations or short-run price declines not justified by long-run market 

 demand and supply for meat are therefore national problems best solved at 

 that level. 



J. R. BoWRING 



The Economics of Dairy Herd Replacements 



Detailed farm management records from a sample of New Hampshire 

 dairy farms have been summarized. About 40 percent of the farms visited 

 purchased no dairy replacements. The remaining 60 percent of the farms 

 purchased from one to all of the replacements necessary to maintain the 

 dairy herd. Many factors influence the replacement program, but the belief 

 that the quality of home-raised replacements is superior to purchased re- 

 placements seems to be of primary importance in farmers' considerations. 



For herds which are primarily milk suppliers rather than combined 

 breeding stock and milk producers, there seem to be opportunities for prof- 

 itably purchasing replacement stock of good quality. Herd life, one of the 

 important considerations in comparing purchased and raised replacements, 

 does not seem to be significantly dift'erent for raised and purchased cows, 

 based on a summary of cow removal records for the New Hampshire Dairy 



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