It is safe to assume that if the Midwest entered the broiler industry, 

 it could do so at a great advantage over the rest of the country. But as long 

 as the present alternatives in the Midwest offer higher returns than poultry, 

 then broilers will not be produced on a large scale. How long this condition 

 will exist depends on the marginal returns from these other enterprises 

 and if poultry meat prices remain favorable. Operators on poorer land in 

 midwestern states may prefer to substitute capital for land and the poultry 

 industry offers this opportunity as it has in New England. 



LIVE POULTRY 



For live poultry shipments railroad cars are privately owned by an 

 operating company and the rental charge is about $75 from the Midwest 

 to Boston and SlOO per car from the Southwest to Boston in addition to 

 the railroad charge for transporting the cars. Live birds shipped to market 

 from local areas by truck can be delivered in a number of hours. While 

 shrinkage occurs, the birds do not have to be fed enroute and can be crowded 

 closer together. The advantage lies with local producers. 



DRESSED POULTRY 



Dressed or eviscerated birds shipped to market in refrigerator cars 

 constitute a large saving in money and weight because of the number 

 (usually thirty to forty thousand pounds) shipped in one car and the elimi- 

 nation of shipping waste materials. 



With a saving of up to 38 percent 



Table 9. Freight Rates on Dressed Poultry in transportation COStS on dressed 



Minimum Weight 30,000 lbs. and eviscerated birds, poultry meat 



Cents per 100 lbs. comifig to Bostoii from outside the 



o oston, Mass.* ^^^^ England area can compete on a 



price basis with live New Hamp- 

 shire birds. It also allows the Mid- 

 west to ship eviscerated birds by rail 

 at a lower cost than for grain needed 

 to produce an equal amount of meat 

 in the East. 



In 1949, Oregon, California, Utah, 

 Nebraska, Minnesota, Iowa, Illinois, 

 and Maryland each sent over a mil- 

 lion pounds of dressed poultry to 

 Boston. This means that of the areas 

 producing enough for export, the 

 states with the higher transportation 

 costs must either produce more effi- 



*Source — Transportation and Warehonsing ciently OT Sell 3 SUpCrior produCt, iu 



tMinimum weight 20,000 pounds. o^dcr to compcusate for the differ- 



ences in transportation rates. 

 The Midwest, with lower transportation rates to Boston and New York 

 than the Far West, sells more cheaply and has a less specialized investment 

 in poultry. Under the present situation with the high prices for grain, 

 beef, and hogs, it is more advantageous for the midwestern farmers to pro- 

 duce these, rather than poultry, thus giving the far western producers less 

 competition. The Far West could not compete on the eastern markets with 



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