Buying prices for live birds based on the New York commercial report 

 are generally a specified number of cents per pound below the New York 

 dressed quotation, although many plants now watch the eviscerated market 

 closely. Selling prices may be at, above, or below the dressed quotation, 

 depending on the supply picture, area of origin of the pack, quality differ- 

 ences, and types of outlets. 



Thus, the actual average margin on which the plant expects to operate, 

 i.e., to assemble, process, and deliver, cannot always be determined by the 

 spread between the live and dressed quotations of the USDA report or by 

 the discount under the New York commercial quotations. 



In addition, plants which engage in direct contract growing employ vari- 

 ous means to charge these live birds into the processing unit, so that a 

 given plant could be charging in some at a "book value" and others at an 

 open-market price established relative to a published quotation. 



Larger plants tended to work on a smaller live-dressed price spread, i.e., 

 4<y2 - 6 cents on white broilers and 6 - 8 cents on fowl. Smaller operators 

 usually worked on a 6-8 cents spread on various types of broilers and 7-8 

 cents on fowl. These spreads have narrowed in the past year or two. Most 

 plants varied the spread according to quality considerations, such as white 

 vs. colored or crossbred broilers, pinny vs. full-feathered fowl, and con- 

 formation and fleshing. Lot sizes and market outlets also influenced the 

 spread. Some smaller plants bought at prevailing live prices, but had a 

 wider total margin on which to operate because they sold to retailers and 

 consumers. A number of very small units indicated they did not rely upon 

 market quotations in buying or selling. This was true of some non-Kosher 

 units as well as of many Kosher units. Some varied retail prices little, and 

 at times bought birds at well over prevailing live prices. 



Attitudes To^vard Certain Types of Birds 



Many of the larger plants dislike handling colored broilers or hens even 

 at lower buying prices. Their plants and markets may be set up for one 

 type of bird. On the other hand, smaller plants usually are glad to obtain 

 small and mixed lots of birds from hatching and market egg producers. 

 Acceptance of birds from non-commercial broiler growers is one method 

 smaller operators use to continue in business. 



Buying Small Lots 



A definite relationship exists between plant size and the minimum size lot 

 of birds a plant will process. A small lot of birds, which would be 10 minutes 

 work for a large plant, might be a week's work for a small plant. Large 

 processing plants generally are not interested in assembling small lots of 

 birds. Many of the medium-sized plants are equally reluctant to accept small 

 lots. These plants encourage the delivery of small lots to the plant, turn 

 the sale over to a live buyer, or schedule pickup when the plant has a truck 

 going into the area. Such plants may not own small trucks. One plant in- 

 dicating 2,000 birds was a small lot, said it would pick up 1,000 birds 

 only if its assembly crew was in the vicinity of the farm. 



In contrast, most small plants want small lots of birds and frequently 

 i'.ave difficulty in finding them. They may be unable to handle large lots 

 available when a poultryman liquidates a large flock and so lose periodic 

 small lots of culls. Broiler and hatching egg flocks from integrated oper- 



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