2O 



tions of early maturity whether he intends to carry them as stockers 

 or put them in the feed lot immediately. 



GENERAL CONDITIONS INFLUENCING THE PRICE OF FEEDERS. 



The other group of factors influencing the cost of feeders, is 

 neither under the control of the producer or of the feeder but is 

 determined by the general financial and industrial condition of the 

 country together with trade and market conditions. The feeder mar- 

 ket depends upon supply and demand, hence any condition which 

 affects the outlet for beef cattle, of necessity has a decided influence 

 on prices. This second group of factors is as follows: 



1. The locality. 



3. Season of the year. 



3. Price, condition and supply of corn. 



4. Supply of roughage. 



5. Condition of the market for fat cattle. 



In certain sections of the country where there is an abun- 

 Locality. ance of rough land, capable of producing blue grass, 

 clover and other pasture grasses in abundance, and well 

 supplied with good. water, the production of feeders can be success- 

 fully followed. When such grazing land is available in large quan- 

 tities there is usually a scarcity of tillable land to produce enough 

 corn and other grains to finish cattle at a profit, hence the most 

 logical procedure for the producer in such a section is to market 

 cattle as feeders. Investigation has shown that southern Indiana 

 is especially adapted to this method of beef production. These 

 cattle are usually shipped to central markets, *hence their home 

 value is determined by their market price, less the expense incident 

 to shipping, such as freight, commission, feed and yardage. In the 

 grain growing sections of the country, the cost of feeders is de- 

 termined by their price at central markets with the additional ex- 

 pense incurred in shipping them to the feed lot. In this way the 

 locality in which the cattle are produced may influence the price of 

 feeding cattle 50 cents per hundred or more, depending upon the 

 local supply and demand and the distance from a central market. 

 It is well known that the season of the year has a de- 

 The Season c id e d influence on the cost of feeders. In the fall when 

 of the. there is an abundant supply of cattle going to market 

 Year. m a \\ degrees of condition from grass fat to thin stock- 

 ers, the feeder has a wide selection and an abund- 

 ance of material from which to draw. A large supply of 

 cattle at this time of the year, together with the approaching 

 winter when the feeds will be more expensive and the gains less 

 rapid, reduces the price. In the spring there is a strong demand 

 for feeders due to the approach of a favorable feeding season and 

 to the scarcity of cattle with flesh enough to be classified as feed- 



*Circular No. 8, "Purchasing- P eeders." 



