MARKETING LIVE STOCK IN THE SOUTH. 5 



of the animals. In Louisiana, instances were noted in the autumn 

 of 1916 where farmers were being paid 8 cents per pound for dressed 

 hogs when at the same date hogs of similar grade were quoted at 

 9 to 9J cents per pound live weight on the Fort Worth market. 

 Similar conditions are reported from other sections of the South. 

 Considering, therefore, the prices ordinarily paid the farmer in the 

 South for meat animals, live and dressed weight, together with the 

 labor of killing and dressing and the uncertainty of the meat trade, 

 farm animals in many cases may be sold to better advantage on foot 

 than as dressed carcasses. 



LOCAL MARKETING OF STOCK ON FOOT. 



The outlets usually available to farmers wishing to dispose of 

 their meat animals on foot are the local dealer-shipper and the local 

 retail butcher. But for farmers located near a packing plant the 

 marketing problem is simplified, as a ready market is provided at 

 all times and better prices than those paid by local dealers usually 

 are obtainable. Such institutions should have all the support pos- 

 sible to help assure their success. Packing plants in the South have 

 experienced difficulty in procuring live stock during the summer 

 months, which has tended to hinder their progress. Farmers should 

 consider the advisability of fitting their hogs for market during 

 different seasons of the year. 



Comparatively few farmers are situated near these packing plants. 

 On the other hand, many farmers are located in the vicinity of small 

 towns where the local demand for meats is very limited, and any sur- 

 plus must be marketed elsewhere. These farmers are dependent upon 

 local dealer-shippers for the sale of their live stock, inasmuch as no 

 one farmer has sufficient stock of his own to make up a full carload 

 for shipment to market. At some points there may be but one 

 shipper, in which case the farmer is compelled to accept the prices 

 offered, although they may be unsatisfactory, while in many com- 

 munities no live-stock shippers are operating. Such conditions un- 

 doubtedly have been the means of retarding live-stock production in 

 many parts of the South. 



For the purpose of bettering market conditions for farmers sa 

 situated several plans for marketing live stock locally have been 

 developed and found practicable. Such plans might well be adopted 

 in many localities in the South where present marketing facilities 

 are found to be inadequate. 



COOPERATIVE LIVE STOCK SHIPPING. 



Of the various marketing plans under discussion, undoubtedly co- 

 operative shipping is being most generally adopted in the United 

 States. This is a method by which producers of live stock in less- 



