MARKETING LIVE STOCK IN THE SOUTH. 11 



more than three- fourths of a cent a pound, including the cost of the 

 ice. This house, which is 9 by 9 feet in size, has been found to be 

 sufficiently large for the average farmer. Meat houses, varying in 

 size from 6 by 8 feet to as large as 16 by 30 feet, recently have been 

 built and operated successfully by at least 10 farmers in southern 

 Georgia, and it is predicted that many more of these houses will be 

 built in the near future by farmers in this section. 



THE SOUTHERN ICE PLANT AS A LOCAL MARKET. 



The curing and handling of pork products opens an extensive field 

 to ice plants throughout the South. For several years the managers 

 of a few plants have cured meat for farmers at a specified price per 

 pound. A more recent development of the business, however, has 

 been the purchase of dressed hogs from farmers by the ice-plant 

 management. This plan was inaugurated at Canton, Miss., during 

 the winter of 1913-14, where it since has become an important feature 

 of the ice company's business. 



Information obtained from the managers of ice plants who have 

 had experience in curing meat for farmers indicates that the plan 

 has been profitable to the ice-plant owners and of considerable 

 service to farmers in the respective communities. 



One ice company which cures meat for farmers charges 1 cent per 

 pound for curing, 2 cents for curing and smoking, and 3 cents for 

 curing, smoking, and wrapping. These charges include all labor, 

 salt, and other material, and are based on green weight of meat. 

 The farmer delivers the meat to the plant cut into desired pieces for 

 curing. The management reports that approximately 30 tons of 

 meat were cured at this plant during the winter of 1913-14, 55 tons 

 during the winter of 1914-15, and approximately 120 tons during 

 1915-16. 



Fourteen plants in Georgia and one in Mississippi are reported to 

 be conducting the business after this plan. While no figures are 

 available to show the actual cost of curing meats, reports of managers 

 who have conducted the business indicate that a charge of 1 to 2 

 cents a pound, depending upon the local conditions and the amount 

 of meat in cure, will return a reasonable profit to the plant and at 

 the same time be fair to the farmer. 



Where the owners of ice plants make a business of buying the hogs 

 and selling the cured products, dressed hogs are purchased from the 

 farmer. The meat is handled in about the same way as at the 

 smaller packing plants, and the cured meat and other, products are 

 sold locally. The management of one ice plant which has conducted 

 this business for several seasons reports that the number of hogs 

 produced in the community has been practically doubled during this 

 period. This increase is attributed largely to the market which the 

 ice plant has provided. The buying records of this plant for the 



