MARKETING LIVE STOCK IN THE SOUTH. 



15 



Likewise well- fattened hogs (hogs sufficiently fat to dress out 75 

 per cent carcass when killed) must sell for 8 cents a pound dressed 

 weight to net the same as the live hog at 6 cents a pound. This 

 difference between live and dressed weight prices diminishes with 

 the increase in the dressing percentage of the animal, as indicated 

 in Table I, which shows live-weight prices and the corresponding 

 dressed -weight prices per hundredweight that are necessary to net 

 the same returns for hogs of different dressing percentages. In this 

 discussion it is considered that the offal would balance the cost of 

 slaughter. 



TABLE I. Comparison of live-weight price with dressed-weight price necessary to net the 



same returns from hogs. 



[Prices per hundredweight.] 



A large majority of southern hogs are marketed during the winter 

 months. Prices are lowest during this period, largely because of 

 heavy receipts at markets in all parts of the country. A study of 

 receipts and prices at the leading live-stock markets shows that in 

 the five-year period, 1910-1914, the average price for live hogs 

 was highest during the months of March, April, August, and 

 September, and that the receipts during these months were lowest. 

 An advantage in price, therefore, is to be gained usually by market- 

 ing hogs during these months. Although it is not practicable for 

 some farmers to change their production methods to take advantage 

 of this fact, undoubtedly there are many, particularly farmers who 

 are accessible to packing houses in the South, who could well af- 

 ford to arrange to have their hogs in marketable condition during 

 these months. A more uniform distribution of market hogs through- 

 out the year in the Southern States would benefit many farmers and 

 at the same time assist greatly in the development of the packing 

 industry in the South. 



