MARKETING LIVE BROILERS 

 IN NEW YORK CITY*' 



Analysis of Live Broiler Receipts and Prices on the New York Market 



By H. I. Richards and M. F. Abell 



Receipts of winter and early spring live broilers on the New York 

 market have been increasing rapidly during the last few years. The 

 records of twelve large poultry dealers on this market showed that their 

 receipts had increased from 775.720 pounds during the first five months 

 of 1925 to 1,584.817 pounds in 1926 and 1,854,992 pounds in 1927 or a 

 total increase of 139 percent. The value of these broilers showed a 

 smaller increase from $387,857 in 1925 to $768,627 in 1926 and $785,163 

 in 1927. A large part of the increase in live broiler receipts came from 

 New Hampshire, and it is in this state that the production of winter 

 and spring broilers has become a specialized industry of increasing im- 

 portance. 



The increase in receipts of live broilers at New York is indicative of 

 the general interest in the further development of this industry. Some 

 poultrymen are studying the broiler situation with the thought of enter- 

 ing the business or of expanding their production. Others are studying 

 it with the thought of curtailing their production or abandoning the 

 industry unless there is some prospect of improvement in the prices 

 received. The future trend of live broiler prices on the New York mar- 

 ket will be the major factor in determining the profitableness of pro- 

 ducing broilers in New Hampshire, and although it may not be possi- 

 ble to forecast accurately broiler prices during the coming seasons, a 

 study of the month to month and year to year fluctuations in receipts 

 and prices during the past should increase the accuracy of future fore- 

 casts by individual poultrymen. This is one of the reasons that prompt- 

 ed the New Hampshire Agricultural Experiment Station to make this 

 study of live broiler receipts and prices on the New York market. 



Since there are no published reports giving the volume of live broiler 

 receipts on the New York market it was necessary to obtain these data 

 from the books of poultry dealers there. Records were obtained from 

 twelve such dealers of the pounds and price paid for each shipment 

 from each state every day. Records from seven companies were se- 

 cured for the period from January 1, 1925 to May 31, 1927, with the 

 records for one of the largest companies extending back to November 1, 

 1923. The records of remaining companies were for shorter periods. 



*The Experiment Station is indebted to the Bureau of Agricultural Economics 

 of the United States Department of Agricuhuro for the cooperation both of Mr. 

 H. I. Richards of the Boston otiice. who originally Jielpcd to plan the study before 

 being employed by the Station in completing it. and Mr. Earl H. French of the 

 New York otfice. who has given valuable and continued assistance in securing im- 

 portant data. 



