40 



MONTANA FARM REVIEW 



How Montana Liyestock are Shipped. 



The seasonal peak of shipments of cattle and sheep coincides with that of crops, 

 coming in October. This is due to the fact that the bulk of marketings of cattle and 

 sheep is made up of range stuff, which finishes as grass-fat stock with the curing 

 of grass on the ranges in August and September, the flesh gain being essentially that 

 of a crop from the ranges. Hogs do not follow the trend of cattle and sheep market- 

 ings, reaching a much lower peak in January following fall feeding and also show a 

 secondary peak in the spring when the winter fed hogs are unloaded. The proportion 

 of hogs going into carlot shipments is less than with cattle and sheep since 

 as yet a relatively large part of Montana's pork production is needed at home and 

 is slaughtered locally. Winter and early spring marketings of cattle and sheep have 

 tended toward some increase in recent years, with the introduction of winter feeding 

 of cattle and sheep principally in the Billings district, with the development of the 

 sugar beet industry. 



Where Montana Livestock are Shipped. 



Chicago takes the bulk of Montana's shipments of cattle and sheep, St. Paul fol- 

 lowing as the second important market. The figure below shows distribution of 

 1923 shipments of cattle and sheep at important stockyards. Usual distribution of 

 Montana's marketings will conform quite closely to the 1923 graph. 



Hog shipments up until last year have not represented a very large percentage 

 of the state's production, the industry in its present stage of development requiring 

 the bulk of its production for local slaughter and packing demand. In 1924 shipments 

 doubled those of 1923 following the large production in 1924. A large share of ship- 

 ments went to coast markets although St. Paul received a good portion of the mar- 

 ketings. 



Fi&nre XVII. 



WHERE MONTANA LIVESTOCK ARE SHIPfiED -i^^— . 

 PERCENTAGE OF 1923 STOCKYARD RECEIPTS OF CATTLE AND SHEEP 

 RECEIVED AT EACH IMPORTANT MARKET 



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