M. R. Thomas, Chicago Producsr* sales- 

 man, and Lee E. Mosher, DeKolb organ- 

 ization director, and chairman of the De- 



Kalb lirestock marketing committee. look 

 over some oi Mosher's hogs at the Chicago 

 yards. 



HOG MARKETING JAM 



HOG producers in the years to come 

 will probably look back on the last 

 months of 1943 and the first of 1944 as 

 a strange and confusing period in their 

 marketing experience. 



They'll remember it as a time when 

 record marketings glutted the terminal 

 markets; when they had to hold their 

 shipments back from the market while 

 the hogs ate more corn, and added 

 pounds that often carried them outside 

 the government-supported weight 

 ranges ; when in spite of surplus pork 

 supplies the OPA refused to declare a 

 temporary removal of pork ration 

 points. They'll remember it as a time 

 when consumer income was at an all 

 time high and the government rolled 

 back the retail prices of pork and paid 

 the packers a subsidy of $1.30 per hun- 

 dred. 



Hog producers probably will not 

 forget either that packers were able to 

 buy non-government weight hogs at 

 bargain prices; that holdover hogs on 

 the terminal markets were purchased at 

 shrunk-out weights. 



During this period the cooperative 

 marketing agencies did the best job 

 they could to protect the farmer's in- 

 terest. Units of the Illinois Livestock 

 Marketing Association adhered to the 

 support price on their offerings to the 

 producer, but they had limited orders 

 to fil'. They had to ask their patrons 

 to list their hogs weeks ahead for mar- 

 keting. Some Illinois Livestock Mar- 

 keting Association units had as many 

 as 2000 head of hogs listed ahead. 

 The Budinell unit ceased hog buying 

 entirely announcing that they would 



be ready to serve their patrons when 

 the market returned to normal. 



Producer agencies limited consign- 

 ments as far as possible by advising 

 their patrons to hold hogs off the mar- 

 ket while the glut in marketing ex- 

 isted. Their percentage of holdovers 

 was relatively small in comparison with 

 other agencies. 



During the last days of January sev- 

 eral steps were taken to ease the hog 

 market situation. The WFA temporar- 

 ily extended the government's price 

 support program to include choice 

 butcher hogs weighing up to 330 

 pounds. This was the second exten- 

 sion during the month as the price floor 

 of $13.75 at Chicago originally was for 

 200 to 270 pound hogs, and the first 

 extension boosted it to 300 pounds. 



A permit system also was inaugu- 

 rated on the Chicago terminal market 

 on Jan. 24 and receipts on that day 

 were 40,000 as compared with 54,000 

 on Jan. 17. Under the permit plan 

 about 100,000 salable hogs were to be 

 permitted to come into the Chicago 

 market each week. 



It was hoped that this system would 

 reduce the holdovers on the Chicago 

 market that had been running as high 

 as 25,000 on some days. On Jan. 17, it 

 was estimated that 300,000 hogs were 

 held over in all the markets. On Jan. 

 18, it was estimated that on the Chi- 

 cago market 25,000 government weight 

 hogs, 200 to 300 pounds, were held 

 over. Hogs below 200 pounds and 

 over 300 moved well at prices be- 

 tween $11.75 and $13. 



As producers looked into the month 



10 



I 



of February they were in hopes that 

 the worst of the marketing jam was 

 over, but they couldn't be sure. 



Out of the marketing chaos of the 

 past several months some predicted 

 there would come a considerable reduc- 

 tion in the 1944 spring pig crop. R. C. 

 Ashby, department of agricultural eco- 

 nomics, U. of I. College of Agriculture, 

 said a 22 per cent cut in the spring pig 

 crop was expected by buyers at local 

 packing plants and concentration yards 

 throughout the state, according to an 

 average of estimates he secured from 

 these sources. 



"This reduction," Ashby said, "is 

 21/^ times as high as the 9 per cent 

 cut requested for Illinois by the WFA 

 and is above the expected U.S. reduc- 

 tion of 16 per cent as reported by the 

 December pig survey. 



"It is believed that producers who 

 have ample feed should not cut hog 

 production unduly. By closely watch- 

 ing market developments of the next 

 six weeks, producers may see encour- 

 agement to increase the production of 

 summer pigs. Since production needs 

 have been carefully considered, pro- 

 ducers will do well to keep in mind 

 the goals set for their own counties," 

 he stated. 



lAA Insurance Service Agency 

 Ronndnp Set for Feb. 22-23 



Members of the Agency Force of the 

 Illinois Agricultural Association's In- 

 surance Service will gather in the Hotel 

 Sherman, Chicago, Feb. 22 and 23 for 

 a streamlined annual "Round-Up." 



Speakers have been selected from the 

 Agency Force, the lAA staff, and its 

 affiliated companies, and from among 

 the outstanding men in the insurance 

 field. 



Those on Tuesday morning's pro- 

 gram are: A. E. Richardson, manager 

 of lA Mutual Insurance; L. V. Drake, 

 claims superintendent, lA Mutual In- 

 surance; Walter Acker, director of 

 Kansas Farm Bureau Mutual Insurance 

 Co. ; and Wilbur Gibbs, general agent, 

 Sangamon county. Tuesday afternoon 

 speakers: Vern Holland, manager. 

 Farmers Mutual Reinsurance Co.; R. 

 C. Graham, general agent, Vermilion 

 county; J. H. Kelker, manager, Farm- 

 ers Mutual Reinsurance; John D. 

 Bryant, general agent, DeKalb county, 

 and A. R. Jaqua, editor. Agents' Dia- 

 mond Life Bulletin. 



Tuesday night, Donald Kirkpatrick, 

 lAA legal counsel, and Harvey Mc- 

 Naughton, general agent, Adams coun- 

 ty, will be the speakers. 



Wednesday morning's program will 

 include talks by D. C Mieher, sales 

 director, lAA Insurance Service; Bruce 

 (Continued on page 23) 



I. A. A. RECORD 



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