Chicago Producers Fear liYestock Price 

 Control Aids Processors, Hurts Farmers 



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RECORD 



NOBODY wants to deny a reasonable 

 amount of profit to the processing in- 

 dustry or to the retail industry. That's 

 why agriculture did not oppose the Mc- 

 Kellar amendment to the Price Control 

 Act which, in brief, assured fair and 

 equitable profit margins to the processors. 



But in actual practice, and under the 

 direction of the OPA, the amendment has 

 been taken to mean that even the most 

 ineflficient processor can buy livestock 

 cheap enough to assure him a profit. 



This fxjint was brought home to live- 

 stock men attending the 22nd annual 

 meeting of the Chicago Producers Com- 

 mission Association by P. O. Wilson, 

 secretary-manager of the National Live- 

 stock Producers Association. 



"That is exactly the way it has been 

 handled — selling your livestock cheap 

 enough so that all processors will get a 

 profit," Wilson tolcl his audience. 



Under such a setup, he continued, the 

 only way that livestock producers can 

 protect themselves is to see that the 

 amendment is remedied when bills are 

 drafted in the coming months to extend 

 the life of the Price Control Act. 



Wilson further pointed out that the 

 financial statements of the packers for 

 the fiscal year ending Oct. 31 showed 

 that they did well enough even though 

 they had to pay tremendously increased 

 taxes. 



"It is true," he added, "that some of 

 them indicated that they did not do so 

 well on hogs or cattle, but I have only 

 one comment to make on that. If they 

 did not do so well on hogs and cattle, 

 they sure had a good year on lambs, and 

 poultry and dairy products!" 



Livestock producers talk over the yeor's 

 business between sessions oi the Chicago 

 Producers' annual meeting.. Center is 

 William Stockley, LaSolle county, and 

 right L. I. Quosey. Conmierce Counsel ior 

 the Producers. 



APRIL 1944 



Wilson also gave the answer to the 

 whole subsidy question — the same one 

 that he gave to Mayor LaGuardia of New 

 York in a recent conference. 



. . . "If you can prove to me," he told 

 the New York City mayor, "that the 

 consumers of your city are not in a finan- 

 cial position to pay their grocery bill, I 

 believe American farmers will join with 

 their leaders and go with you to Congress 

 and ask for a subsidy or a dole for your 

 people; but we want it labeled what it 

 is, a subsidy to the consumer, not a sub- 

 sidy to the American farmer! That 

 ended our subsidy discussion." 



Questions popped up at a rapid rate 

 during the afternoon discussion period 

 of the annual meeting. 



Here was a typical one put to H. M. 

 Conway, director of research for the 

 National Live Stock Producers Associa- 

 tion: "Do you think the price of hogs 

 will be lower this fall like the govern- 

 ment says it is going to be.'" 



Conway answered, "It is impossible to 

 make any definite forecast as to what 

 action will be taken on the part of OPA. 

 Frankly speaking, I do not consider that 

 the lower floor will be effective even if 

 it goes in. It is only a matter of time 

 until the price ceiling will dominate the 

 hog market, and I expect that to be true 

 even next fall and winter." 



Another question, "What can I afl^ord 

 to pay for 100-pound feeding pigs?" 



Prof. E. T. Robbins' answer to this 

 was, "A dime, and I expect you could 

 pay 12 cents." 



P. O. Wilson reported that in the first 

 week of March the hogs not moving on 

 the market were feeder pigs, particularly 

 the light ones weighing from 70 to 80 

 pounds. The lighter ones were selling 

 in the neighborhood of 8 cents, and on 

 up to a dime. All of the marginal ter- 

 ritory is very bad as far as feed is con- 

 cerned, such as Oklahoma, Kan.sas and 

 Nebraska, Wilson said. 



One of the problems of immediate 

 concern to livestock producers and feed- 

 ers of Illinois is truck transportation, L. 

 J. Quasey. commerce counsel. National 

 Live Stock Producers Association, de- 

 clared. 



There is need, he said, for more in- 

 tensive conservation of equipment dur- 

 ing the coming months than at any time 

 since Pearl Harbor. National tire quotas 

 have been cut from 550,000 tires per 

 month to 300,000 or less. There will be 

 only about 81,000 new trucks available 

 for civilian use in the whole country dur- 

 ing 1944. The repair part situation is 



Henry W-cland Eectetary-treasurer. left. 

 Beloit. Wis., and Henry Parke. DeKolb 

 county, president of the Chicago Pro- 

 ducers, report another year of successful 

 business in cooperative marketing. 



generally somewhat better than it was. 

 but inability to locate parts and delay 

 in securing them is still quite frequent. 

 ODT district oflFices are ready to offer as- 

 sistance on locating parts. 



Quasey also cited the problem of keep- 

 ing enough truckers to maintain trans- 

 portation for livestock and other farm 

 products and at the same time of meetmg 

 draft quotas. He said that livestock com- 

 mittees, ODT livestock advisor)- commit- 

 tees, the Farm Bureau, and the USD A 

 war board in each 'county can help in 

 this matter by cooperating with draft 

 boards in seeing that proper information 

 is compiled on truckers. He pointed out 

 that not infrequently truckers are reluc- 

 tant to seek deferment, notwithstanding 

 the fact that the community might be 

 left without any adequate livestock truck 

 service. 



R. C. Pollock, secretar)--general man- 

 ager of the National Live Stock and 

 Meat Board, reported to producers on 

 the work his organization has been do- 

 ing for the armed ser^'ices in the last 

 three years in how to cut and cook 

 meat. He showed a map of 200 to 300 

 Army camps where representatives of the 

 Meat Board are working in the present 

 fiscal year in cooperation with the Quar- 

 termaster Corps. This year the work is 

 also being carried to 180 air bases and 

 a program has been launched to include 

 naval bases at the request of Army and 

 Na\T officials. 



Annual reports of President H. H. 

 Parke and Manager Dave L. Swanson 

 showed that the Chicatro Producers main- 

 tained a good record in 1943 despite 

 many regulations which had an upset- 

 ting effect on the market. Although the 

 Producers volume decreased from 22,294 

 cars in 1942 to 21,401 in 1943, a de- 

 cline of 893 cars, the Producers han- 

 dled 1 /7 of all livestock on sale at the 

 Chicago market. 



