INDIANAPOUS PRODUCERS REPORTS 

 NEW VOLUME HiGHS DURING 1944 



INDIANAPOLIS Producers Live Stock 

 Commission Association in 1944 han- 

 dled more hogs, cattle and calves than in 

 any recent year, according to the annual 

 report of Manager Scott Meiks made at 

 the 23rd annual meeting of the Producers 

 Jan. 19, in the Claypool Hotel, Indian- 

 apolis. 



The Producers handled 3183 more cat- 

 tle than during 1943, the greatest yearly 

 total in its history; 7283 more hogs, the 

 greatest number since 1933, and 5371 

 more calves, the largest volume since 

 1933. Reduction in the volume of sheep 

 and lambs handled by the Producers was 

 attributed to pasture conditions last sum- 

 mer and the price of feed in the fall of 

 1944. 



"The year 1944 has been a continu- 

 ation of agriculture's part in the war pro- 

 gram, and it is evident that 1945 will be 

 another chapter in the war story," Man- 

 ager Meiks said. 



Meiks pointed out that more meat ani- 

 mals were produced than ever before in 

 1944 — more even than government 

 authorities have asked for — more than 

 processors at times were able to care for. 



"Thousands of hogs and hundreds of 

 lambs have died at the producers' expense 

 while waiting for processing facilities to 

 take care of them," Meiks said. 



"With the greatest demand for meat 

 ever known this year's supply of hogs 

 have gone to market at a lower price 

 level than last year," he added. "The 

 Chicago Drovers Journal reports that the 

 average price of both cattle and hogs has 

 been $1 per hundred weight lower than 

 in 1943. What other essential products 

 are being sold at a lower price level 

 than a year ago or two years ago?" 



C. W. Sadd, manager, GLF Retail 

 Stores, Ithaca, N. Y., listed the objec- 

 tives a cooperative marketing associ- 

 ation shoultf have. 



Sadd pointed out that the average 

 housewife spends in cash each year 

 $500 for food. The producer finally 

 gets from $175 to $225 out of the 

 original $500. 



"What happens to the difference is 

 marketing whether conducted by pri- 

 vate or cooperative business," Sadd ex- 

 plained. "The ratio is two to one — 

 $2 for marketing and $1 for the prod- 

 uct. There is only one answer, as far 

 as the farmer is concerned, if he is to 

 get part of the $2, and that is market- 

 ing. If producers are to develop a 

 system of cooperative marketing, it 

 would seem best to list some of the 

 objectives they should have with such 

 a program. It seems to us that these 



are the principal objectives a cooper- 

 ative marketing association should 

 have: 



"1. To recover for farmers the max- 

 imum possible out of the $2 spent for 

 marketing. 



"2. To always have a market for 

 what farmers produce. 



"3. To gain a knowledge of con- 

 sumer requirements and thereby pro- 

 duce to meet their needs. 



"4. To operate so efficiently that the 

 cooperative becomes the operating 

 pace-setter for private business. 



"5. To keep ownership of such a 

 system with the farmers who use the 

 service." 



Ceiling on Cattle of $18 Is 

 Announced by Government 



A DIRECTIVE was issued Jan. 10 by 

 Economic Stabilization Director Fred 

 M. Vinson, which provides for five im- 

 portant changes in the cattle stabilization 

 program. In brief this directive is out- 

 lined by the USDA office of information 

 as follows: 



1. An over-riding ceiling of $18 ($17. 

 50 beginning July 2, 1945) on live cat- 

 tle and calves, per hundredweight, Chi- 

 cago basis. 



2. An increase of subsidy payments to 

 slaughterers who buy good and choice 

 cattle of 50 cents to $1, respectively. On 

 July 2, the increase in subsidy on choice 

 cattle will be reduced to 50 cents. 



3. Corresponding adjustments is stabi- 

 lization price ranges for good and choice 

 cattle. 



4. Payment in excess of the maximum 

 provided by the stabilization range for 

 cattle slaughtered during each monthly 

 period is made an OPA violation. 



5. Maximum percentages of good and 

 choice cattle which may be slaughtered 

 will be established by the OPA. 



The maximum and minimum prices 

 between the buyers average monthly price 

 of cattle must fall in order to qualify 

 for subsidy is known as the stabilization 

 range. 



The maximum price of the stabiliza- 

 tion range for choice cattle is being 

 raised $1 and the minimum on choice 

 cattle is being raised 50 cents. This will 

 hold until July 2 at which time both the 

 maximum and minimum levels of the 

 stabilization range for choice cattle only 

 will drop 50 cents. The maximum price 

 of the stabilization range for good cattle 

 is increased by 50 cents. These changes 

 are nationwide. 



Here is a table which shows the 

 changes in the stabilization ranges; fig- 

 ures are per hundredweight, live weight, 

 Chicago basis: 

 AA beef (choice) present range 



- $15-$16 



raised to $15.50-$17 



on or after July 2 $15-$l6.50 



A beef (good) present range 



- $14.25-$15.25 



raised to $14.25-$15.75 



The stabilization ranges for other 

 grades will remain as they are except that 

 minimums for all grades will be adjusted 

 so as to provide a uniform spread be- 

 tween the maximum and the minimum 

 prices of $1.50 per hundredweight 

 throughout the entire country. 



Individual purchases may be made at 

 prices over the stabilization range, but 

 not at prices which exceed the over-riding 

 ceiling. 



The average of the monthly drove must 

 fall within the stabilization ranges. 



Under the directive of Jan. 10, it will 

 be an OPA violation for a slaughterer to 

 pay more, on the average, than the maxi- 

 mum prices of the stabilization range for 

 the cattle purchased and slaughtered by 

 him over a month's period. (This does 

 not include calves.) 



OPA will specify to packers the per- 

 centages of good and choice cattle which 

 any slaughterer can slaughter or deliver 

 over a month's time. 



Name Working Committee 



on Livestock Problems 



A five-man working committee to study 

 ways and means of establishing a co- 

 ordinated livestock marketing program 

 for Illinois was named Jan. 26 at a meet- 

 ing of the state-wide Illinois Agricultural 

 Association Livestock Marketing commit- 

 tee in the lAA offices, Chicago. 



• Named to the committee were : Carl 

 Johnson, DeKalb county; Ed Gumm. 

 Knox; Byron Kline, McLean; Lawrence 

 Todt, Christian; J. P. Redman, Pulaski. 



The five-man committee set Feb. 8 for 

 its first meeting to be held in Chicago. At 

 that time the committee will outline its 

 procedure of study. 



A statewide lAA livestock committee 

 was set up in 1944 at the recomenda- 

 tion of Illinois producers. The state- 

 wide committee is composed of two rep- 

 resentatives from each of the 1 5 congres- 

 sional downstate districts together with 

 representatives of producer agencies. The 

 standing marketing committee of the lAA 

 board of directors heads up the statewide 

 livestock committee. 



The appointment of the five-man work- 

 ing committee on Jan. 26 by the state- 

 wide committee is the culmination of 

 previous meetings and sessions held to 

 study livestock marketing problems. 



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L A. A. RECORD 



