MARKETING 215 



realize a greater profit than when the hogs are blindly 

 thrown on the market, as they are in many cases. 



Produce what the market demands. — All those interested 

 in pork production are in the last analysis dependent 

 upon the demands of the ultimate consumer. We must, 

 therefore, learn what he desires, for if we have something 

 that is wanted there will be no trouble to sell it. We 

 must recognize that there are different kinds of pork. 

 What the ultimate consumer wants is pork that is tender, 

 juicy, palatable, and with as little waste as possible in 

 cooking. It must also present an attractive appearance 

 to sell well. The tenderness, juiciness and palatability 

 depend largely upon cooking. Of course not all of our 

 pork is sold over the block to be used as fresh pork, but 

 a very large portion of it is made up into cured pork 

 products, such as bacon, hams, shoulders, white or dry 

 salt meat and various canned and smoked products. In 

 general, these also must possess the qualities demanded 

 in fresh pork to command the best prices. 



Change in market demands. — An inspection of the 

 kinds of hogs coming onto southern markets today as 

 compared with ten years ago shows a marked difference. 

 Ten years ago the percentage of swine with improved 

 breeding predominating was much smaller than at pres- 

 ent. They were generally a year or more of age, and 

 the scrub and unimproved swine, of course, had no great 

 size. Today, however, we find the majority of the hogs 

 coming to the market show some evidence of breeding. 

 The present types are the early-maturing types, and a 

 large percentage are under one year of age. The hog 

 in greatest demand seems to weigh in the neighborhood 



