OCR Text |
Show Figures recently published indicate that the total number of cattle slaughtered slaugh-tered under Federal supervision at the principal markets show a decrease of 400,000 head for the first five months of this year compared with last year. This mean a decrease of about 200,-000,000 200,-000,000 pounds of beef or a per capita decrease in consumption of about two pounds. In the face of this national decrease, the Los Angeles slaughter of cattle for May broke all previous records, and the slaughter for the past year to date is substantially more than preceding years. This situation is the most significant signifi-cant from the standpoint of the Wes-oducer Wes-oducer as in years gone by his only outlet was at the Middle Western and Eastern markets, but with the phenominal development of consumer demand on the Pacific coast, he enjoys a choice of markets. If the Eastern ''o not look favorable, he may ship to the coast. Another feature in the progress be-;n be-;n made in the West toward stabil-:z;ng stabil-:z;ng the cattle situation is that from a few year3 ago, when the West was largely a producer of feeders to be finished out in the corn belt for Eastern East-ern consumption, the situation has changed until the West is finish feed ing many of its calves and feeders to supply the Western demand. It has not been so long ago that the feeders from as far West as the Pacific coast have moved to the corn belt for finishing fin-ishing and in many cases dressed beef has been shipped back to supply coast demand, this practice representing, of course, an unsound situation from an economical standpoint. With the tendency in the West toward to-ward finish feeding of livestock to supply Western demand, the corn belt is confronted with the problem of finding find-ing a new territory from which to draw its supply of feeders and many observers are now advocating the corn belt raising its own calves, predicting it is only a question of time until the I supply of calves produced in the West and the Pacific Southwest will be utilized utili-zed entirely for Western feeding operations op-erations to supply the Western con- sumer demand. In summing up it would appear to . be a most healthy situation from the standpoint of the producer in having the Pacific coast market outlet available avail-able to him, with the figures showing show-ing as they do, the utilization of constantly con-stantly increasing number of cattle . in the face of a decline in slaughter : figures nationally, such as recorded ' above. |