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Show iljg - f In order to break even, most hog growers say that they must . receive 10 times the corn price for live hogs, or around $4.50 or better at this time. Thus the hog feeder is suffering suffer-ing financial loss on all hogs sold at this time. Growers are calling upon Secretary of Agriculture Wallace to reduce the tax to not exceed $1.00 a cwt., in place of the present federal processing tax of $2.25. The past few weeks have brought a rather surprising upturn in values of both cattle and lambs, while the hog market continues in unsatisfactory unsatisfac-tory condition. Rising beef cattle' prices cause increased sentiment among all Cattlemen against any program, pro-gram, calling, for controlled production produc-tion and a processing tax. While Pacific Pa-cific coast markets have not yet re-fleeted re-fleeted higher middle western cattle orices, there is a general feeling that as soon as supplies of fat cattle decline de-cline on the Pacific coast, some up-1 ward revision in cattle prices will be- j -ome necessary in order for coast ; ackers to compete for supplies with Missouri river and eastern packers. The advance in fat cattle prices has been nothing short of spectacular, with Chicago reporting heavy fed teers up to $9.00 and $9.50, a gain of practically 100 per cent over what the steers of similar weight and quality qual-ity were bringing at the close of last year. It should be borne in mind that the higher prices being paid in Chicago Chi-cago are for comparatively fewj weighty steers, and the general run f lighter steers and cows show relatively rela-tively less advance. In other words, ; iside from choice weighty cattle, the advance has not carried the general list of beef prices much higher. Onj the Pacific coast, beef is still cheap-, er than any other meat, and much' of the decreased pork slaughter is being replaced with beef. j Lamb prices also have advanced in the east and middle west. Choice', California lambs are going east so that most of the supplies remaining: for coast packers are of medium to good grades. There has been little change in the Los Angeles market, with medium to good lambs quoted at $7.50 to $8.50. j There is growing sentiment among hog raisers that something will have to be done about the processing tax; an hogs. Only a handful of growers; so far have received their benefit j payments, which are designed to off-j set the amounts paid by packers, less; administration expense. As the matter mat-ter now stands, middle western farmers farm-ers are forced to feed 45-cent corn to Aeir hogs, and the hogs are worth! less than 3 cents a pound on the farm.' |