Show lb Livestock Situation i. i I Is Los s Angeles April 7 As As rei etI PI In previous articles the opinion a among among a. a mon mong close observers r has been that tha the supply of hogs available for market market mar mar- ket during the present year would woul not become excessive This in spite of predictions in many quarters that hi high h pork prices and low feed costs would encourage an n immediate over over- production It is true that production has been I slightly increased Increase due to the above situation but hut there have been some factors which have to some extent ot orr ot the Increase The principle one of these has been the high prices I were so attractive to many growers that they curtailed breeding in order to take quick profits and nd for tor that reason considerable breeding stock passed parsed to the packing plant instead of the farrowing pen The angle tingle from which this class of producers the situation inS has some logic as they felt that In Indisposing Indisposing indisposing disposing of breeding stock they could take advantage of the high prices and then make their replacements replacements replace replace- ments of breeding stock later at lower low low- er r prices In other words they would get out of the business at the high highpoint highpoint point and go back into it at a lower point This appears to have been quite a factor in sustaining price levels but of course these producers are now confronted with the fact tact that through getting out of the business they have acted as a means of sustaining prices BO so they will either have to remain out for lor some little time or replace their stocks at prices pretty well in inline 1 line with those at which they disposed of their breeding animals No doubt a factor t too o in so some e breeders letting go of their stock has been the fear of overproduction during during dur duro ing the coming year and this might have materialized if everyone had stayed in the business although a n close check of the hog in inthe inthe I Ithe the country would indicate that there i iwas was very little danger of this even though the most favorable returns 1 were realized The manner in which the hog producer pro- pro ducer has reacted to high prices speaks well of the tendency in all nil lines of production toward a n better balanced operation This same situation is being be ing evidenced in sheep and cattle production That Is the absence of the ho rush of people going into production production pro pro- because those who are in it seem to be prospering In days gone by jy the tendency has been to endeavor to o follow market prices with production Jon tion and the result has generally been that hat they have been on the wrong side of the fence when prices were high high ligh they started into production and by the time they got in prices had reacted resulting largely from over over- production However with the growing practice tice ice of making available to the producer producer pro pro- ducer authentic information on the lable supply of different com com- the probable demand and the general agricultural situation the pro pro- ducer is pretty well guided and is getting letting away from the idea of rushing rush rush- Ing ng headlong into production as a result of attractive price levels which might prove temporary if the supply were vere overbalanced |