Show improvement NOT LOOKED L FOR IN beff BEEF VALUES UNTIL L LATE ATE los loa angeles jan I 1 livestock values dropped to the lowest levels in many years in 1932 with the close of the year finding prices at ai the low ebb what the immediate future otters offers remains to be seen yet it Is difficult to sense any substantial stant lal improvement unless there la Is a decidedly better tone in general business conditions and greater employment in any improvement pro in business and industry generally stockmen stoc kmen are in good statistical position to benefit as supplies ot of livestock are not burdensome under anything like ilka normal demands there aro are sharply decreased numbers of cattle in feedlots reed feed lots both in the middle west and the western country generally these reductions were the result ot of restricted credit facilities and lack of enthusiasm thusia sm on tho the tart part of cattle feeders those who had supplies of grain and other feed on hand but lacked tho the ability to finance purchases of feeder cattle or lambs attempted to interest producers in the idea ot of shipping them stock to be fed out on a cooperative or profit sharing basis while this theory sounds good on paper it did not work out in a satisfactory manner in the of 1931 32 there are smaller supplies of cattle on tho the ranges of california than during any winter in many years likewise the population ot of ewes has decreased and a smaller 11 spring pring lamb crop than any time in th the a past three years Is forecast thus both the cattle and sheep men hay havo am smaller her mun numbers bers on a hand and ana any improvement in consumer buying power may be expected to bring about a more satisfactory is price condition that buying power is relatively better ta in southern california than in most other othe r sections of the court coun try ry may be realized when it la Is seen that the total livestock slaughter in los angeles county in 1932 aggregated lead head as against head in 1931 cattle and hog slaughter showed a good increase while kill of calves and lambs showed a 9 slight decrease from the previous year it la Is also interesting to know that los angeles angelea county are utilizing per centon fall the cattle slaughtered in the state per cent of the bogs and per cent ot of the sheep and lambs the 35 licensed slaughter ers in los loa angeles county are thus converting well over 40 per cent ot of all the livestock slaughtered in the state despite the fact that there aro are 28 26 licensed plants in san francisco bay area and in other sections ot of the state los angeles packing plants have operated at full capacity during the past 12 months and the tact fact that stock has been here bere from more than a dozen states indicates that market prices at los angeles are relatively higher than at any other major center |