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Show THE LIVESTOCK SITUATION Speaking of marketing, it is more than a coincidence that all perishable perish-able commodities are marketed through central agencies in or near the great centers of population. The distance from the point of production produc-tion to the populated sections merely mere-ly changes the factor of transportation transporta-tion cost, and not the principle of marketing. Shipping our fruits, vegetables and meat to central sales agencies saves the consumer and the industry the cost of going to the many places of production and makes mak-es competition in selling. Not many years ago our citrus crop was largely marketed through middlemen and speculators who went to the grove and bargained for the crop at practically their own prices, selecting and taking only the best fruit. They had no interest in improving conditions but merely to gather the crop and merchandise it to their advantage. The result was that the growing of fruits and vegetables veg-etables was unprofitable; but when we began to get proper railroad transportation (refrigerator cars) the producers found a way out to the consuming centers of the east, and that fact made the difference between profit and loss to the grower; that is, sending the product to central agencies at consuming centers, there to be sold to the highest high-est bidder. The very perishable nature of fruits, vegetables and meat carried with it a natural tendency to shift responsibility of shrink, decay, etc. When the bullock is ready, good business demands prompt movement to the packing plant and when the product is prepared, the perishable nature makes the packer a ready seller of all fresh cuts. In our vegetable business, right in the very heart of production we have big terminal markets to which the producer brings his products. The retailers go to this point for their supplies and the people go to the retailers. That is the setup today to-day and that is the best plan we know of. Some (suggestions have been made to place the products of the tree and soil on our tables direct di-rect from the ranch. That, manifestly, mani-festly, would cut out some of the middlemen, but when we figure the expense attached to such distribution, distribu-tion, we would apparently be jumping jump-ing from the frying pan into the fire. Fresh meat and vegetables are bought, as a rule, from day to day, owing to their perishable nature, and the more convenient the supply, the more salable the product. We have already found that the fruit and vegetable business was never profitable until shipped to central markets. In this section we still find some who advocate selling livestock live-stock at the farm and this notwithstanding notwith-standing the history of the business in other sections of the country, and also in the face of the marketing of other perishables. Marked changes come about slowly slow-ly and that is the way it should be. All the marketing plans should be weighed with the greatest degree of care in order to make sure that we are really progressing. In a general way, anything that adds to the cost of distribution hurts the industry as a whole. Cattle Situation Our new census will show an enormous en-ormous increase in population in the western states. The people want meat every day and are willing to pay a reasonable price for quality. Nobody wants to see the prices go back to the old unprofitable levels and there is no good reason for it. But we must keep in mind that the' production of meat food is a business busi-ness and that the popular kind is well finished, lightweight cattle. The heavyweights are seasonal and a seasonal product is often difficult to sell. Feedlot finishing in the western states is comparatively a new thing, but it is a step in the right direction, in order that we may have an all-year-round supply. There is nothing noth-ing to get panicky about because 'ups and downs' are the natural working of inexorable laws. The best anybody can hope to get out of the cow business is a fair average over a period of time. The fellow who gets out at the low point and gets in at the high point is just out of luck and will never make a dependable de-pendable source of supply nor do himself or the industry any good. |
