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Show THE LIVESTOCK SITUATION The dairy cattle industry throughout through-out the country is facing an acute crisis as a result of an apparent overproduction. over-production. Cold storage holdings of butter on January 1 totaled 81,837,000 pounds, as compared with only 43,783,-000 43,783,-000 a year previous. Butter prices have dropped sharply during recent weeks until prevailing prices are considerably under costs of production, produc-tion, acccording to creamery authorities. authori-ties. Not only is the producer taking a severe loss on his present butterfat output it appears that the creameries are in a very hazardous position. The decline in butterfat prices has. been brought about largely bv over-, I production and, it is said, particularly by over-production of fluid milk In herds adjacent to the large consuming centers. Surplus milk has been going; into the creameries for butter manufacture. manu-facture. American dairymen have had increased competition from foreign for-eign sources and, of course, various oil and animal fat substitutes for butter have proven serious competition. It looks as though the hog wall offer of-fer the dairyman the best and most profitable means to dispose of his surplus milk. ,Milk is a groat hog feed and, with supplies of hogs in the entire western country at a low ebb, it would appear good business for the dairyman to invite the lowly porker to aid in. the present predicament Tith a thick snow blanket covering the intermountain country and the Rocky Mountain districts, and heavy soakinp rainfall over the remainder of the Pacific Coast, stockmen are looking forward to good f eed for the : spring and summer season. Sheepmen Sheep-men in Utah and Nevada were facing extremely dry weather and the snow came just in time to provide water. Of course, hay supplies will have to i be drawn upon in the colder districts , of the northwest and extremely low ' temperatures may cause some death ' losses, yet the snow covering in the long run will prove of enormous bene- j fit to the cowman and the sheepman. ' There is a good demand for pure-j bred beef bulls of good quality and breeding. This was evidenced at the recent Ogden Live Stock Show when 1 the top Hereford bull sold for $1,000 and the entire consignment of bulls I averaged more than $400 per head. Cowmen have received good prices for their young stock particularly if of good breeding, and they feel that they can well afford to once more purchase good brec-.ling bulls at fair prices. Private reports received by the writer from the intermountain country coun-try and from California indicate that there- continues to be a gradual increase in-crease in hog production in the territory terri-tory which ordinarily ships to the Los Angeles market. Ten cent hogs on the Los Angeles market mean profitable pro-fitable returns to the general run of hog feeders and the fact that the January market has generally averaged aver-aged higher than the late fall market i:- regarded as very gratifying sign. Low prices for butterfat may also tend to stimulate interest in hog feeding feed-ing as a dairy cattle sideline. As evidence of the enormous demand for pork products in Southern California, Cali-fornia, it is interesting to know that ! the 1529 slaughter o? hor.r. in Los Angeles County totaled 732,5!! 5 by far the largest number ever before slaughtered in that section in one I year, and an incera? of nearly a hall' i million over 1520. I o |