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Show 'IS MjvestDclc jjjiuK : r Recent rains over the greatest part I of the pasture sections of California i during November have started feed growth. In the larger sheep and cattle cat-tle grazing sections, there already is a good stand of green feed which makes an increased demand for thin cattle for stoeker and feeder purposes. Arizona and New Mexico have been the principal cattle breeding and raising rais-ing states for the California range and feed lots and thousands of cattle have been moving into California from these states during the past few weeks, although Idaho, Utah and other states have, for many years, supplied large numbers of feeders and will doubtless continue to supply feeders to be fattened on California forage and grain and it should be remembered that we depend upon these northern states to a very large extent to supply our needs for fat stuff several months in the year. Lambing is now practically completed com-pleted in the heaviest .early lamb growing districts of California, which has become known as the producer of the earliest lambs in the United States. The . early lambs will start moving to market at normal periods, usually in March, although . there are some early lambs ready for market mar-ket as early as February. The season reaches its height in May and June. Last year, California shipped approximately approxi-mately 600,000 lambs to eastern markets. mar-kets. Most of these lambs moved out "on the hoof," although there is an increasing number being slaughtered in the state and shipped to large eastern east-ern consuming centers under refriger ation, and while the shipments of live lambs to the East represent the tops as far as it may be practicable to cut them out of the flocks, still it is true that a substantial percentage of the eastern shipments find their way to Middle Western feedlots for additional addition-al flesh. There is an active tone in the hog market and values are holding up remarkably re-markably well in view of the large supplies going into packer's . hands: Record runs are being received at the Los Angeles market and the year's "kill" will total more than 700,000 in Los Angeles county, showing a substantial sub-stantial increase over any previous year. Due to the fact that a large proportion of hogs consumed in California market average about 1 1-2 to 2 cents a pound higher than Mississouri River markets. The hog population is gradally increasing in the western states but not in proportion propor-tion to the increased demand. It is interesting in-teresting to note that the pork requirements re-quirements for 1928 in Los Angeles will show an increase of approximately approxima-tely 500 percent over 1912. As is always the case during a period peri-od of higher values, the cattle market mar-ket has been very sensitive during the past few months. Any offering above actual requirements is bound to temporarily depress values but with each such depressions, values have reacted upwards and the market mar-ket has every appearance of stability. Many authorities express the. view that the real cattle shortage may not make itself apparent until 1930. Certainly, Cer-tainly, the markets are still getting a large percentage of the stock. It would appear that cattlemen are still taking advantage of the higher values to liquidate their pressing indebtedness. indebted-ness. Most of the cows and heifers going to beef channels are of plain feeding, or else aged stock with a short period of usefulness ahead. Often, Of-ten, however, we see quite a few good females on the markets which should never have left the breeding herds. . Action of various sheep growers' associations in western states in taxing tax-ing themselves to carry on aggressive campaign to increase lamb consumption consump-tion is a move in the right direction. For a cost of only 1-2 cent per head, members of .these associations will find it possible to carry on a campaign cam-paign which, no doubt, will bring back to the industry many thousands of dollars through stimulating and holding values in line. The American public is eating only about 4 pounds of lamb per capita, as compared with 46 pounds of pork and 50 pounds of beef and veal, so it would seem that there is plenty of room for development develop-ment of the lamb business. |