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Show Los Angeles Union Stock yards, January 22, 1940 With the 193? slaughter of hogs the largest in the United States since 1934, American consumers are eating considerably more pork and lard than in any recent year. The great national packing plants are now able to utilize their facilities in a more efficent and economical manner, making it possible for the larg'er packers to operate on a more profitable basis than was the case during the years of hog shortage. Pork prices to the consumer are relatively low; in fact, pork is now selling at considerably below the 1914 average. Joining with packers, producers and other organizations, the national association asso-ciation of food chains are now engaged in publicizing- a "national "nation-al economy pork sale" during the period from February 1 to 10, and again from February 29 to March 9. United States) hog slaughter under federal inspection in 1939 totaled 41,368,000 hogs, a gain of 14 over 1938. Further heavy marketings are expected in the spring of 1940, as the 1939 fall farrowings totaled 31,985,000 head, or a gain of 16 over the 1938 fall crop. The advertising and publicity campaign will be watched with much interest. Hog growers are said to be contributing a sizable sum for national advertising, which will fit in with the advertising advertis-ing and special merchandising pro- grams of retail stores, chains and j the meat packers themselves. While of course I am 'in full sympathy with the efforts to increase in-crease pork and lard sales, it seems to me that it is time for the livestock and meat packing industry in-dustry to develop a permanent, long-time advertising program which will help to avoid the serious seri-ous price declines which have enveloped en-veloped the hog markets during recent months. As a matter of fact, the pork supplies at this time should not be considered excessive ex-cessive in comparison with supr plies of 1910-1914, but) we have been short of hogs in recent years, due both to efforts at artificial control of production by the government, and because of drouth conditions in 1934. We need a permanent, nationwide nation-wide advertising campaign in which all factors in livestock and meat production and merchandising merchandis-ing should cooperate year in and year out. That would go far toward to-ward preventing the serious price declines which occur whenever nature in her bounty provides a slightly larger than usual supply of meat food. |