OCR Text |
Show 1935 Sees Many Notable Changes Los Angeles, California, December De-cember 10, 1935 As the year draws to a close, stockmen are taking inventory on a rather remarkable re-markable year. The year has been remarkable in the sharp changes from conditions in the previous year. The most serious drouth conditions in many years took a heavy toll from the livestock live-stock population in 1934,. prices were for the most part ruinously low. Conditions were reversed in 1935 when most of the western country had unusually good feed and range conditions and prices of all kinds of livestock mounted to levels that brought back a reasonable rea-sonable degree of . prosperity to many in the livestock indu. try. Early in 1935, it became apparent appar-ent that there was an acute shortage short-age of both cattle and hogs, due to the combination of drouth, shortage of- feed and government activities. Prices of cattle mounted mount-ed to the highest levels in several years. California cattlemen were particularly fortunate in that a large share of the California grass cattle were sold during the spring months when prices were at the year's peak. Looking back, it is probable that the extremely high prices reached during the spring months, while very welcome wel-come to those who had stock to sell, had some reaction. The sudden sud-den advances caused some consumer con-sumer complaint, serious in some sections of the country because of injection of radical propaganda. As the year advanced, cattle prices saj'ged somewhat although averaee prices throughout the year have averaged well above last year. The most sensational advance was in the hog market, prices 'lining most of the year averaging averag-ing nearly fifty per cent above the 1931 average. As the year closes, good quality fed steers are selling at $7.50 to ?x.r.O. as compared with $0.00 to .'7.25 a year ago. Last year California Cali-fornia cattlemen were buying their feeding steers at $1.00 to $4.7:., while the present quotations quota-tions are $0.00 to $7.00 for cattle of similar quality. A year ago this week, the best market hogs (Continued on last page) LIVESTOCK NOTES (Continued from first page) were selling at $6.35 a cwt., while the prevailing top on the Los Angeles market this week is $10.75. Last year at this time, choice fed lambs topped the market mar-ket at $7.00; this week the same quality of lambs would sell at $10.00. With general reports of improved im-proved business conditions, stock- ':y -men have a right to be in an optimistic opti-mistic frame of mind. Supplies of cattle and lambs are not expected ex-pected to be excessive during the next year and a broader consumer buying power should assure the industry a fair degree of prosperity. |