Show 0 CZ A ae live st 0 e k situation t bation 1 I los angeles union stock yards doc dec 8 reports from the western states as regards the cattle feeding situation indicate that there will be a sizeable reduction in the number of cattle fed this season here in los angeles county the number of cattle in feed lots at the end of november 1938 was st set s t at which Is only 56 per cent of the head that were in teed feed lots L bt re during the litter latter part of 0 november 1937 estimates place the number of cattle in the imperial valley at about which Is below normal all through the state we are advised there aie fewer cattle on oil teed feed than last year arizona also shows a substantial decrease in the number of 0 cattle on teed feed feed prices generally are the lowest in the past several years the tha spread in price between feeder and tat fat cattle ot of recent months has been very narrow in fact in relation to the level ot of cattle prices it has been about the narrowest on record notwithstanding this the corn belt feeder has sot set the market in the southwest for stockers sl and feeders buying them at a price which our western feeders are reluctant to pay the latter cannot see in the present price level of fat cattle a chance for or reasonable margin over the cost ut of the stockers and feeders corn belt feeders must have livestock in some form to lo move their cros crops even at the present price of tat fat cattle they figure they will get more out of their corn by feeding at horns home rather than selling the corn on the present markt this situation has been responsible for or the continued purchase so of 0 feeder cattle at levels little lower than tat fat cattle prices southern california has had bad practically no moisture so tar far this year other sections of 0 the state are spotted in the central and northern part of the state where there has been considerable rain the grass la Is started sufficiently to encourage ranchers to stock up As soon as wo we begin to got the usual rainfall there will be an increased demand for stockers stock cra and feeders after all california and other southwestern states are not much different from the corn belt in the marketing ot of our grain and forage through livestock at the present time there is a good domand demand for bt and feeders from these sections that have food fd that can be marketed to best advantage only through livestock As somewhat affecting the siua giua tion generally tl ti is well to kimp keep kim p in III mind that hog prices ae now down to a polut where pork products aru are going to enter more extensively in competition with beet beef and lamb and it logically follows that a shortage of cattle will be offset by increased pork supplies |