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Show demand for feeders on the Pacific Coast- For the good of the meat trade and the industry in general, it is to be hoped that we may witness considerable improvement in the quality of cattle on the Southwestern ranges. It is good to know that in the restocking re-stocking of Arizona and New Mexico cattle ranches, cowmen generally are sold on the idea of pure bre;d bulls and cutting down the number to be carried on the range. their stocker anfl feeder cattle. With two early rains, there are many op timistic enough to believe that California Cali-fornia may have a "wet" winter, which means, plenty of range feed. If so, there will soon be a very broad Cattle receipts at the principal markets during the late fall and : summer period have been heavier j than generally had been anticipated and price declines on Missouri River markets were quite severe during September. However, there is nothing noth-ing unusual in a September decline, as the meat trade is forced to absorb not only middle western short-fed and grass cattle, but the large supplies sup-plies of western range stock as well. The fact that a great many cattle are going into killers' hands does in no way prove that the widely discussed dis-cussed cattle shortage does not exist. ex-ist. W'hile there appears to be an abundance of forage and hay in the Corn Belt, the corn crop did not measure up to expectations, forecasting forecast-ing higher corn prices. Further, Corn Belt cattle feeders last year laid in their thin cattle at prices that proved to be out of line with beef values. The result was that the average Corn Belt feeder failed to make money many lost heavily with the final result that the Corn Belt is not buying thin cattle for feeder purposes to the extent that thev rlid last. fall. This forces too many western range cattle into meat channels and supplies have been burdensome. The demand for stocker and feeder cattle this season is far short of last year. It will be remembered that at this time last fall, the bulk of the Southwestern stocker and feeder cattle had alrea'dy been contracted, largely to go to the middle west. Very few contracts have been made this year and what few sales have been made in Texas, New Mexico and Arizona are from 1 to 2 cents a pound lower than a year ago, so that range cattlemen are again disposed to seek buyers for their cattle on the open markets, where they feel that supply and demand will establish values fair both to the buyer and the seller. It is worth while to consider the predicament the Southwestern cowman cow-man would be in today were it not for the availability of the big, central market, where he can always "cash" his cattle to better advantage than would be possible at home. Central markets always have served and always al-ways will serve the best interests of the producer. But granted that now and then a cowman can make a better bet-ter sale at home, what would his situation be if the radical few "agin-er's" "agin-er's" had been successful in their i efforts to wipe out the open markets? When the buyers fail to come to the country, the average cowman hasj reason to be glad that the open mar-., kets. with their great competitive buying rower, are still available. The chances are that more and; more, and particularly this season, j t lie Southwestern cowmen will look towards California as an outlet for- |