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Show Meat Shortage Cause Discussed By Meat Packing Officials 0 The United States will need about 27 billion pounds of meat during the next 12 months, to take care of requirements of civilians, armed forces and export. This is based upon requests from the secretary of agriculture. But it seems likely that the peak of heavy slaughter for this year may have passed and Chicago meat trade authorities believe that we may fall four billion pounds short of our goal unless there is very definite defi-nite action taken to encourage livestock live-stock feeding. The trouble rests with the extreme ex-treme difficulties in carrying out the marketing of beef due to the complex nature of the meat business. busi-ness. There apparently is not sufficient suf-ficient price spread between the market prices of feeder steers and fat steers, a situation that must be ironed out to encourage the finishing fin-ishing of beef. The fact is that the present scale of prices precludes profit in feeding cattle, despite the abundance of feed and forage and the large number of people who have the knowledge and facilities to produce an abundance of choice beef. Cattle feeding has declined in the middle west and also in the far west. Central Arizona feedlots, are estimated to be carrying a third fewer cattle than a year ago, and the decrease in the big southern California cattle feeding area is estimated es-timated at 15 per cent. There is only one means of producing pro-ducing more meat during the period of the war and that is through feedlot finishing. We can't produce more animals because the laws of nature tell us that it takes a matter mat-ter of years to breed more cows and permit the growing of calves to the point where they become animals ani-mals weighing 1000 pounds or more. But we can put 200 to 300 pound;:, more weight on all the cattle we have by restoring the feedlot finishing; finish-ing; and we can increase the weight of millions of pigs we now have by longer feeding rriori, Hog prices iiaVe UAliaua"WL''i..' 'TT from the recent peak and the top on the Los Angeles market last week dropped to $15.35. Cattle prices also worked lower last week, particularly on cows which worked 25 cents to 50 cents lower. At the close of the week, medium quality fed steers brought $13 to $13.25 and good, fed steers were quoted at $14 or betted; common com-mon steers, including Mexicans, $10 to $12. Good quality fed heifers reached $13.50 and $13.60 last week, grass heifers $10 to $12. Range cows are now bringing $9.50 to $10.75 and strictly good cows up to $11 or better; dairy cows for slaughter mostly $8 to $9.25; bulls $10 to $11.25; native vealers $13 to $15 and up to $16 for choice; slaughter range calves $11.50 to $13.50. Feeder steers went out at $11 to $11.50, Teeder heifers $10 to $10.60. Medium to good quality wooled lambs are quoted at $13 to $13.75. |