Missouri Valley times. [volume] (Missouri Valley, Iowa) 1874-1931, 1903-04-23
BEEF MARKET OUTLOOK.
Continued Declines Have Discouraged
thu Producer of Beef.


the Producer of Beef.
Breeders Gazette: 1t must be admitted
that since the record-sma shing run OF
day which opened the International things
have gone badly with tho producer OF
beef. Tho decline already begun was
given strong tillip that day and for
weeks 1t was one long continued story OF
falling values. There WAS much to dis-
courage, but few men took the trouble to
canvas the situation In II calm. methodic,
bustncss-like manner. Confidence bctook
itself to the tallc.t of the timber and day
after day thousands of cattle were poured
on an overstocked market. feeders caring
for nothing apparently but to get rid Of
the stock Many men We're so placed that
they could not help themselves, but moro
could have done SO had they chosen. In
stead of striving to stem the current they
did their best (whether they meant TO or
notl to raise the stream of disaster tar
above the danger line and beef. profit
corn and ALL went off floating In the flood.
The more conservative and less-easily
scared man held his cattle, gritted his
teeth and waited. " lille waiting his cat
ened and when the thick-fat beeves ana
this demand got together the loss did not
figure out half 80 terrible as it threatened
at one time Eventually the rush wore
itself out. The unprecedented drought
OF 1901 Insured a vast supply OF beef In
1905. Some of 1t is still on hand In the
foediots. but the bulk of 1t has passed
through the shambles and with the gov
erunaeut figures as to supplies at Janu-
Sln incr is nothing
now to fear. True, 1t was a panicky time
a while ago but its worst was caused by
lack OF confidence in the future. Now
confidence prevails assin. Naturally
when every farmer was throwing his
merely warmed-up stuff on the market
there was only Very limited demand for
feeders Now the demand for feeders Is
very brisk and prices the highest OF the
season. the highest they have been for
many months.
There is 4 lesson In all this Beef was
soaring to record breaking heights last
summer. When the surplus broke the
price the packers demanded an inings and
got II with a vengeance. They use the
hammer freely yet, as they know that IN
the face of the facts 1t cannot be very
long before they must pay much more for
their goods on the hoof Besides this all
through the colder weather various social
and economic factors necesstated the
purchase OF Yer: cheap meat by hundreds
of thousands of citizens. 1t was q few
cents Il pound or nothing That was an
additional incentive TO hammer the mar
l.et Now this Is changing. The demand
for this very cheap meat is not nearly so
large as it was. Mutton and lamb, owing
to shortened supplies. are higher than
they have been for long time while pork
IS totally beyond the reach of certain
large class of consumers If we are to
have Scent pork and I-cent mutton be-
fore very long there will be a call for beef
on the butchers blocks that must exert
Il most salu;ar3 influence on prices for cat-
tie ca the heci.
Supplies OF feeding cattle In the country
ya,tis are no, at all excessive anywhere.
In the cast, Pennsylvania, Ohio and In
diana, they are beiow the normal. Buy
ors froil those ferti c states have been
busy in The city oi laie selecting droNes TO
take home with them. They have even
eonc TITO the pens TO compete with the
s!aughteters for steers already fed some
corn ard the result has been that with
top beef steers selling at s5.75 per cwt.
feeders have been bought at s.. Nor have
purchases of such feeding sorts been con-
ined 70 eastern men. Buyers from Illi-
nos aud other middle states have been
just az eager as they 10 get the right
kind. There is much of promise in this.
1t shows that confidence has been re-
stored. which is emphasized by the fact
that the demand Is first for the best feed
ers, those averaging around 1000 pounds
and Of the "ninety-dayH variety. We
know Il costs from So to sl2 per cwt. to
put gain Oh q steer of this kind. We
know exactly what must happen IL these
transactions are TO be profitable. The con-
fdeEce with which men buy these cattle
indicates clear belief in profitable out
Simmered down 20 i,- .sss...~
market is IN a very fair position. There
are cattle to come, the tag end of the
drought years supply that under no cir
cumstances will sell for high prices and
these will have ID tendency to pull back
for short time, bur before long prices
must rise again higher than they now arc
and profitable level once more be es-
IA ltcna