Monroe City Democrat. (Monroe City, Mo.) 1888-1919, 1912-08-08
VALUE OF THE SHIPPER.
The Part He Plays in Buying and
Selling Live Stock.

The live stock shipper is an impor.
tant factor in the modern selling sys.
TEN. His uses and benefits are many.
His first service to the industry is to
round up consignments from farmers
who wouldn't otherwise have the ben
eft of a good market The farmer
with only few head or half a car
load can't send his stuff to market
himself. He hasn't enough of it to
make it pay. And probably it's mixed
stuff. He has some medium weight
hogs-a dozen or so, a few pigs,
couple of heifers, cow and maybe
bull. The animals are good enough.
But the buyers don't want them in
such small lots. The hogs must be
punched in with other hogs, enough
to make car load. This the shipper
does by buying other hogs of the
same weight and sends them into the
National Stock Yards as full load.
The price he'll get on the full load
will be greater per head by far than.
these same animals would bring il
they were sent in by themselves as
part of a general consignment.
He'll round up heifers enough to
make load, pigs enough, maybe
enough cows to make q showing. and
when his car gets to market it wiA
be sorted out. In fact the commission
man at the yards helps the shipper by
sorting consignments to suit de-
mands. The live stock business pays
premium for sorted stuff.
Another advantage is the cash the
| shipper pays. He gives the farmer
his money then and there, without de-
| what he will get, besides saving him
| journey to market. The prices he
payI are generally so near the mar
ket that farmers are glad to get them.
They are usually higher than the
small consignments would bring If
| sent In direct by the feeder.
The shipper is usually a business
man on good terms with his bank
He can finance the STOCK ne handles
without difficulty. He quite often
works in harmony with the farmer in
the matter of securing him stockers
and feeders at the National Yards,
perhaps advancing money to buy
stock or meet feed bills and stimulat.
ing the feeder to keep up the good
work at times when he might get dis
couraged.
Shippers are widely acquainted
through their districts. Some shippers
make long trips in autos or with their
norsemobiles, These trips are a ben
eft to the farmer. They bring him q
message straight from the man who
is in contact with the market. They
talk things over between them, dis
cuss crops and pass along a whole
world of information that is strictly
practical.
The shipper keeps closely in touch
with market conditions, usually by
wire, and when the time is ripe tele-
phones round and buys stock at prices
which the farmer might not know
we're being offered If It were not for
the shipper. The shipper wants to
make money, of course. But he wants
the farmer to make money, too. So
he will stay in the business, even
when feed is as high as it is now, and
sell his stuff to the shipper. Hence the
shippers aim is to be able to offer
good prices and yet make some profit
for himself Shrewd farmers say they
would rather let the shipper make
some money now and then and take
all the risk themselves.
The most successful commission
firms, like the National work in close
touch with shippers as well as farm.
ers and make no distinction between
them.