The gazette-times. [volume] (Heppner, Or.) 1912-1925, 1915-03-19
CONTINUED From Last Week }

ieiuse W put on prOIltdDle gains, IT is
always best to sell them, as the mar
ket is as apt to decline as it is to ad-
vance. have offered 1925 for hogs
which the owner was holding for a
$3.50 market and later bought the
same hogs at Sc. The owner lost SIPS
per cwt. and his hogs were not pay
ing for their feed, as they were fin
ished.
Value of Competitive Market.
would also suggest that in dis
posing OF your hogs you ship them
to an open market. The most logical
market for this locality is the Port
land Union Stockyards. BY con-
signing your hogs to one of the COM
mission firms at the stockyards you
will be assured of maximum results.
There is double competition there.
The commission men compete with
each other to secure your business
and will make special effort to Sc
cure the extreme price for your hogs,
as they know IL they do not they will
lose your business. Then, too, there
are buyers there representing all the
large slaughterers and most OF the
small killers In the Northwest. Comp
etition Is what you want, and it is
here that you get it. This is the
only open competitive market on the
Pacific Coast, and it is entitled to
your patronage. You must remem-
Der that the buyer who tries to buy
your hogs at your ranch bases his
price on the Portland market. You
have the Portland quotations and he
Is compelled TO use the Portland mar
ket as basis on which to buy your
hogs. You must also consider the
fact that he would not be at your
ranch unless he expects to buy them
cheaper than he could at Portland,
providing he represents packer. II
a country shipper, he must make a
profit on the transaction and you are
entitled to this profit. The country
shipper is very essential in localities
where the hogs are widely scattered
and each rancher has only few
head. He collects them In car lots
and ships them to market. But the
rancher who has carload or can
consolidate with some Of his neigh
bors and make up carload, should
consign them to the open market.
Community Shipments Popular.
l have purchased loads of hogs in
the Portland yards made up of hogs
owned by from Is to 20 different
ranehers. They are sorted up in the
yards, sold on their merits and the
expense pro-rated. Each owner gets
all there Is in his hogs In this man
ner. These community shipments
are becoming very popular. It GER
tainly looks like poor Judgment to
raise and fatten your hogs and then
divide the profits with another.
Some producers carry the idea that
the country shipper can get more for
hogs on the market than he can. This
is not the case by any means. The
hogs are consigned to commission
firm. Their salesman sells the hogs
at $40 per car commission. He will
probably have from five to Is cars
of hogs to show the buyer. The buy
er does not look at the shipper; he
Is not buying the shipper, but the
hogs, and it is immaterial to him who
shipped them in. What he wants is
quality in the hogs. 1t is not neces-
sary to know the ropes. Merely ship
your hogs to one of the commission
men at the yards. He will feed your
hogs, water them, sell them, see that
they are weighed properly, and give
you a check to cover the same day
the hogs are sold. You have nothing
to do but take the money. And il
you are not with the hogs he will
mail the check to you. He is giving
you the benefit of his experience for
a nominal charge, which amounts to
less than ! per cent on the transac-
tlon.
When a producer sells his own
hogs the buyer has all the advantage.
He is posted on the market; he does
nothing else but buy day after day
and naturally is in position to make
a better purchase than the producer
Is a sale. On the other hand, the
commission man is on the market
regularly. He can gauge the packers
requirements very closely and knows
Just when to ask higher price or
when to sell on a decline. Open mar
kets are the life of the livestock in
dustry and certainly deserve the sup
port of the producers.
Raise Better Hogs.