The Richmond palladium and sun-telegram. [volume] (Richmond, Ind.) 1907-1939, 1915-01-01
farmers HOPE
!. FOR GOOD Year
IN STOCK LINE
Growers and FEEDER Expect
Strong Demand and High
Prices to Follow Recent
Disturbance.
~ A. .. ooDo.

Growers and tss6ers Of livestock
Ne looking forward - 1915 ~ year
y pleatS, marked By good prices and
,seroag demand fer oil classes Of AMI
malls. Last year was . disappoint
ment IN many respects to the feeders,
md tho market was affected BY one
calamity after another. during the last
lew months Of the year. Buyers BE-
name ovou>cauttouo on Z market that
Bsemed never to settle but broke ct
The tlrst sign Of large deliveries. or
poor quality. and the feeder suffered
The consequences.
The early part Of the year marked
, period Of prosperity for the feeders.
as the prices Of both hogs and cattle
we're atronS. and the market firm.
Durins the spring, cattle touched the
high mark. and ruled steady through
put the summer.
War oausss 0rsak.
The first break came with the dscla.
ration OF war in Europe. and the mar
ket went crazy. In the face Of such
IN unprecedented event, the buyers
and packers seemed 1t . loss just
what to expect. 30 they started IN to
buy up everything In sight. Hogs
went above the II cent mark. and the
farmers who had stuff ready to sell
wore broad smiles.
Quick retribution followed when tho
foot and mouth disease broke out, and
for q period Of time trade was practi-
cally suspended. Indianapolis was the
only market that remained open to
local trade, and the packers had 1t all
their own way. as they have since the
removal Of the quarantine, and this
time the farmers wore no smiles.
1t will probably be some weeks yet
before the fall crop Of fat hogs Is all
moved. and not until some time later
is 1t likely that the markets will re-
sumo a normal trend. Not only has
the feeder been forced to take the
price offered by the packer. but he
had to hold his hogs for weeks after
they were ready to 60, feeding them
high priced corn, and to add to the
injustice of it all. many Of these hogs
were bought as feeders on the 10 cent
market of August.
Farmers Anxious to Sell.
All Of these unsettled conditions
will probably have an important bear
/ ing on the trade for 1915. During a
time Of high prices such as prevailed
in August and September farmers are
over anxious to sell and often sacri-
flee their breeding stock on the mar
ket. Nearly every day during August
and early September, one could see a
number Of good brood sows at the
Glen Miller yards. Cholera ravaged
the country again in the fall. and this
coupled with the foot and mouth scare
caused other breeders to sell out. All
this must mean that there is likely
to be a shortage of breeding stock in
the country this year and a short crop
or pigs.
1t is impossible to foretell what the
Influence of the European struggle
will be. but the trade seems agreed
that when shipping opens up, this
country will be called upto to feed
Europe. The packers are preparing
for it, and the wise farmer is doing
the same thing. With short crop of
pigs. and an open foreign market. the
ious records next fall.
Means Empty Lots.
The cattle market presents another
problem. There are probably more
empty feed lots in the corn belt this
winter than for many years past The
foot and mouth disease came just at
the time when the feeders were ready
to stock up, and because they could
not get feeders or because they were
afraid of getting the disease, many
refused to bay this year. These
empty feed lots mean two things
They mean that on many farms there
Is a supply of unfed corn, that will
either be sold on the market, or fed
out next year. What is of more i'm
portance to the agricultural interests
Of the country. is the fact that there