The Cordele dispatch. (Cordele, Ga.) 19??-1971, 1917-04-22
PROFIT IN HOG RAISING.

PROFIT IN HOG RAISING.
A telegram received at Milhayen,
Screven county, Ca, recently, read:
"Car of hogs averaged ii cents or
$4,000 for the load"
That car of hogs established new
price record for Georgia if not for the
South. It also explodes the theory
quite generally accepted that the south
does not produce hogs good enough
to ship to northern markets. 1t also
establishes the fact that it pays to
ship out Of the state when the hogs
have quality. At the time those hogs
brought II cents local packers were
paying to 10 cents.
The coming Of the boil Weevil is
causing many changes to take place
in Georgia agriculture. Probably this
year will see more marked changes
than any year so far. The cutting
down of the cotton acreage leaves ad-
ditional acres for other crops. In
South Georgia these crops will be dl-
vided into general classes: Truck and
feed crops Many acres will be
devoted to canteloupe, tobacco, sweet
potatoes, melons, etc. There will also
be planted a large acreage of corn
and velvet beans.
The raising of peanuts on CONNER
-cfaT scale is a new venture. Already
several cotton oil mills are getting
ready to buy peanuts and make peanut
oil This will mean quantities OF pea
nut cake for hog feed.
Peanut cake, ground velvet beans
and corn make hog feed that pro-
duces a piece of meat equal to corn
feed. Recent experiments have shown
this to be true and it means much
to the farmers who have heretofore
sold their peanut-fattened hogs for
IL cents a pound less than corn-fed
hogs, because the meat was soft and
the lard too oily.
The high prices of meat will no
doubt stimulate added interest in hog
raising But the southern farmer has
much to learn about raising hogs for
market before he will be able to get
the best price. The first thing he must
realize is that Georgia hogs in the
nast have been marketed during the
four months of the winter. None
are marketed in the spring, summer
or fall One crop is fattened and mar
keted at a time when everybody has
fat hogs to sell and hence the price
paid is the lowest Of the year.
III proof of this look at the price
being paid---10 cents a pound live
weight Did any OF the Georgia pack
ers pay 10 cents in November, Deem
Der or January? Then why pay it in
March? The answer is plain. Be
cause fat hogs are scarce. Farmers
have sold None are on feed for
spring delivery.
If one would look at the prices paid
for hogs at the principal Northern
markets during the past ten years,
one would find the lowest prices dur
ing November, December and Jan
uary, with the latter month the low
est Of all. After January prices be
gin to pick up and increase until April
when a decline sets in and prices run
down again until June. About the first
Of July prices begin to start up and
by September first reach the highest
point of the whole year.
Marketing one crop OF hogs q year
and selling at a time when prices are
the lowest OF the year is not the best
way to play the hog game. But when
the south Georgia farmer will grow
feed enough TO market two crops of
hogs a year-one in April and one
in September, he will begin to Won
der why he spent so much time fool,
ing around with other things. Get
ting $4,000 for a car Of hogs tells a
story that should be plain enough ad.
vice for every farmer to know what
10 do from now on.