The citizen., 1918-02-28
MORE LIVE STOCK,
UNCLE SANS aim
Experts Consider Methods That
May Be Used to Encour-
age Production.
ACCESS TO MARKETS NEEDED
investigators Believe Cooperative
Shipping Organizations Are Of
Greatest Aid to Small
Producer.

At this time above all others, Il is
pointed out by experts Of Uncle SANS
department Of agriculture, better mar.
ketlng facilities are essential to the in.
crease In live stock production, espe.
clally In the South. which is desirable
from every point Of view.
Various methods of improving the
present situation IN this respect have
been tried out. Among the most i'm
portant are the organization Of coop.
erative shipping and marketing clubs
and OF local live stock buying com
panles. the establishment of local pack.
ing houses, the custom of holding live
stock sales cn advertised dates, and
the use of local Ice plants in curing
farm meat.
Cooperative Shipping Best.
or these, in the opinion of experts
of the department. cooperative ship
ping is one that Is being most gen.
orally adopted In the United States,
and the one most worthy Of consider
alton. Associations for this purpose
have met with marked success in the
middle West, and are equally well
adapted TO conditions in some parts of
the South. They enable the small pro-
ducer to ship his animals to central
lied live stock markets at no greater
cost of transportation than is paid by
the dealer who ships in carload lots.
In this way. the farmer Is made inde-
pendent of local buyers. Another
great advantage, II is pointed out, of
such associations Is that they are sim
pie in organization and require no cap
ital to do business.
In one Mississippi city the board OF
trade has created somewhat more
complex organization, In order to pro-
vide the farmers Of the surrounding
country with a good local market for
their live stock throughout the year. A
company has been organized with a
paid-in capital of $500 provided by
local business men, in the hope Of in
creasing production of live stock in
the section. No dividends are paid and
the operating expenses of the company
are reduced to the minimum. On two
days of each week throughout the year
the company buys live stock for cash
in any sized lots, at prices which are
the equivalent of those prevailing at
the large centralized markets, less the
cost of sending the animals to these
markets.
Brings Higher Prices.
The immediate result of this move
ment, II is said, has been higher prices
paid by local butchers. and their will
ingness to pay cash for live stock, in
stead Of insisting that payment be
made by extending credit to the pro-
ducer. Incidentally, the operations
Of the company have shown that live
stock can be bought and shipped to
the large markets, and a number of
private dealers have undertaken to
compete with the company. This has
naturally, stimulated live stock pro-
ductiOn In the surrounding country.
These and similar methods are de-
signed to afford the farmer easy ac-
cess TO the large outside markets.
Without them he Is practically de-
pendent on the local butcher and the
local dealer on shipper In selling TO
the butcher frequently little or no at
tention is paid 10 market conditions.
Hogs and cattle are slaughtered on
numerous farms when the weather
turns cool, with the result that the
market is glutted. This means low
prices. which the farmer must accept
because the product Is perishahle. To
some extent il Is suggested by the de-
partments experts, remedy for this
may be found I'm better meth
ods OF curing meat at home, and also
by taking advantage Of the refrigera-
tlon facilities afforded by local ice
plants.