The Mellette County pioneer. [volume] (Wood, Mellette County, S.D.) 19??-1971, 1919-12-05
HOGS STILL GOING DOWN.

AASNS SAAAA NOAANN DS"N'
| We notice that the price of hogs on
the Winner market is now only l0c
per pound live weight, however the
price of hams and bacon in Wood still
remains at SOC per pound. We heard
farmer say that at the present price
OF corn he could not afford to feed
hogs and sell them on the present
market without considerable of loss.
Practically all the cured meat that is
sold in this county is shipped in from
the packing houses and it is practi
cally impossible to buy home cured
hams and bacon at all. We believe
it would pay the farmer who has a
number of togs to market this winter
to butcher them on his own premises
and cure the meat, and then sell the
cured meat in preference to taking the
hogs to Winner and selling them live
weight at the prevailing market price.
Under present road conditions it will
cost the farmer one cent per pound to
get the hogs to the Winner market,
this would leave him only &c a pound
net for his hogs at present market
prices, yet when he goes to the local
stores to buy this same hog, perhaps,
in the form of bacon and hams, he
will have to dig zap soc pound, or
practically 400 per cent more than he
got for the hog originally OF course
there is the profit of the overland
freighter to the local buyer at Winner
then the local buyer must get a profit,
the railroad gets share, then the
commission man who sells the hog to
the packer. then the packer gets a
profit for killing and curing the
meat, then another profit to the rail
road for bringing it back to Winner,
then another profit to the overland
freighter, and then finally profit to
the local dealer. Here are seven sep
crate and distinct profits to take care
of between the producer and the uti
mate consumer. Is it auy wonder
that the cost of living is hight
Whereas If the farmer would kill and
cure his own meat and market the sur
plus that he raises in the form Of cur
ed meats with but one profit added.
that of the local dealer, the farmer
could make much greater profis on
his product and still the price of
hams and bacon to the ultimate con
sumer should aud could be greatly
reduced, and besides the home cure
ed product would be far superior in
flavor to the packing house product.
Under present conditions the Mellette
county farmer who has 200 pound
hog to market, afther paying the over
land freight charge, he will receive
net to him about SIS for this hog.
The packer pays about $26 or So for
the hog ia Omaha, but when this hog
again reaches Wood in the form of
hams and bacon he will have increas
ed in valve and people here will pay
something like $65 for this same hog.
We believe that if someone here
would start small meat curing plant
some farmer who has fifty or more
hogs to market this winter, anywaT)
and would kill these hogs and cure
the meat in true country style. that be
would find ready sale for every POUND
of meat he had to spare right here
during the summer months, and if he
lid an especially good job OF curing
the meat, and would properly adver
tise his product he could eventually
bulk up trade in the larger cities
where real honest to goodness country
hams and bacon are q real rarity,
that in time would make him indie
pendently rich. ALI it needs is tit
tie nerve, some ingenuity and strict
application to business. We would
like to see some one try this stunt in
or near Wood, we believe it would be
worth while. At present prices Of
live hogs the person who would at
tempt this stunt could not possibly
loose money and stands mighty
good chance Of adding materially to
his bank account. .@