The Bemidji daily pioneer., 1919-12-20
Profits Are Almost Cooperative Marketing


Pleasing Profits Are Almost Sure to A
prepared by the United States Depart
ment Of Agriculture.)
Texas formerly was famous as the
home, Of chaps, spurs, pintoes, and
cowboys, but with the plentiful ap-
pearance of barbed wire fences and
the influx Of small livestock farmers
these relics of the range in many cases
are winning the discard and are being
replaced by A-shaped houses, stopping
troughs, self-feeders, and plentiful
patches of forage crops-the land
marks Of the hog.
County swine breeders associations
have been developed on some scale and
for the most part have been of two
kinds; one for the purpose Of ship
ping market hogs, and the other with
the end in view Of promoting and SELL
ing registered bseeding animals. It
has been customary for either Of these
organizations to purchase feed COOP
eratively whenever the need of import
ing feed arose.
About eight months ago co-opera-
tive shipping association was organ
ized in Smith county, Texas, by the
extension swine husbandmen Of the
United States department Of agricul-
tur1 During the past winter and
spring this club has marketed nearly
100000 worth Of hogs at an approxi-
mate saving Of 100000 to the pro-
ducers. Previous to the formation Of
this marketing club it was customary
for the local buyers to purchase the
hogs, ordinarily paying about S or 9
cents below the market price for the
fat stock. The get-together club has
saved for its members much Of the
profit formerly made by local stock
buyers. Its secretary reports that un'
der cooperative shipments the aver
age cost of freight, shrinkage, COM
mission, and yardage for hundred
pounds of hog on the hoof has amount.
ed to only 81.
How Shipments Are Made.
The secretary of this shipping or
ganization is the local county agent,
and whenever enough hogs are ready
to ship from farms of the club men,
bers to make up half carload he
orders a car and advertises the fact
that he will ship hogs from the county
seat on certain date. At the specified
time the other farmers in the county
that belong to the association assem-
BILE their hogs at the station, where
the stock is loaded. and shipped to the
Fort Worth market, the county agent
accompanying each shipment in order
t. see that it is sold to the best ad-
vantage and also to make sure that
the different grades Of hogs are weigh
ed separately.
When the stock is loaded at the
shipping point the animals are weigh
ed and usually classified into three
grades and thus tagged. A receipt Is
given to each member who is shipping
hogs for the number of pounds that
he delivers to the car and the grade
that his hogs came under. After the
hogs are sold and the county agent
returns to the country, he divides the
net receipts among the various ship
pers, after the entire costs have been
deducted, according to the number Of
pounds of pork, on the hoof, each man
shipped.
Recently the hog farmers of Smith
county have organized a pure-bred
swine breeders association that is un-
der the same auspices and has the
same officers as their market associa-
ton. These stockmen intend to pur-
chase, in the North, one or two car
loads OF good, registered breeding
stock of the highest type and quality.
The local banks have agreed to furnish
the money, giving the members one
years time in which to pay the debt
and requesting each of the members
to purchase at least one pure-bred
animal. Animals Of only one breed Of
hogs will be purchased in order that
the county may specialize in quality
hogs Of special market uniformity, in
addition to selling breeding animals to
the surrounding communities.
In Nacogdoches county a swine
breeders association has recently been
formed in order to improve market
ing conditions. The local buyers have
been paying 13 to II cents for good,
fat hogs, delivered at the railroad dur
ing the period when market prices at
Fort Worth and at Houston, for ami
mails of similar quality, ranged in the
neighborhood Of % cents a pound.
Pleasing profits are almost certain to
attend this cooperative marketing
project as there has not been single