Omaha daily bee., 1920-03-18
SOUTH OMAHA
ON ROAD FOR
TOP PLACE AS
STOCK Mart
#
Impetus to Boost Live Stock
Center Out Of Second Place
Predicted In Skinner
Opening.

The opening of the great inde-
pendent Skinner company packing
plant on the South Side again em-
phasizes the phenomenal growth OF
the South Side market, now second
place among the live stock markets
of the world. Those closely asso-
ciated with the great market on the
South Side confidently predict that
the opening of the Skinner plant will
lend the necessary impetus to place
the Omaha market first among the
live stock icenters of the world.
The stock yards at Omaha were
built in August, 1884, and opened for
business Immediately, but for some
time were merely feeding station
for live stock EN- route for eastern
markets. Omaha was the logical
route from east to west for major
| ity of >the stockmeb and as the
volume of business which stopped at
Omaha for feed and rest increased
it at length began to draw buyers
and dealers. \
Merely Contributory Then.
First came the' SPECTATORS and
traders, some Of them being ship
pers themselves; then feeder buyers,
countrymen and farmers looking for
cattle and sheep for feeding pur-
poses; then buyers seeking supplies
for outside packing houses and final
ly the packers themselves-one by
one--until there were five large
packing houses and eight independ-
ent concerns that created a demand
fer live stock thatis unequalled else
where.
When first established, in 1884,
the stock yards received about l00,-
600 head of live stock. OF this total
IS, per cent was reshipped to other
points, indicating that Omaha was
still contributory to more firmly es-
tablishcd markets. During the year
| 1919, however, a total of 8,o68,741
head of live stock was received and
only about 3,605,538, or about 40
per cent, shipped out. "A part Of this
outgoing stock was sent to the coun-
try for further feeding.
! In addition to being the second
live stock market of the world.
Omaha stands first as feeder sheep
and lamb market. All records were
broken here in 1919 in the move
ment of sheep and lambs to corn
belt farms. The total output for
the year was 1,756,865 head. valued
at approximately $l7 7.568,650.
The area of the site on which the
stock yards are now located is 2l1
acres, us of which, are paved with
brick or concrete. There are 402l
pens now in use, 227 pens are in the
course of construction l2l double
chute pens in use and Is new ones
in construction. The Stock Yards
company has installed its own water
system at a cost of $265.000.
Own Terminal Railroad.
! The Union Stock Yards company
operates its own terminal railroad.
maintaining nine switch engines, "a
miles of track, a modern coal chute,
a machine shop and a roundhouse.
During the past year 288,074 car
loads of live stock and dead freight
were handled by the company and
246,414 empty cars, making total
| of 534,43S cars handled.
| Sixty thousand cars of fresh meat
| and packing house products are
1shipped annually by the packing
houses located here, and the value OF
| the annual output of these packers is
more than $200,000,000. More than
$4,000 people are employed by the
packing houses and stock yards in
dustry here and the ANNUAL payroll
lis more than $l5,000.QQI y