The Mankato free press., 1922-06-30
SHOVE
MARKET UPWARD
HOGS HIGHER AT SOUTH ST.
PAUL THAN ELSEWHERE
WHEREIN IS BENEFIT
Comes Out Of Cooperation
Among Farmers And Live
stock Raisers.
Farm Bureau News Servicel

Something has happened to the
hog market at South st. Paul. II
has acquired the habit of being
In fact, according to j. +. Reed,
president OF the Minnesota Farm
Bureau federation, the prices paid
for hogs this year at the South st.
Paul market are more nearly equal
to Chicago prices than they have
been for many long years. Never is
long time, but Mr.. Reed, who has
been raising and marketing live
stock most of his life, watching
market reports at the same time,
believes that Minnesota farmers
marketing hogs at South st. Paul
never before have received prices
that were so high in comparison
with the prevailing prices on the
Chicago market.
Market statistics this year con-
sistently show South st. Paul hog
prices ranging higher than the
pricesa at Sioux City and Omaha"
Mrs. Reed said.
Experienced statesmen on the
South st. Paul market have been
wondering about it. They couldn't
see why the South St. Paul hog
market was running so close TO the
price level of the Chicago market.
But when you investigate market
statistics. it isn't hard to find out
what has happened to the hog mar
ket at South st. Paul.
1T can be explained in one word
Co operation.
New Element In Marketing
There is a new element in mar
keting livestock at South st. Paul
today. The farmers of Minnesota,
CO. operating to some extent with
farmers in Wisconsin, North Dako-
ia and South Dakota, are marketing
nearly one third of all their live
stock through their own terminal
IN the first FIVE months of this
year, the Central Co operative
Commission association handled
5,S49 carloads of livestock. The
whole market handled only 2S.0S7
TN the first five months of this
year, the farmers own agency
handled 282,746 hogs.
1.-The farmers were sending more
than 25 percent of the South ST..
Paul hog supply through one chan
mel, their own company. Their own
company, owned and controlled by
farmers, has only two purposes:
one is to handle livestock efficient
ly and reduce marketing expense,
the other is to obtain the full mar
ket value for the farmers product.
"The buyers of hogs cannot ig-
more the farmers agency when 1t
controls a fourth or a third Of the
whole available supply of hogs. We
know positively that the influence
of the Central Co operative Com
mission association has served to
stabilize the market. We know that
it has kept hogs up to their full
market value when buyers were
ready, to let the price drop.
Official government reports OF
hog prices, based on bulk sales on
the Chicago, Omaha, Sioux City and
South st. Paul markets, show con-
clusively that the hog market at
South st. Paul Is consistently high
er this year than the other western
markets.
Co. operative Marketing Benefits
I'VE farmers have argued that
CO. operative marketing not only
would reduce the cost of marketing,
but also would stabilize prices and
tend TO give the producer the full
market value OF his product. Now
we are seeing positive proof that
this is true.
THE Central Cooperative Com
mission association has saved live
stock shippers more than $4,000
in the surplus it has set aside after
paying all its expenses for the first
ten months of its life. 1t has saved
the shippers at least another $70,-
900 by reducing commission charges
and literally forcing private com
panies to cut their charges too.
But these savings are small and
almost insignificant in comparison
with the great achievement of
stabilizing the market, and putting
the Minnesota terminal more near
ly on a level with the Chicago mar
ket than ever before. Co operation
of local shipping associations all
over the northwest has made this
achievement possible by putting a
large volume of business in the
hands of the CO. operative marketing
agency. The whole northwest will
roon tho honofit -