The citizen. [volume] (Berea, Ky.) 1899-1958, 1922-10-26
LAMBS HAVE SOLD WELL

Many VINO nave NOT hau any ShNNf "
their farms for good many years
have a small flock this season and are
interested in knowing something
about the spring lamb market of the
past year or two and the prospects
for the future.
Your county agent has run his els
sors around very strong article by
W. S. Bell, President of the Louisville
Livestock Exchange, on this topic
which has just appeared in the South
ern Agriculturist. 1t is given below
in full:
The increase in quality of lambs on
the Louisville market has been very
noted. This is not only true of those
lambs that have been graded as sec
onds and thirds but also of top lambs.
| think could safely say that in the
past ten years quality has increased
around so percent and a great part
of this increase has been noticed in
the receipts here this season and last
year.
The greatest factor in the upbuild-
ing of quality is the cold hard fact OF
dollars and cents. The producer is
beginning to realize that he is stand
ing in his own light by not raising
better class of lambs. He has learn
ed that it pays to give them more
care and attention.
The College of Agriculture, through
extension specialists and county a
gents, has been harping on better
quality for long time. Right here
should like to say that too much
praise cannot be given Prof. X. c.
Miller, Sheep Extension Specialist,
College of Agriculture. He has not
only been advocating better ewes and
rams, but his campaign for docking
and castrating has been very success
full. He has the hearty cooperation
of the farmers. Agricultural and
trade papers have played their part.
Breeders organizations have done
much to improve the quality among
the breeders, but very little to i'm
prove the farm flocks where it is 50
badly needed. l can see very i'm
portant place for the new Kentucky
Livestock Improvement Association
as it can accomplish much good.
Livestock commission merchants fof
years have been urging shippers to
buy better ewes and rams. The
packers have done their part in paying
for quality.
Eternal vigilance is the price of
success, and just so long as the above
agencies keep up the good work we
shall go steadily forward; unless we
do, we shall repeat the history of
breeding in Kentucky. Only few
years ago Kentucky headed the list
of fine livestock, but Old Man Indo-
lence got us and we let our quality
run very low. The extremely high
prices for pure-breds was probably
one of the greatest causes for this
dropping off of quality, but the price
of pure-bred animals is now in reach
of every one and this should not be
an excuse. The American taste IS
steadily calling for quality in every
thing, and it behooves us to give
the market what it wants. The de-
mand for quality, is well borne out by
the price of good top lambs which
sold both this and last year from 8
to z cents per pound over the Sec
onds. In other words, the seconds
are bringing just about one-half the
price of the tops. Some may think
that this spread in price IS too much
and that the seconds are selling too
cheap, but the truth is that they are
harder to sell than the tops. If they
were proving cheap to the packers
there would be more competition for
them. The packer outlet is for good
stuff and they want nothing else. In
the last several seasons, since our
quality is improving, new buyers for
our fancy lambs are showing up on
the market.
Along this line | might add that
the production of spring lambs in
Kentucky could be increased several
fold and it would have no appreci-
able effect on the general price of
food levels such as a large crop Of
hogs over the entire United States,
which would naturally lower the
general hog market. Our scope Of
production is too small to have such
an effect. Then, too, Kentucky
spring lambs come at season when
there is practically no competition
4 - l. Inx