Evening star., 1924-12-29
PACKING INDUSTRY
FACING GOOD YEAR
High Price of Corn Serious
Problem for Live Stock
Raisers to Meet.
BY j. C. ROYLE,
Special Dispatch to The Star.

Special Dispatch TO The Star.
NEW YORK. December 29.-Every-
where there is an unmistaka "a BILE
atmosphere of faith in the future
and assurance of prosperity for the
coming year. That is the outline for
business in 1925 made by +. w. Wad-
dell, vice president of Armour & Co.,
who based his statement on the pack
ing industry as an excellent Indicator
of public buying and business con-
ditions generally.
1t is not going to be the pros
perity of the buoyant. upshootin
kind such as the Nation faced in
1919" he added, but the slow, steady
prosperity, without flares or spec
tacular rises in any department of
industry. People generally do not
seem so eager to buy luxuries as
a few years ago. Rather they are
spending their money largely for sub
stantial things which make for
broader consumption of produced
wealth and wider distribution of
money.
Cheaper Meat Cuts Favored.
he packing industry is an indi-
Gator, since packers sell meat Meat
is necessity; nevertheless there are
some grades OF meat more EXPENSIVE
than others. 1t is observed that the
market is stronger and more active
for some of the cheaper cuts than
ever before, without commensurate
siackness in the demand for choice
meats.
AS we enter the new Year. live
stock prices are not satisfactory from
the viewpoint of the producer. That
Is because of the lack of balance be-
tween corn prices and live stock
prices. The swine situation is tend
ing toward a more normal hog popu-
iatlon. Government figures indicate
y per cent fewer hogs were avail
able for market in the last year than
In 1928. That by no means forecasts
shortage. 1t merely forecasts a
iessenlng of abnormal surpluses hard
10 dispose of profitahly by either pro-
ducer or packer. There is nothing
like liquidation of swine in sight
since the animals coming to market
have been pigs for the most part
High Corn Serious Problem.
Storage stocks of pork are not up
TO the flve-year average. Trade chan
nels have been kept wide open. and
there seems no possibility of a gIut in
the market the coming year Farm
ers who feed judiciously should be in
n position to operate profitably in
hogs despite the high cost of feed es-
pecially if a good corn crop is real
lied in 1925
prices for beef cattle are not very
encoura ging for the producer The
predominant demand is for beef from
light yearling animals. whereas the
great bulk of the supply is from less
choice grades.
1T is now apparent that the corn
belt fed out about 25 per cent fewer
cattle this season than last. Liquida-
tion in the cattle market is virtually
ket. There arc no surpluses in
sight and if the market discloses rel
atively small supplies, cattle prices
are quite likely to take a vigorous
rise.
sheep raisers are in better con-
dition than producers of hogs and
cattle. So great has been the demand
for wool that ewes have risen con-
siderably in value and lambs have
reflected that rise. Any forecast per-
tanning to the live stock industry may
be echoed to a great degree as a
prophecy for the packing industry
also"
Pacific coast cattle men will start
1925 under vastly improved condi-
tions over 1924, when drought caused
a shortage of feed and pasturage.
Pasturage again is normal and the
foot and-mouth disease, which cost
growers $4,000 range cattle, has been
eradicated. About a million head of
range cattle are now on hand in Cali
fornia, or about 25 per cent below
normal.