The Redwood gazette. [volume] (Redwood Falls, Minn.) 1873-1940, 1929-04-24
Livestock Marketing
Summary of Talk Given At
Annual Meeting of Garvin
Shipping Association.
By Reuben Potter


the Importance of the livestock in
dustry. Agricultural prosperity GER
tainly is largely dependent upon the
prosperity of the live stock industry,
and the marketing of that livestock
is of the very greatest Importance.
In the past fifty years there has been
developed in this country great live
stock marketing centers that are now
the envy of the world. In these pub
lie livestock markets we have had a
place where buyers and sellers may
meet on equal terms. On these mark
cts buyers may select the type OF live
stock they wish to purchase and are
forced to compete with each other TO
secure it. On these same markets the
producers may cooperate in market
ing of their livestock and secure for
themselves bargaining power through
their own selling organizations. At
all of our large public livestock mark
cts both buyers and sellers are pro-
tected by federal or state supervision
of all the operations on these markets.
During the past few years the
Packers operating in the big produc-
ing sections of the United States have
developed the practice of buying a
large percentage of their supply OF
hogs at country points instead OF on
competitive markets. 1t is their
claim that the Packers operating
plants located at country points have
in the past had an advantage because
they could purchase their supply OF
hogs directly from the producers
without going to the terminal mark
cts. The Packers operating on the
terminal markets have claimed that
these country Packers have been able
to purchase their hogs cheaper than
the Packers located on the terminal
markets. Recently most of the Pack
ers, who have in the past purchased
the largest percentage of their supply
on the competitive terminal markets,
have established buying yards out
in the country and have been securing
each year larger per cent OF their
supply of hogs at these country
points. This system of buying has
developed so rapidly during the past
few years that at the present time
approximately SO per cent of the en-
tire hog crop is now beirG marketed
directly to the Packers without going
to the competitive markets. This
volume of direct marketing has less
ened competition on the part OF the
BUYERS at the price fixing markets
and has had tendency to lower the
prices paid to producers all over
hog producing sections of the United
States. The Packers are apparently
interested in developing system OF
buying which will allow them to pur-
chase their supply of hogs without
competition. They are interested, ap..
parently, in establishing a type OF
market which will allow them to set
the price, declare the grade and weigh
the hcgs they purchase, without sup
ervision of any kind.
The producer of livestock should
be interested in developing the type
of market that will secure for him
the keenest sort of competition on the
part of the buyers of his products
where the seller may develop and
take advantage of all the bargaining
power possible in the sale of his pro-
ducts. The producer should be inter-
ested in a market where he may have
as much to say about the price of his
livestock as the packers who are pur-
chasing it. All over the United States
at the larger livestock markets the
producers have in recent years, deve-
loped their own selling agencies and
have secured for themselves certain
amount of bargaining power in the
sale of their livestock. Here, in the
State of Minnesota, where co-opera-
tive marketing has been particularly
successful, the Packers seem to have
become interested in dealing with the
producer as an individual instead of
through these cooperative organiza-
tions. The Packers seem to be con-
WINGED that the only way to destroy
the bargaining power of the produc-
er is to undermine the cooperative
marketing movement by Gripping
the cooperative shipping association
out in the country. At practically
every point in Southern Minnesota
where strong cooperative shipping
associations have been supporting
the competitive terminal markets, the
Packers have apparently placed their
buyers there in an effort to kill off
these associations. The question is
squarely before every livestock pro-
Queer as to which type of marketing
he wishes to support. The solution
of the problem of whether or not we
are to have cooperative marketing in
the future is up to the producer him
self. The Packer, themselves, have
suggested that if the producer will
direct his shipments to the COMPETE
tive terminal markets, the problem
of direct buying will be solved.
Sets of figures have been offered
that show clearly that when the
Packers receive large percentage
of their supply direct from the coun-
try and lessened the competition on
the terminal markets there has been
lowering in the price received by
the producer for his hogs. Other sets
of figures have been offered to show
that those Packers who purchase
-