Browning chief. [volume] (Browning, Mont.) 1941-1953, 1950-07-14

The man on horseback Is a
livestock buyer who has a lot
of territory to cover in his
daily activities at the Chicago
livestock market. Here he
bids on a shipment of year
lings from Wyoming ranch.
The Union Stock Yard might be
llkened in its operations to a Sc
curities exchange in that the COM
pany itself does not own, buy, SELL
nor does it have anything to do
with determining prices of the
commodity sold. Livestock prices
are determined solely by COMPETE
tive bidding, the buyer offering the
most attractive price gets the ami
mails. Here is how the stock yard
operates in its position between
seller and buyer
When the animals arrive at the
yards - whether by truck or rail-
road-they are unloaded and as
signed to pens where owners, or
the commission firm representing
them, arrange through the stock
yard for yarding, feeding and wat
ering until trading time - from
am. to pm. daily. At that
time buyers representing packing
houses, shippers and small buyers
ride horseback or walk through
the alleys looking over the avail
able stock in the pens.
Experienced livestock statesmen
are on hand to show the animals,
discuss qualities and weights, and
negotiate the sales. Many bids
might be received for a load of
cattle, hogs or sheep before the
sale is made, although the COM
mission man Tor owner of the
stock) might accept an early bid if
in his judgment it represents the
true value, and he believes the
market may decline during the
day. The commission firm sales
men, representing the livestock
farmer, knowing at all times the
prevailing prices, the days supply
and demand, and the particular,
ever-changing needs of the various
buyers, get the full price for the
animals on any particular day.
Maintenance Big Business
Up until the sale is completed
and the animals are weighed, the
producer retains ownership. Once
off the scale, however, ownership
of the livestock is transferred to
the buyer.
Care and maintenance of the
yards is big business. A huge bat
terry of mechanical equipment is
employed daily to clean the vast
areas of pens (there are $4,000 of
them), streets and alleys. The
yards encompass an area one mile
long and half a mile wide, with ap-
proximately $50 miles of inter-
twining railroad tracks, rail equip
ment, office buildings, scale houses,
stables, grain elevators, sales ring
and water systems. Streets are
threaded throughout the entire
area. These facilities are essential
to the handling of the animals
which arrive at the yards over %
railroad lines and in thousands of
motor trucks from the livestock
producing areas.
The yards, of necessity, must
be large. Biggest day" Ship
ments show the following rec
ord of livestock received: Cat
tie, 1928; calves, 1O,673; hogs,
122,749, and sheep, 71,792.
Livestock commission charges
are regulated by the Secretary of
Agriculture. Charges for service
made by members of the Chicago
Live Stock Exchange Gan organi-
cation of commission men) figure
less than one-half of one per cent
of the gross proceeds for expert
craftsmanship, receiving, yarding
and experimenting the feeding and
watering of stock, rendering &C.
count sales, checking freight bills
for possible errors, securing re-
funds on freight when necessary.
writing letters regarding sales,
keep clients informed of possible
changes in price by special letters
and circulars.
In short, Chicago feels it has a
right to be proud of being called a
COW town.