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Meat Situation in the United States - Part 5. Methods and Cost of Marketing Livestock and Meats
Title
Meat Situation in the United States - Part 5. Methods and Cost of Marketing Livestock and Meats
Date
1916
Relation
U.S. Department of Agriculture. Report to the Secretary. Report Number 113
Excerpt
Three general methods of marketing are open to producers of meat animals: through the large public stock yards and packing centers; second, by means of local butchers and packers; and third, in the form of farm-prepared meats.
Investigations conducted by the Office of Markets and Rural Organization indicate that in the United States the practice of shipping live stock to centralized markets prevails most generally in the Central States and that the greatest prevalence of local marketing is found in the extreme eastern, western, and southern sections. Estimates show that about one-half of the beef cattle, two-thirds of the hogs, and four-fifths of the sheep and lambs marketed pass through the large central markets; one-third of the beef cattle, one-twelfth of the hogs, and one-eighth of the sheep and lambs are sold for local slaughter; one-tenth of the beef cattle, one-third of the hogs, and one-twentieth of the sheep and lambs are slaughtered on farms and ranges.
Data obtained concerning the time of buying stockers and feeders and the selling of finished animals show that these operations are confined too generally to a few months of the year. Although movements of live stock are subject in a large degree to the same natural conditions that fix the limits of the grazing season and the availability of feed stuffs, it is manifest that stock-feeding operations are susceptible of better adjustment to market conditions. Such adjustments would exert a marked influence toward a more even distribution of the supply.
Investigations conducted by the Office of Markets and Rural Organization indicate that in the United States the practice of shipping live stock to centralized markets prevails most generally in the Central States and that the greatest prevalence of local marketing is found in the extreme eastern, western, and southern sections. Estimates show that about one-half of the beef cattle, two-thirds of the hogs, and four-fifths of the sheep and lambs marketed pass through the large central markets; one-third of the beef cattle, one-twelfth of the hogs, and one-eighth of the sheep and lambs are sold for local slaughter; one-tenth of the beef cattle, one-third of the hogs, and one-twentieth of the sheep and lambs are slaughtered on farms and ranges.
Data obtained concerning the time of buying stockers and feeders and the selling of finished animals show that these operations are confined too generally to a few months of the year. Although movements of live stock are subject in a large degree to the same natural conditions that fix the limits of the grazing season and the availability of feed stuffs, it is manifest that stock-feeding operations are susceptible of better adjustment to market conditions. Such adjustments would exert a marked influence toward a more even distribution of the supply.
Publisher
U.S. Department of Agriculture
File(s)
Meat Situation in the United States Cover.jpg
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Meat Situation in the United States Statement.jpg
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Meat Situation in the United States TOC.jpg
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