i
JUNE, 111
Omaha Live Stock Market
The Union Stock Yards
Home Interesting Fact, Historical
and I'reHenl, Concerning Ne
branka'M largest Industry
Few people, In whatever walk In
life, appreciate the size or Import
ance of the South Omaha Stock
Yards. That the yards are large,
that thy cost a lot of money and (bat
they handle a great deal of lire stock
during the course of a year Is about
all that the average citizen knows or
thinks about that Is really the largest
ningle industry in the went, and
which lias done more to develop the
western country than any other sin
gle industrial agency.
With an Investment of more than
.seven millions of dollars, a million
und u quarter of which has been In
vested in improvements in the past
six years, the Union Stock Yards
Company of South Omaha, Is the
largest corporation in Nebraska,
aside from the railroads. It has
built and equipped the most modern
stock yards In the world a state
ment, that will be certified by any
man experienced stock yards matters
and in the short space of thirty
two years has built up the largest
live stock market in the west, and the
second largest live stock market in
the world in total head of stock re
ceived in one year. When the com
pany was first organized the west
was thinly settled, and the promoters
of the company were dubbed "dream
ers." "How can these men expect to ev
er build up a live stock market away
out west, competing against Chicago,
which has already put its cinch on
the liVe stock and packing business?"
That was the query propounded
when the promoters of the South
Omaha Stock Yards first set to work.
But those promoters had several
things In their favor. They had
pluck and confidence, und if they
were "dreamers" at least they had
large dreams and then proceeded
with a determination to make their
dreams come true.
South Omaha is today the second
largest live stock market in the world
in point of total receipts and the
third largest packing center. It is
the great market to which men come
in search of feeder cattle and sheep,
and while other markets, considera
bly older have remained almost at a
standstill bo far as growth Is con
cerned, the South Omaha market has
shown a steady growth from year to
.year.
Kanitary Stock Yards
A few weeks or rather months ago,
soiiih of the large eastern markets
were closed because of the preval
ence of the foot and mouth disease,
but during the entire period the
South Omaha yardi were open. Thaw
a ratfea fee tkls. Tka $euU
$m & m , , j. -v
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Partial View of Union stock Yard at South' Omaha ! ?lfT, '3 - " f ' --;
Omaha yards have been made as san
itary as human Ingenuity could de
vise. But the company was not con
tent with every sanitary precaution
In the equipment of the yards. It
went further. It placed an embargo
against live stock from certain sec
tions, and It had a small army of gov
ernment Inspectors on hand. The
moment a rumor came of a breaking
out of the disease within Its terri
tory, the company rushed an Inspect
or to the spot. The company went
before the live stock sanitary board
and secured a ruling compelling the
railroads to thoroughly disinfect
each car Immediately after it was un
loaded, and during the whole of the
embargo not a head of live stock was
unloaded during the night. Unload
ing was done during the broad light
of the day, and there were almost as
many Inspectors on the Job as there
were animals to be unloaded. The
result of this careful precaution was
that not a single infected animal
reached the yards.
The compnny Is spending money
every day to further increase the ca
pacity and efficiency of the yards.
wttnin the last two years over 1200
000.00 has been spent In enlarging
and improving the hog yards. These'
yards today are of Bteel and concrete,
and are admittedly the finest hog
yards in the world. The yard water
system begun a little over two years
ago and but recently completed, cost
more than $265,000.00 and the plant
is one that would be appreciated by
many a city of metropolitan size. It
furnishes the finest well water at a
good pressure; drawn from gravel
strata, to every point in the yards.
and through a gravity system and
perfect sewerage fresh water is cir
culating through all the pens all the
time.
One of the remarkable features of
the yards Is the rapid growth of the
horse and mule market. This growth
has been bo great that long since the
problem of handling the business
was a hard one. But the enterpris
ing management has solved it by the
erection of the largest and best built
barns in the world for keeping and
selling of horses and mules. These
barns, built as a whole, cover a total
area of 294,201 square feet. A paved
try-out track in front of the barns
contains 20,458 square feet. Today
the South Omaha horse and mule
market is the third largest market of
the kind in the world. Present indi
cations are that the year 1916 will
see all records broken in this respect
and the South Omaha horse and mule
market become nearly the largest in
the world.
It Is interesting to note that while
the yards have been growing in Blze
and improved In every respect, and
that while the general average of
prices of live stock have been stead
ily tending upward, the Union Sotck
Yards Company is today exacting the
airnt afcariu fixed tweaty years ago,
WhlU mrytkini that the coajpauy
000.00 has been spent in enlarging Anally solved by Inducing several
must buy has advanced In price, Its
one commodity service has re
mained at the same price altho the
quality of the service rendered has
been vastly improved.
Helps Develop the West
The Influence exerted by the South
Omaha stock yards upon the growth
and development of the west is too
great to be measured by the finite
mind. Thirty years ago the west
was scarcely settled, and. only' the
far-seeing believed that in good time
the whole west wpuld be settled up
by the prosperous farmers and stock
raisers. Then all live stock had to
be shipped to Chicago, and freight
rates were high, the service inade
quate and the Chicago market In ab
solute control. The loss from delays ,
In shipping and shrinkage were enor-1
mous. For a few years the South ;
Omaha yards furnished only a sort 1
of "hesitating place" for western
shipments movftic eastward, then the
growth of the "f eder" market be-j
gan. But the founders of the yards
were not content. They wanted to
make It a final market, so they Bet
about solving the problem. It was
finally solved by Inducing several
large packing concerns to establish
branch packing houses at South Oma
ha, and with the establishment of
the packing houses the success of the
enterprise was secure. The volume
of business transacted by both the
stock yards and the packing houses
at South Omaha exceeds a quarter of
a billion dollars a year. The statis
tics of the Union Stock YardB .Com
pany for the thirty-two years are of
absorbing interest. During that time
126,026,047 head of live stock, val
ued at approximately $2,844,000,000
were received at the yards. These
receipts were divided as follows
Number
Value
Cattle
Hogs
25.333,695 $1,457,000,000
58,157.806 1,163,000,000
SheeD . . 41.757.567
146,000,000
78,000.000
Horses & '
Mules . 776,979
Total 126,026,047 $2,844,000,000
It must not be understood that all
of the live stock received by the Un
ion Stock Yards Company of South
Omaha is sold to the packers located
there. Practically one-third of the
animals received are Bhlpped out
again. Feeder cattle and sheep are
purchased and shipped out in enor
mous numbers, in fact, being the
third of the receipts which are not
purchased by the packers. During
the thirty-two years the company has
handled a total of 3,119,759 cars of
live stock.
Sixty per cent of the live stock at
South Omaha originate in Nebraska,
the balance coming from Colorado,
Nevada, Iowa, Oregon, Idaho, South
Dakota, Montana, Utah, Missouri and
Wyoming. The live stock raisers of
Nebraska received upwards of $60,
000,000 (or animala marketed at
Seuth Cotki duriaf lt. There.
are ten packing plants, together with
the stock yards represent a total In
vestment of $25,000,000, employ an
average of 6,000 people and pay in
wages approximately $6,000,000 a
year. - The pocking Industry repre
sents more than half of the total
manufactures of Nebraska, and ex
ceeds the total gold production of the
United States and Alaska by more
than $20,000,000.
Dawson Breeders and Feeders
Dawson county is on the border
line between what Is commonly
known as the farming and stock
raising parts of Nebraska. Altho
both farming and stock raising are
carried on to a greater or less extent
in every part of the state, there Is a
large portion in which not enough
corn is grown to feed out the cattle
that are raised, consequently the dis
tinction above mentioned. Dawson
county raises cattle and the corn and
alfalfa to fatten them. B. J. Atkin
son of Cozad, one of the leading
farmers of that county, recently ship
ped three loads of fat Shorthorns to
market, mostly of his own raising
and feeding. C. II. Brasch of Far
nam is another Dawson county feed-
er. He recently shipped to market
thirty-five head of cattle which aver
aged 1,386 pounds and brot $10.15.
He bot these cattle on the South
Omaha market December 3, and put
them on corn and alfalfa. At the
time he bought them they weighed
1,018 pounds and cost $6.50.
Greeley fount y Market Toppers
Greeley county is another of Ne
braska's farming counties cot far
from the great ranch country portion
of the state. On June 6, a car load
of Hereford steers, shipped by Ed.
Leonard, topped the 8outh Omaha
market at $10.80, the highest price
ever paid on that market up to that
date, altho it has since been passed.
The cattle were raised on Mr. Leon
ard's Greeley county farm. Speaking
of them he, said: "They were pretty
fat in the fall, bo I gave them enough
alfalfa and good prairie hay during
the winter so they would hold their
flesh until spring. In April I start
ed to feed heavier, giving them ear
and shelled corn and about the mid
dle of May 1 fed bran and oil meal.
They rounded out Into fine shape by
the end of the month and I got them
to market as soon as possible."
"Free Party" Didn't Suit Him.
William had been to several birth
day parties, always taking a present to
the little hostess. When his birthday
arrived his mother told him he could
have a party, but nothing was to be
said about its being his birthday. He
pouted a while and then said: "I do
notcara tor a party jt I have u fcavt
m party." . -.T7
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