£jJoWri_
cAnd Qountrv
East and \Vest Coast Livestock
Buyers Praise Quality of Stock
From Omaha, Exchange Official Says
f
What Is a Livestock Market?
The livestock market at South Omaha is the biggest
single factor in the building of Nebraska’s future. It
should be a source of pride to every citizen living in the
territory of the market. The general public has a very
cloudy knowledge of the actual functions and purposes of
the livestock market. Many people believe that the com
mission firms doing business upon the market are a group
of speculators who buy and sell livestock for profit. This
is not their duty. They are regulated by rulings and laws
to keep them from speculating. Their main duty is that
of selling livestock which is consigned to the market by
farmers and shippers. In order to build competition in
the buying side of the market the Livestock Exchange
represents the commission men in various ways. The in
terview given below is but an example of how the selling
side of the market is extended. Besides the commission
firms there are many other angles to the building and
functioning of the market. Separate organizations doing
business alone yet all working together for the same end,
namely; to dispose of the millions of head of livestock
which comes to the market annually.
V___«'
By C. H. BLAKKLY,
Agrlrulturtil Editor Tli« Oinoliu Bw.
In an interview lust week A. F.
Stryker, secretary of the Livestock
exchange at South Omaha related
some of his experiences and told
about the future outlook gained by
Ids recent survey of market conditions
in America.
Stryker has just returned from the
east coast where he visited many in
dependent packers. Besides the trip
to the Atlantic seaboard he has been
to the Pacific coast during the last
lew weeks.
While making his calls in the east
Stryker visited Detroit, Cleveland,
Buffalo, Rochester. New York city,
Newark N. .1-1 Baltimore. Boston,
Brooklyn, Philadelphia, Providence.
Hoboken, Washington, D. O., and
many other large manufacturing
cities. His mission was to encourage
packers, butchers and shippers to
Ihe Omaha market for livestock. All
of these points are heavy buyers
upon the Omaha market. They buy
cattle, hogs and sheep for slaughter
in the east.
Pacific Const Visit.
After returning from the east |
Stryker and other officials from the
< Uriah a mai ket went to San Francisco
in' attemi the annual meeting of Ihe
National Wool Growers’ association. ,
While in San Francisco he called
on many large shippers and secured
i heir promise that they would he
nn the Omaha market the coming
sear to buy many hogs. The Pacific
coast does not prodm-- neat enough
po'rk to supply thnir demands. Fl hey
have been liberal hovers in the past
end expect to do even more business
in 1925.
Outlook Good.
Stryker was asked to state just ,
what the outlook Is at present rein
live to foreign trade, lie said:
"A goi.d, strong and Increasing d*'
mand during the year because of high
prices for corn and a decreased num
ber of livestock in the feed lots of
ihe middle west. An improved con |
ditlon in the labor world, increased |
industry being extended In most lines. ;
In the west a feeling of optimism '
among the wool producers on account
of the shortage of Wool and a con
sequent Increase in prices and the
pi esent and prospective high prices
of sheep at the public markets.”
In speaking of the duties of the
livestock exchange he stated that a
livestock market Is much different
lodav owing to the increased demand
for foreign service.
"A livestock market to function
pio'perly carries with it more than
the thought of livestock to sell," he
said. ’"Those on our large public
markets engaged in business must
< barge themselves with the duties of
seeing to it that If the receipts con
tinue to Increase, there must In
evitably he a broadened demand for
Ibis livestock, that the producer
there may be assured of ample com
petition for his offerings when mar
keted.
"With that end in view, Ihe Omaha
Livestock exchange has, for a num
ber of years, been earnestly soliciting
Hie business of the puckers located
in ttie eastern territory, scattered
throughout the states of Michigan.
Indiana, Ohio, New York and the At
lantic. coast states. Light yseven per
cent of the meat foods produced in
ihe west sic consumed east of tile
Mississippi river and while Ihe ter
ritory of which Omaha is the center,
is Ihe bread basket end the toast
beef source of supply for the enl ire
eastern country, Ihe people in lids
ihlckly-settled portion of ttie country
must lie kept constantly aware of
the most advantageous point at
which to secure their supply for raw
material. This dirty lies been under
luken by representatives of I lie live
dock Interests oil the Omaha mar
ket centering In Ihe exchange and the
Block Yards company,
Omaha t attle Excel.
That Omaha livestock Is gaining
wide favor Is evident from ihe slale
ment made by an eastern packer.
Mtryker says: "one instunce will serve
to show I lie producers In the west
something of the reputation of west
ern cattle. At ttie office of a packer
In Brooklyn ihe other day, one of the
partners said: ‘The best <atlle we gel
come from the Omaha market. They
are uniformly of the best uuallly and
n are buying a goodly proportion of
on' supplies on the Omaha market.'
"There |e a oonatant end growlnr
demand for cattle, imgg and sheep
from the consuming territory in the
Atlantic coast states from Washing
ton to Boston. Orders for all classes
of livestock are constantly in the
hands of order buyer* on the Omaha
market. This insures more nearly a
stable market for the producers of
the territory tributary to Omaha. Th'*
members of thp Omaha exchange feel
Not a Wayside Market
The other day a large
farm magazine contained
an advertisement saying
that Chicago acted as a
terminal market for ship
ments from the west and
that other markets were
“just wayside markets.”
Stryker in replying to a
question about this subject
says:
“lime was when the
markets on the Missouri
river, speaking particularly
of Omaha, were transit
f?ed;ng stations for live
stock destined beyond. Chi
cago seamed the final des
tination of most of the ter
ritory west of the Missouri
river. Speaking in a rath- j
er slangy way ‘those days
are gone forever.’ Less
than one-half of one per 1
cent of the livestock mar
keted at the Omaha mar
kit now goes forward to j
other markets direct for re- j
sale. The packers realize
that for a large percentage
of their supplies they must
be situated as close to the
point of production as pos- |
sible. Freight rate adjust
ments on fresh meat and
packine house products
from the Missouri valley
to the erst has made this
possible.”
V■*
that their iluty does nut end merely
in the aelling of I heir shippers’ live
stock; they feel this duty goes much
beyond that, and that Its commission
men must continue to do everything
possible to enhance tbe demand for
stock on tbe Omaha market.''
Kates Help Omaha.
The question of freight rates anil
cooperation between shipper and
commission men has been largely ad
Justed through Ihe etfuili of Ihe lo
cal market. Today the producer and
cuminIhhIop men are working hand In
hand, says Hlrvker. lie explained the
situation by the following example;
"Kreight late*, or rather freight
late adjustments have much to do
with ttie continued success of the live
stuck market. The Omaha l.lve Stock
exchange has assumed Ihe duty of
seeing to |f that the patrons of the
Omaha market shnll tie fairly treated
along this line. Hntlroad service In
the Omaha territory hss msterlally
Improved In the last three or four
years.
"During Ihe vear jusl closed there
weie fewer than (ine"half dozen trains
delayed in transit to this market to
the extent that Ihe livestock thereon
missed a dav's market. This speak*
well for Ihe transportation faculties
In this territory, assuring Ihe ship
pers to the Omaha market (if prompt
and efficient service.
"The Omaha exchange was the sec
unit organization In Die lulled Stales
to Inaugurate a claim bureau for the
collection of lies and damaga claim*
on livestock In trmialt. The volume
of claims filed lu 1 !I!M I* lint lo ex
need llli per cent of the number filed
In lull and Oil*. Tilts Illustrate* bet
ter than tn stiv other manner I lie
very much Improved trnn»purlaltou
conditions in tills territory.
' I 'ondit Iona have changed In Ihe
last 2a year* In Die commission busi
ness. Time was when outside of loan
lug money to shippers and selling tils
livestock, there was not the i lose
touch bet ween tbe ahlpiier ami his
cointnlsHiun man. Today the cumtiil*
aion man may he mora ueailv likened
to a lawyer with Ills , lieux or * doc
tor wllh hi* pal lent. Til* feeder and
producer of livestock keep* consleiil
ly In touch with til* market laprrsett
tat 1 ve, relying upon him for Informa
tion, conaulUag wllh him aa to the
‘Come On With Your Market”
Ktiraanec. drama ami all Hie evperience* common lo big
tisiness Is connected with Hie livestock market at Heath
Omaha. Each day Hie mill goes round; squealing ot pigs,
bleating of sheep. Hie lowing of cattle and the shouting of
.'\cited gate pusher* mingled with staccato harking from
•uycis and sellers as they troop up and down the alley* all
over-shrouded with the rumbling of overhead traffic a* the
trolleys lumber over thr million dollar viaduct. Main or shine
the huge business must keep up its relentless progress for
Hie feeding of a nation i* at stake. Each morning the old
gang shouts,*“Coine on with your market."
About the middle of the forenoon Hie packer buyers,
lilppers and traders come trooping down Hie alley with a
Hiker grin spread across their time-worn countenance-.
They aie greeted by shouts from John 11‘ie & Co.. "Iley.
Tommy, coine over here, got a lord of fine ones!" The
buyer rides by the pen with a careless look and maybe lie
say*. “Hive a dime up!” Perhaps he will ride off with Hie
coinniis*ion man trailing after and won't even gise a grunt.
It's a tough lob trying to sell the rsnerieiiccd buyer. Act
that i< Hie commission man's Job. Head about it in the
interview below. .
Production and marketing goes hand in hand, 'the pictures above are scenes taken
from the Omaha live stock market. Millions of head of live stock come to the market each
year. The commission men who represent the selling side of the market sell them all, poor
skinny canners, droves of high class porkers, millions of sheep, top beef cattle and even a
sprinkling of sacred cattle come and go as the daily grind turns round.
filling nf hi* feed lot*, th** time at
which hi* stock should he marketed,
the kind of stock to feed anti. In othei
words, the two interests, the pro
ducer and hi* personal representative
of the market, work hand in hand.”
DImrsc Control.
"Thi* organisation in conjunction
with tike Htockyard* company, the
railroads, the bank* and the packers
j ha* inaugurated a campaign tor the
'eradication of tuberculosis in Ne
braska livestock, having employed
l)r. W. T Spencer, one of the best
veterinarian* in the Missouri valley,
who heads this d«*i»arimem. A report j
j of the work done in Nebraska in
!!l*4 show* a decrease in tuberctiloair
in l>oth cattle and hog*. It i* the
hope of government, state and Omaha
market representatives that in the
course of h few \ears, Nebraska will
l»p free from the scourge t*f tNiberculo
si* in it* ilvesttM’k and the exchange
, will naturally take considerable credit
for having inaugurated this move.
“Government regulation* surround
lug the movement of live-tuck to anti
from the Omaha market ha\e been
simplified and are causing little or no
trouble to the patron* of tin* market,
i considering the safeguard* which are
thrown around t lie bruit h of meat
food supplier.
“During th** epidemic of hoof ami
mouth dlaettr* in Texas and <’ali
fornlii Ncbi asku a nd t he I nluti Stock
> ;u d* officials promptly safeguarded
the interests of whe Omaha market by
! quarantine and embargo regulations.
‘ These were not lifted until all
danger of the infection of l lie market
wa* past and mo It is the exchange
member*, the order buyer*, the trad
er*. the pad er* ami all of us en
gaged in business on the Omaha mar
kef look for waul to the future with
hope and confidence, feeling satisfied
that the future of this market I* «
rosy one; that it* influence for good
In the livestoc k business of t lie west
will continue to advance and im
prove; that Us pat run* will be as
sured of a steady and growing tle
in*ml for their supplies; that those
who look to Omaha as a source of
supply shall not be disappointed.
r-\ j
Packers Fight Over
“The old time packer*,
formerly known at the big
five, Uter as the big four,
are working closely in har
| mony with tha other inter
est* on the public market*
today. That spirit of dis
trust and suspicion con
cerning them which exist
ed perhaps in the past, has
largely disappeared.
“The public ha* come to
know that the packer is a
big business man, endeav
oring of course to make
money on his business, but
relying upon square deal
ing for results. On our
public market* today, one
does not hear, as was the
case in the past, such ad
verse criticism of the pack
ers on the market.
“The feeder and pro
ducer realizes he must
look largely to the big
packer for his outlet. He
is happy, however, that
that outlet has been supple
mented by the buying com
petition of the independent
packers.”
1 i
I - Backyard Poultry Philosophy
Khicken money, pin money, the familiar egg check, all of those terms
have been applied lo the farmer's income from the poultry busino- What
do we mean when we sa \ pin money? The annual income from poultry In
the l nlted State* is atuond (1 .V50.uuO.OQU, that is about 4U per cent of th*
total Income from all other live stock.
Ho we mean that our lady friends who ft*» around with the thickens
spend that amount for pins to fasten on the old Mother Hubbard aptom ' lv|
it possible that the 'chicken money ’ nil goes for the weeklv fund supply'
Hardly so had as that. It Is more than likely we spend • great amount o
that chicken income to pay for the loanee which some other branch f farm
operations brought upon us.
Poor Equipment.
Yet with this tremendous income from a gigantic Industry n large pc
cent of it is produced with poor equipment. Karin women and hack \ an; j
poultry raisei s gather up some old broken dry goods boxes get hold n. an
old broody hen and begin business. Thousands of them each vear make a
grand total which almost staggers the imagination The woik of raisin;,
the poultry upon many American farms is plain drudgery.
Ilirl; Eggs Marketed.
'<iathering the eggs down on the farm'" Yea. old time memories how
they remind u* of dreams. Perhaps our farm women do not get an old
pall and Just go out to the coops and scoop up th* egg* nowadays. They
have regular hours to gather In the day s supply, getting them before the)
are all mussed up by dirty feel.
We don't know, guess they do. but some poultry market experts claim
that a large per r ent of farm eggs a*-* unfit for market la** suite t h* arc j
soiled Kvery farm woman who knows anything at sll about marketing eggr !
knows that she cannot wash off dirt. It spoils the eggs for market purpose*
Then the Feeding Business.
Ileus ar« hue l lei* sure, so arc hill) goats. Hut the fu uu*i win allow >
his wits'* licit* to Imsllo sround the hog lots and the feed pen* foi then j
daily rations will wake up sums morning and see that old dress wl.; a hit* *
wife is wearing all but slipping to t|i« fluoi front lack of plus. She tan t have
pin money unless she has some decent feds for the pin getlci*.
Kveti old time cowboys have acknowledged that < rlurm ’ can t rustic,
a living under modern conditions They all feed during winter months The.
chicken business Is the only survival of the old "flee range practices.”
Not (living Advice.
Oh no. we arc not trying to give any advice. Just doing a little d» earning !
Went down on Karnam street for lunch a moment ago. Missed the «mrl>
breakfa*f. felt hungry and deckled on ham and egg* Well. *gg* aellluy at
retail fur a nickel apiece here In the little old burg give our restaurant
men a good alibi hut believe me T am going to lay off of ham and eggs
until the boss comes around and orders my wages raised about 1100 a week j
With all the world full of chickens It l»eats the dickens sounds like
Walt Mason, but It Is the truth. We should lw» aid# to get eggs almost as
cheaply now as during th* warm spring month* would too If the farmers
Itehgv*d their wives when they tell them that It Is the \ear around Inconn
that counts. An egg a day fur 175 days, that's th* old stroke that hen* should
straddle If we are to have equalized egg markets throughout the veer.
f
Beefsteak to Become a Luxury V nless
“If till* rnuntry I* In liar* hrnfalrak at anything Mhr * Hvr and W
i lira priir. Ilia envrmmrril would do wrll In ronir promptly In Ilia aid nf
III* hardprraard ralllr iu*n. with * aiihntanlial tariff nil hidra anil with
loan* In rnalilr him In rnnUnu* lii* nparallnna," aay* I apprr'a Waahly. In
an adllnrial. “Qiharwlar ua may aipail a aerkni* aliorlag* «l ralllr
within Ilia unit tlira* nr tour jraara.
"Thar* waa a ahnrtata of h«*rf ralll* jnal hrforr llir world war whlrli
ran prirra up an hull Ilia! a natiun whir drlvr waa atartrd In (r| farm
rra In priHluva iliorr lirrf. Till* pfoimilion rontinui'd (ur yrara anil till
tniiialril In lh« •'deflation'* >*ar l!C?« with a great ovar-pruilurlhin an.l
thr ninat aoilnna atrlnieiiry «f all for rail Iran **n. .|t "hriike" many hit
rani li inrn anil hiiiiitrrda nf nlhor alnrhmrii who hail inort nf tlietr auh
ataner III brrf ralll*.
“Thr firal aynililnina nf llir ruining aliiirat* In hrrf will In* high prirra
fur ralllr. Till* will iiianifral llarlf In a f*w yaaia. -Inal how arvrra llir
alinrlacr will brrnmr and hour rnally In thr ronaiiiprr il»'|M*inla mi w hal
pnlh'lra flir (nvrritinrnt lakra at lh« inra*nl Uni* to mrrl il and rnabl*
llir prnrinrrr* In mitigate III* ahnrlatr "
C... —'
CATTLE THRIVE ON
SUGAR CANE FEED
MimmIhI IM«|inI« It lu Tli* Omalin fine.
Audubon. I.i l.m 91 I have
found a ven **tiefeetoi\ nulmtltutr
for niolennen hi (he ration of rnv herd
of 40 dairy row a." ^.iiu Mem ire
(Kihhv, piogienjUve danyutun of Audit
hon countn. (own. "It In xu^iu mim.
frfiat * nr hip? I drilled in mx erne* of It
find Juft •before front Unt full I nit
and shocked It I now feed it to my
row* hihI t In v Minnunir it with y\I
dent relish. t’uie tnu*i le tnUm in
fending tt, however | feed tt with I he
fm agr line |im i l of tile i lino to three
pailn of alfalfa Inn hem Die wev
(tie mllU flow la k»pt lip, I Judge th«l
d t<i\»a the 111at v of the mole sees
feed vet) litre
Milk himI Corn IVtt.
M h: (Iriham of ttanbim tom
plaiad on Hm'tmliii II fcibdny footling
prolan with 34 Poland t’ltlna hoga
i Itrsr pig* wai* fallowed .lima 47 It'
,1 tily S in rlonn tola and want on (ral
Nhvutnhoi I With Hu iiv«r|g« waUht
pai pig of HMl J ponmia. Ihntnu iJtr
hi) d*t pr i tod that nin,*iimfd 14 5*VO
pound* of * ot n. and 11.31*0 pound*
l Uiniinad milk ot • »* Imuhal* of i"inl
pot- pig. *m1 SOI pound* of akliomad
milk
Thw MtaiMga pih-a for mm due
b»« Not am ha i iiol I taowmboi w .«* 0<i
ram*, and akimntad milk w.i* ftgunad
it 4'» ran»* par 1 MO pound- Tha c- n!
unlit for Op data par pla w.t* r'4 4
pound* *i * mill of M't; Tha ro*t
p*»i da v of rot ii and nklntutad milk
w aa IIS «ania foi r*« It pig.
ON NEW MARKET EQUIPMENT
The new unloading chute at the South Omaha market The truck division, which was installed
in 192i, is one of the most complete of its kind to be found at any livestock market in the world.
Assurance.... **
For almost a hundred years the products of the In
ternational Harvester Company have been known all
over the world for their excellence, their dependibility
and service behind them. So when twenty years ago
this company introduced a motor truck to bear its name
-1 hat truck had to be worthy. It was it is- it always
will lie. Write for detailed information before buying
a new truck.
> t
- 'I
INTERNATIONAL SALES & SERVICE
Fifteenth and Jones Sts. Omaha, Nebraska
• *