Economic and Marketing Information for Indiana Farmers (Mar. 26, 1953) |
Previous | 1 of 4 | Next |
|
|
Loading content ...
Economic and Marketing INFORMATION FOR INDIANA FARMERS Lafayette, Indiana March 26, 1953 Prepared by members of the Agricultural Staff of Purdue University Are Our Livestock Markets Efficient! By CLIFTON B. COX, Department of Agricultural Economics INDIANA FARMERS have I a large number and wide variety of markets available for the movement of livestock between farms and the place of slaughter. In 1951, there were 130 dealer and packer markets, 79 auction markets and four posted markets operating in the state. These markets are located in 75 of the 92 counties leaving only 17 counties in the state without some licensed market (Figure 1). The total number of all livestock markets has increased from 169 in 1940 to 213 in 1951. The greatest change in type of market has been the increasing popularity of the auction. There were 54 in the state in 1940 and 79 in 1951. Dealer and packer markets increased from 110 in 1940 to 130 in 1951, and posted markets decreased from five to four. The question is often raised whether Indiana farmers have too few markets, the correct number or too many for most efficient livestock marketing. Previous studies have indicated that prices of hogs at the dealer and packer markets average lower than prices at the Indianapolis posted market. Also, they have shown that local markets, as a rule, use central markets as price basing points. If dealer and packer market prices are lower, the question immediately follows: "Are the local markets out in the state operat- ln9 at the least cost to the farmer?" Part of the answer to these questions is related to volume of business. A recent study conducted by Purdue University indicated that substantial savings in unit costs on a particular market could be effected by 'ncreasing volume. Volume is measured in terms of marketing units. Market operators were consulted in fne determination of equivalent costs of marketing hogs and other types of livestock. Since hogs are the predominate type of livestock in Indiana, other types of livestock were converted to marketing units with hogs equal to 1.000. The conversion factors were as follows: hog cow calf sheep or lamb = 1.000 = 3.375 = 1.875 units units units .750 units Dealer and Packer Markets Markets receiving about 1,000 marketing units per month had a cost of approximately 70 cents per unit handled. Costs could be reduced to less than 35 cents per unit if volume could be increased to 3,000 units per month. Costs could still be further reduced, but at a much slower rate, by increasing volume to more than 6,000 per month (Figure 2). The largest single expenditure made by the dealer and packer markets was for wages and salaries. The cost of one worker is approximately the same whether he is busy part or full time. Hence, it is important to have enough volume to keep each employee working effectively. Dealer and packer markets vary in size from less than 100 to over 15,000 marketing units per month. One-third of the dealer and packer markets operating in Indiana handle less than 1,000 marketing units per month (Table 1). Nearly another third handle between one and two thousand per month. Thus, the number of high cost, small volume markets is large. Auction Markets The cost of operating per marketing unit is somewhat greater for auctions than for dealer and packer markets. Auctions handle odd lots of hogs and many
Object Description
Title | Economic and Marketing Information for Indiana Farmers (Mar. 26, 1953) |
Purdue Identification Number | UA14-13-econ195303 |
Date of Original | 1953 |
Publisher | Purdue University. Agricultural Extension Service |
Subjects (LCSH) |
Farm produce--Indiana--Marketing Agriculture--Economic aspects--Indiana |
Genre | Periodical |
Collection Title | Extension Economic & Marketing Information (Purdue University. Agricultural Extension) |
Rights | Copyright Purdue University. All rights reserved. |
Coverage | United States - Indiana |
Type | text |
Format | JP2 |
Language | eng |
Repository | Purdue University Libraries |
Date Digitized | 02/27/2015 |
Digitization Specifications | Original scanned at 400 ppi on a BookEye 3 scanner using Opus software. Display images generated in Contentdm as JP2000s; file format for archival copy is uncompressed TIF format. |
URI | UA14-13-econ195303.tif |
Description
Title | Economic and Marketing Information for Indiana Farmers (Mar. 26, 1953) |
Purdue Identification Number | UA14-13-econ195303 |
Transcript | Economic and Marketing INFORMATION FOR INDIANA FARMERS Lafayette, Indiana March 26, 1953 Prepared by members of the Agricultural Staff of Purdue University Are Our Livestock Markets Efficient! By CLIFTON B. COX, Department of Agricultural Economics INDIANA FARMERS have I a large number and wide variety of markets available for the movement of livestock between farms and the place of slaughter. In 1951, there were 130 dealer and packer markets, 79 auction markets and four posted markets operating in the state. These markets are located in 75 of the 92 counties leaving only 17 counties in the state without some licensed market (Figure 1). The total number of all livestock markets has increased from 169 in 1940 to 213 in 1951. The greatest change in type of market has been the increasing popularity of the auction. There were 54 in the state in 1940 and 79 in 1951. Dealer and packer markets increased from 110 in 1940 to 130 in 1951, and posted markets decreased from five to four. The question is often raised whether Indiana farmers have too few markets, the correct number or too many for most efficient livestock marketing. Previous studies have indicated that prices of hogs at the dealer and packer markets average lower than prices at the Indianapolis posted market. Also, they have shown that local markets, as a rule, use central markets as price basing points. If dealer and packer market prices are lower, the question immediately follows: "Are the local markets out in the state operat- ln9 at the least cost to the farmer?" Part of the answer to these questions is related to volume of business. A recent study conducted by Purdue University indicated that substantial savings in unit costs on a particular market could be effected by 'ncreasing volume. Volume is measured in terms of marketing units. Market operators were consulted in fne determination of equivalent costs of marketing hogs and other types of livestock. Since hogs are the predominate type of livestock in Indiana, other types of livestock were converted to marketing units with hogs equal to 1.000. The conversion factors were as follows: hog cow calf sheep or lamb = 1.000 = 3.375 = 1.875 units units units .750 units Dealer and Packer Markets Markets receiving about 1,000 marketing units per month had a cost of approximately 70 cents per unit handled. Costs could be reduced to less than 35 cents per unit if volume could be increased to 3,000 units per month. Costs could still be further reduced, but at a much slower rate, by increasing volume to more than 6,000 per month (Figure 2). The largest single expenditure made by the dealer and packer markets was for wages and salaries. The cost of one worker is approximately the same whether he is busy part or full time. Hence, it is important to have enough volume to keep each employee working effectively. Dealer and packer markets vary in size from less than 100 to over 15,000 marketing units per month. One-third of the dealer and packer markets operating in Indiana handle less than 1,000 marketing units per month (Table 1). Nearly another third handle between one and two thousand per month. Thus, the number of high cost, small volume markets is large. Auction Markets The cost of operating per marketing unit is somewhat greater for auctions than for dealer and packer markets. Auctions handle odd lots of hogs and many |
Tags
Add tags for Economic and Marketing Information for Indiana Farmers (Mar. 26, 1953)
Comments
Post a Comment for Economic and Marketing Information for Indiana Farmers (Mar. 26, 1953)