STOCKYARDS are located at meat-packing centres for the purpose of receiving live stock which are to be used in a packing plant or sold to farmers for further feeding. At most points where there are two or more packing companies, there are stock yards known as public stockyards. Many packing companies, especially those which are located at country points, have private stockyards for their own use. The U.S. Department of Agri culture compiles and publishes records of live stock receipts, shipments, etc., at 67 public stockyards in all sections of the country. The largest of these stockyards are located at Chicago, Kansas City, Omaha, St. Louis and St. Paul. Any farmer who wishes to sell live stock may ship his animals to one of these markets, usually consigning his animals to a commission firm whose function it is to sell to a packer or a live stock feeder, when animals require further feeding to improve their quality. When the animals arrive at the stockyards, they are unloaded into pens where they are watered and fed and held until they are sold. The costs of feeding and handling and the fees to the
commission firm are paid by the farmer. At public stockyards, these charges are prescribed by the U.S. Department of Agri culture. The packers located near the stockyards send live stock buyers each day to the stockyards to buy their day's require ments. The buyers ride among the pens, accompanied by repre sentatives of the commission firms, and make their offers for the animals they want. In practice, every animal sent to market is purchased by someone a few hours or days after its arrival. Moreover, live stock are sold on a cash basis, so that the farmer receives his money almost immediately after the animals have been sold. Approximately 6o,000,000 to 8o,000,000 hogs, 14, 000,00o cattle and 16,000,000 sheep and lambs are marketed in the average year by U.S. farmers. (E. B. W.)