A Summary of Livestock Marketing in South Dakota

39 (41). For the five year period 1936-40 livestock sources were responsible for 78.7 percent of all farm cash income in South Dakota, exclusive of government payments. Of all the cash income from livestock sources the sales of the following species of animals accounted for specified percentages: Cattle, 32.7; hogs, 25.5; and sheep, 5.5 (See Figs. I and 2). The distribution of livestock in the state and the boundaries of the areas into which the state was divided for this study is shown by Figs. 3, 4 and 5. Cattle are distributed much more uniformly over the state, with the greatest concentration in the southeastern areas, 1 and 6 (See Fig. 3). Hog production has its greatest concentration in the southeast in Area 1 ( See Fig. 4). Sheep are grown all over the state, but by far in the largest numbers in the northwest in Area 7 (See Fig. 5). Of various services required in getting meat to the consumer, livestock marketing of slaughter animals alone ordinarily adsorbs from 3 to 6 percent of the retail meat price and from 7 to 17 percent of the farm value of the livestock.2 Of course for animals that are marketed first as feeders and then resold later for slaughter the marketing costs run considerably higher and consequently take a larger share of the retail meat dollar. Therefore, it is of significance to note that a high percentage of livestock in South Dakota is sold as feeders to be later resold for slaughter. Many Shifts in Livestock Marketing Methods During Last Two Decades. For a number of decades preceding World War I the majority of livestock was sold through terminal public markets. However, since that time numerous developments have taken place that have caused considerable change in marketing methods. In recent years there has been a growing tendency to establish slaughter plants at interior points. This, together with improvement of motor transportation facilities, has led to a great increase in direct marketing of slaughter animals, and a decline in marketings through shipping associations and terminal public markets. In still more recent times, in many states, there has been considerable development of livestock auction barns or agencies. These have diverted parts of the volume of livestock, particularly stocker and feeder animals, from older types of markets. All of these changes have created new problems in the marketing of livestock, causing shifts in methods and practices employed