Local Farmers Watch Market Swings
A sudden dip in hog prices has left area farmers weighing the benefits of early sales as livestock markets struggle with soft demand.
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Valley farmers who had hogs to sell this year and rushed their produce to market early are congratulating themselves on their foresight in anticipating a drop in price predicted last week, which became apparent yesterday when local dealers offered but $4.50 per hundred live weight. The quotations today are a drop of 50 cents per hundred, and a further decline is in sight unless conditions in the Sound and Portland markets improve. A very light demand for all kinds of livestock in these two markets is attributed as the reason for the sudden drop in hogs. Local receipts for the week, while good, did not quite reach last week's volume, with about 300 head delivered to the city's dealers. The Walla Walla Meat company shipped three cars this week to Sound wholesalers and will follow the shipments tonight with four cars of steers. Steers were quoted today at $3.25 per hundred and cows at $2.50 to $2.75, with the supply slightly exceeding the demand.
“Valley farmers who had hogs to sell this year and rushed their produce to market early are congratulating themselves on their foresight.”
Agricultural market volatility remains a staple of the Walla Walla economy. Just as farmers in 1903 relied on regional rail networks to reach markets in Seattle and Portland, today’s regional growers still contend with the complexities of supply-chain logistics and shifting price points that dictate local livelihoods.
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