Masters Theses

Date of Award

3-1975

Degree Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Science

Major

Animal Science

Major Professor

Haley M. Jamison

Committee Members

Robert S. Dotson, William R. Backus

Abstract

Records from 4,362 pens (250,625 pigs) sold in the Carthage feeder pig sales from 1969 through 1973 were studied to evaluate the effects of grade, average weight per pen, pen size, month and year of sale on the average price received per hundredweight and per head for feeder pigs. The data in Analyses I and II were for the period February, 1969 through September, 1970, in which average weight per pen was 53.05 pounds, average number of pigs per pen was 37.38, with average prices per hundredweight and per head of $40.69 and $20.80, respectively. The data in Analyses III and IV were for the period October, 1970 through October, 1973, in which average weight per pen was 52.95 pounds, average number of pigs per pen was 51.90, with an average price per hundredweight and per head of $44.64 and $21.21, respectively. This study revealed that year of sale had a significant effect on the price received per hundredweight and per head for feeder pigs. As would be expected, the sources of variation of year of sale are fixed and environmental effects did exist. Grade of pig had a highly significant effect on both of the dependent variables, prices received per hundredweight and the price received per head in all analyses. In Analysis I, grade 1 pigs sold for $10.39 per hundredweight and $5.24 per head more than pigs grading 4, and $4.24 per hundredweight and $2.49 per head more than pigs grading 3. Grade 2 pigs sold for $2.03 less per hundredweight and $1.23 less per head than pigs grading 1; whereas in Analysis II, the differences among grades both from the standpoint of price received per hundredweight and price received per head were in the same degree of magnitude. Pigs grading 1 compared to those grading 4 returned to the producers $10.67 more per hundredweight and $5.43 more per head. In Analysis III, grades 1 and 2 pigs were combined and sold for $6.85 more per hundredweight and $3.60 more per head than did those grading 4. In Analysis IV, pigs grading 1 and 2 were combined and sold for $6.96 more per hundredweight and $3.71 more per head than those pigs grading 4. Month of sale had a highly significant effect on price received per hundredweight and per head. In Analyses I and II, pigs sold in December brought significantly more per hundredweight and per head than did pigs sold in any other month of the year. In Analyses III and IV, pigs sold in April brought more per hundredweight and more per head than any other month of the year. Pigs sold for less in April in Analysis I and pigs sold for less in January in Analyses II, III, and IV, than any other month of the year. Pen size did not have a significant effect on prices received for feeder pigs in any analyses. In Analysis I, pigs in pen sizes of 261 - 270 sold for more per hundredweight and per head than did pigs in any other category; whereas in Analysis III, pigs in pens of 351 - 360 sold for more per hundredweight than did pigs in any other pen size. Differences in average weight per pen were highly significant sources of variation in prices received in all analyses. When the price received per hundredweight was regressed on average weight per pen in Analyses I, II, III and IV with all other sources of variation held constant, these data indicate in all analyses that as average weight per pen increases, the price per hundredweight decreases. When average price received per hundredweight and average price received per head was regressed on average number of pigs per pen, a significant difference did not exist. When the average price received per head was regressed on average weight per pen, these data indicate that, as average weight per pen increased, so did average price per head received. These data indicate that, although lightweight pigs sell for more per hundredweight than heavy pigs, the price per head increases about $0.14. Thus, according to these data selling lightweight pigs is undesirable provided the cost of gain is less than $0.14 per pound.

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