University of California 
 College of Agriculture 
 Agricultural Experiment Station 
 Berkeley, California 
 
 POULTRY PRICING IN THE LOS ANGELES AREA 
 
 Contribution from the 
 Giannini Foundation of Agricultural Economics 
 Mimeographed Report No. 101 
 
 Kenneth D. Naden 
 
 December 1949 
 
 UNIVERSITY OP CAUTOW«A 
 
 LIBRARY 
 
 COULE££ Of AGRICULTURE 
 
 DA Vi3 
 
)7 
 
SPECIAL TERMS 
 
 Here is a convenient list of special terms used in the following pages: 
 Fresh-killed: Any poultry which has not been preserved by canning or freezing. 
 
 Ice-packed: 
 
 Dry-packed: 
 
 Class: 
 
 New York- 
 dressed: 
 
 Eviscerated: 
 Cut-up: 
 
 Fresh-killed poultry which has been cooled and kept refrigerated 
 by direct contact with chopped ice. 
 
 Fresh-killed poultry which has been cooled and kept refrigerated 
 by cold air only. 
 
 Any subdivision of a product based on essential physical charac- 
 teristics that differentiate the product in the eyes of buyers. 
 
 Poultry which has been killed, bled and picked. 
 
 New York-dressed poultry which has also had the head, shanks, pin 
 feathers and viscera removed. 
 
 Eviscerated poultry which has been segmented into parts such as 
 thighs, breast, back, etc., for cooking. Such poultry is often 
 termed "ready-to-cook." 
 
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POULTRY PRICING IN THE LOS ANGELES AREA 
 Kenneth D. Naden^ 
 
 INTRODUCTION 
 
 Poultrymen in the Los Angeles area have for several years been concerned with 
 difficulties and uncertainties arising in the marketing of their chickens. This 
 study is an attempt to describe such difficulties and explain why they exist. 
 
 The heart of any marketing problem is price . Certain conditions in this market 
 appear to obstruct the rapid and efficient formation of prices. This study analyzes 
 the prices and the price-making machinery in the poultry market in Los Angeles. 
 
 For any market there are certain well-established standards of price-making 
 efficiency. These are: (l) equality of bargaining power between buyer and seller; 
 (2) a large quantity of accurate and pertinent information available to all parties 
 in the market; (3) direct transmission of consumer preferences back to producers 
 through the use of uniform classes and grades. Is poultry pricing in the Los Angeles 
 area efficient by these standards? This study shows that it is not. 
 
 This study is divided into two main parts. The first provides the general back- 
 ground for the industry in the area necessary for an understanding of the way prices 
 work. It describes the system of classifying chickens in the Los Angeles market and 
 marketing channels through which poultry reaches the consumer. 
 
 The second part analyzes, against the above background, the factors affecting 
 the price-making process for poultry in the Los Angeles area, and how its operation 
 affects returns to producers. Poultry prices at farm, wholesale and retail levels 
 were collected and related to prices in other geographic areas. Relationships be- 
 tween certain market practices and specific price results are shown.*/ 
 
 I. THE BACKGROUND 
 
 Classification of Chickens in the Los Angeles Area 
 
 Chickens are separated into classes according to their characteristics as human 
 food and their manner of cooking. The major classes of poultry are broilers, fryers, 
 roasters and hens. The first three are all young, soft-meated birds. They are 
 classed on the basis of live weight. Young chickens weighing 1-3/4 to 2-1/4 pounds 
 are broilers; fryers weigh 2-1/4 to 4 pounds; those above 4 pounds are roasters. 
 Different prices are received for each of these three classes. As chickens mature 
 the proportion of edible meat to total carcass weight increases, hence the value 
 
 1/ Instructor in Agricultural Economics, Junior Agricultural Economist in the 
 Experiment Station and on the Giannini Foundation. 
 
 2/ This is part of a more comprehensive study of the Los Angeles poultry market 
 being conducted by the author. Additional topics such as sources of supply, margins 
 of various marketing agencies, the comparison of the Los Angeles with other western 
 city poultry markets, and the competition of fresh-dressed with frozen poultry will 
 be included. 
 
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2. 
 
 per pound of total weight increases with maturity. 
 
 In the Los Angeles market a definite relationship exists between classes of 
 poultry and breeds of poultry. The two terms are not synonymous, yet seem to be 
 interchangeable in trade terminology. This is partly because nearly all the broilers 
 sold in the Los Angeles market are Leghorn cockerels. In other parts of the country 
 young chickens of all breeds are sold as broilers. The Los Angeles situation is due 
 to the high concentration of Leghorn hens for egg production in the area. The cock- 
 erels are a by-product of the hatcheries producing chicks for laying flocks. When 
 selling sexed chicks became common, hatcheries began to sell cockerel chicks at lower 
 prices than pullet chicks. It then became feasible to feed the cockerels for eight 
 to ten weeks, but no longer. Young chickens of other breeds are usually fed to the 
 fryer and roaster weights because it pays producers to do so. 
 
 This situation has resulted in a poultry nomenclature slightly different from 
 that used in the East Coast markets. All light weight young live chickens there are 
 called broilers. The term "commercial broiler production" includes production of 
 the type called fryers in Los Angeles. 
 
 The hen, or fowl, is another major class of poultry in the Los Angeles mar- 
 ket. 3/ This class is subdivided into three classes according to breed: Leghorn 
 hens, colored hens and Austra-white hens. The trade always refers to the breed, 
 never to the hen alone. Each of the three is a separate product with a separate 
 price quotation. 
 
 Table 1 gives the relative importance of the various poultry classes produced 
 locally. Leghorn hens make up such a large proportion of the total that they are 
 listed separately from other hens. 
 
 Marketing Channels for Poultry Meat 
 
 The marketing process for an agricultural product consists of the addition of 
 various services to the raw product in order to get it to the consumer in the form 
 and at the time and place he wants it. These services are performed by firms and 
 individuals, each with one or more specialized functions. Together they make up a 
 marketing channel through which the product reaches the consumer (figure l). 
 
 There are several channels for poultry in the Los Angeles area.^/ Here we 
 consider channels for both locally-produced poultry and "outside" poultry. By 
 "locally-produced" we mean poultry produced in the area south of the Tehachapi Range, 
 consisting of Los Angeles, Riverside, Orange and San Bernardino counties. Channels 
 for locally-produced and "outside" poultry intersect at various places, mainly at 
 the wholesale level in the city. 
 
 3/ Only mature female chickens are included in this class. Therefore, the author 
 feels the word hen fits this description more accurately than does fowl. The U.S. 
 Department of Agriculture recommends the use of the word hen instead of stewing 
 chicken or fowl, 
 
 4/ Los Angeles city (a political concept) should not be confused with the Los 
 Angeles area (an economic concept) as used in this study. The Los Angeles area in- 
 cludes thirty separate municipalities with a total population of over 4,000,000 
 people as of January 1, 1949. 
 
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TABLE 1 
 
 Approximate Distribution by Total Dressed Weight of 
 Classes of Poultry Produced in the Los Angeles Area 
 
 Class 
 
 Per cent of total 
 
 Commercial broilers and fryers 
 
 35 
 
 Colored roasters 
 
 10 
 
 Colored hens (including Austras) 
 
 15 
 
 Leghorn hens 
 
 40 
 
 Total 
 
 100 
 
 Source of data: Estimated by author. 
 
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FIGURE 1 
 
 Marketing Channels for Poultry Meat, Los Angeles Area, 1949 
 
 Country 
 processor 
 
 to 
 u 
 
 4> 
 O 
 
 ! 
 
 Dressed poultry 
 receiver and 
 broker 
 
 Huckster 
 
 City 
 processor 
 
 Processor 
 Retailer 
 
 Hotels 
 
 Ships 
 
 Restau- 
 rants 
 
 4 
 
 u 
 
 o 
 
 o 
 
 The lines indicate the flow of poultry from 
 producers through handlers to consumers. 
 

 
 - - 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Ir.XCm5E.T- 
 
1. Producer— Consumer (Direct Sale) .-— Poultrymen make direct contact with con- 
 sumers in various ways. Most of these involve dressing the poultry on the ranch. 
 Contact with consumers may be made with a roadside stand operated by the family 
 members, with a roadside sign announcing "Eggs and Poultry for Sale," or with house- 
 to-house delivery in city areas. These contacts seldom offer an outlet for the 
 entire supply raised on a ranch, and the remainder moves into commercial channels. 
 
 One important form of direct marketing in the Los Angeles area is that in which 
 poultrymen furnish fryers of a specific weight and quality to a restaurant. Poultry- 
 men seek these arrangements eagerly because they are a dependable market outlet 
 through good seasons and poor. 
 
 It is estimated that the total amount moving by direct sale is about 13 per 
 cent of the total poultry produced locally. This is divided about equally between 
 sales direct to consumers and direct to retail markets and restaurants. The amount 
 sold by this method is only a small percentage of the poultry consumed in the area, 
 however, because local production accounts for about one third of the total consumed, 
 
 2. Producer— Dressed Poultry Retailer. Live Poultry Retailer—Consumer . —The 
 retail live poultry store is an important outlet for local poultrymen. The number 
 of these stores has not changed greatly for several years, but the turnover or rate 
 of mortality is rather high. There are about 60 or 70 live poultry stores in Los 
 Angeles and nearly as many in outlying towns. Those in the city are located in the 
 central (hence older) sections. Although many of them are found in the areas of 
 middle- and low-income consumers, their location is governed more by zoning ordi- 
 nances than by the exclusive patronage of these people. 
 
 The live poultry store is not an important retail outlet in other major Cali- 
 fornia cities. This is because certain Los Angeles consumers, including the Jewish 
 trade, demand a bird of known quality and wholesomeness. 
 
 A small but growing proportion of fresh-killed poultry is sold under a brand 
 name. Consumers usually are accustomed to buying by brand and associating a certain 
 brand name with a given quality. Possibly some consumers patronize a retail poultry 
 store as a substitute for the buying of poultry by a brand name. 
 
 In the live poultry store the buyer selects the bird he wants from batteries of 
 chickens. It is tagged for identification, killed, picked, drawn or cut up in a 
 back room and delivered to the buyer immediately. The volume of business of each 
 of these stores ranges from 1,000 to 4,000 pounds live weight a week. One to five 
 employees, in addition to the manager-owner, are needed. to handle this volume. It 
 is trade opinion that the retail stores use an inefficient method of processing— 
 by comparison with the methods of the city processors. Often one person does the 
 processing in a retail store and there is not enough business to keep him fully 
 occupied. 
 
 This inefficiency in processing does not place this outlet at a disadvantage 
 with others however. The live poultry store combines the functions of the city 
 processor and the retail market and hence has a relatively wide margin to work on. 
 The live poultry store offers its poultry at a lower price per pound than any other 
 outlet. This is because the product is live whereas it has different degrees of 
 waste matter removed before sale in other forms. There is a 10-12 per cent loss in 
 processing chickens from live to New York-dressed and further loss of 20-26 per cent 
 in processing from dressed to the drawn condition. This difference in net weight 
 of the three forms must be taken into account in comparing their prices. 
 
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 The retail dressed , poultry st ore has many of the same characteristics of the 
 retail live poultry store. The dressed poultry store can be located in any place 
 zoned for retail meat sales, and may carry fish, eggs, etc, along with poultry. 
 
 The live and dressed retail outlets carry an estimated 10 per cent of the total 
 poultry consumed in the area, or roughly 30 per cent of the total produced locally. 
 
 3 . Producer — Huckster — Proce ss or — C onsumer > --Here the huckster, not the 
 processor, is the country buyer. The huckster is the most important country buyer 
 in the Los Angeles area. He is an independent merchant, buying and selling chickens. 
 He may work exclusively with one processor, or buy and sell independently. His 
 operations usually involve one truck and a set of crates which he owns and operates. 
 Shipments vary from 400 to 1,000 birds per load, and ordinarily a huckster picks up 
 and delivers one load per day. An estimated 125-150 of these buyers are in opera- 
 tion. Few of them work under contract for the total output of a ranch. Many of 
 them have a tenuous "agreement" with certain poultrymen to call at their place regu- 
 larly to see if any birds are available. Both parties feel free to break the agree- 
 ment if better offers appear. 
 
 The huckster performs primarily an assembly function: collecting poultry from 
 many farms, large and small. This necessarily includes buying and selling. There 
 appears to be more dissatisfaction among farmers with hucksters' buying practices 
 and prices than with those of other buyers. 
 
 . It is estimated that hucksters handle one half of all the poultry produced 
 locally. They sell three quarters of this amount to city processors and the re- 
 mainder to processor-retailers. 
 
 4. Producer — City Processor — Restau ra nt. Retail Market — Consumer; and Producer - 
 Huckster — City Processor — Rest aura nt. Retail Market — C o nsumer . — C ity pr oce s s ors 
 handle the bulk of the local poultry. They are also known as city dealers or whole- 
 salers. Their job mainly consists in converting large numbers of chickens from the 
 live to the New York-dressed condition and selling them wholesale to retail markets 
 and restaurants. City processors obtain most of their supply from hucksters or 
 direct from ranches via their own buyers. Some of them own and operate poultry 
 ranches and obtain part of their supply from this source. 
 
 There are now some 14 city processors operating in and about Los Angeles. Some 
 of them maintain dressing plants in other parts of California. Each plant handles a 
 weekly volume varying from 10,000 to 35,000 pounds live weight, and maintains 8 to 
 20 employees. 
 
 Up to 1948 a few of these processors were also carlot receivers and wholesalers 
 of live poultry shipped into the market from other areas. These shipments have since 
 practically stopped. 
 
 The city processors, with their large number of selling outlets, must have all 
 types and grades of poultry available to satisfy their buyers' demands. They handle 
 and sell practically all the second quality poultry on the market. They sometimes 
 have retail live or retail dressed sales as a sideline. 
 
 More than one half of the locally-produced, poultry goes through plants of the 
 city processors. The bulk of this is then sold to retail markets with some going to 
 restaurants and dressed poultry receivers. The latter usually stand ready to buy 
 poultry which does not move readily into normal trade channels. 
 
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 6. Producer — Country Processor — Dressed Poultry Receiver or Broker — Retail 
 Market. Restaurant — Consumer . --The country processors and poultry receivers in the 
 city form an important channel for poultry consumed in Los Angeles but not for that 
 produced in this area. Their importance arises primarily because they are the 
 agencies by which the market receives supplies from outside the local area. Los 
 Angeles is a deficit market for poultry and imports about 70 per cent of its supply 
 from other parts of California and other states. 
 
 The country processor ship fresh-killed poultry if they are located close enough 
 to the city to make this feasible. Otherwise, they process the chickens by freezing. 
 The receivers accept, store and distribute the product in the condition in which it 
 is shipped. Occasionally dressed chickens are received and then eviscerated. 
 
 Brokers have no physical facilities of their own for receiving or distributing 
 poultry. They sell on orders of country processors or buy for local receivers. 
 
 7. Chain Stores . —The chain grocery stores enter poultry distribution channels 
 as retail markets as shown on figure 1. In 1947 there were about 25 chain stores 
 
 in the Los Angeles area having from 50 to 250 units each. They are more important 
 than their numbers indicate because of their large sales volume. 
 
 The quantity of poultry necessary to serve some of them is quite large. The 
 largest chain grocery in the city has found that local processors do not have the 
 volume it requires at prices which compare favorably with those obtainable elsewhere. 
 Hence, its buyers have made arrangements with distant processors who have the volume 
 and other conditions desired. This poultry is received directly at the chain store 
 warehouse and does not pass through other hands. 
 
 Other chains buy in the usual manner from city processors or dressed poultry 
 receivers. Many institutions such as hospitals, prisons, etc., which must buy on 
 a bid basis, get their poultry from dressed poultry receivers since the imported 
 product is usually available at a slightly lower price than the local supply. 
 
 The following tabulation summarizes this section by showing the relation- 
 ships which exist in the Los Angeles market between the poultry marketing agencies, 
 their functions and the various classes of poultry. 
 
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 &.atortP,.,.Oi. 
 
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 yy, ^i:y --- 
 
 Hit 
 
8. 
 
 Marketing agencies 
 
 Functions performed 
 
 ! Class of poultry handled 
 
 Producers 
 
 Processing, selling 
 
 Fryers and roasters 
 
 
 Huckster 
 
 Assembly 
 
 All classes 
 
 
 Country processor 
 
 Financing production, 
 assembly, processing, 
 grading, storage, 
 selling, delivery 
 
 Mainly colored hens 
 fryers — some Leghc 
 
 and 
 )rns 
 
 City processor 
 
 Assembly, storage, 
 processing, 
 grading, selling, 
 delivery 
 
 ATT _T - 
 
 All classes 
 
 
 Broker 
 
 Buying , sell ins 
 
 All classes. Also c 
 types of produce 
 
 )ther 
 
 Live and dressed 
 poultry retailer 
 
 Assembly, storage, 
 processing, 
 selling 
 
 Mainly colored hens and 
 fryers. Some Leghorn 
 hens 
 
 Retail meat markets 
 and restaurants 
 
 Storage, processing, 
 selling 
 
 All classes. Leghorn 
 broilers go primarily 
 to restaurants 
 
 The marketing system for poultry in this area does not include a central market 
 place, an auction market, or a farmers' cooperative marketing association. Many 
 agricultural commodities are marketed through one or more of these types of agencies. 
 The absence of any of these marks one of the peculiarities of the Los Angeles poultry 
 market. This and other distinctive features affect the price-making process. This 
 study investigates the price-making process for poultry in Los Angeles to determine 
 how well it operates. 
 
 II. FACTORS AFFECTING THE EFFICIENCY CF PRICE-MAKING FOR POULTRY 
 
 1. Price Reporting by the United States Department of Agriculture 
 
 Importance of Daily Price Report . — Los Angeles is the central market for poult- 
 ry in southern California. Prices paid there exert an influence throughout the area. 
 The daily price report publishes information concerning these prices and certain 
 shipments. The accuracy and adequacy of this information is of vital significance 
 to the efficiency of price making in the whole area. 
 
 The basic indicator of supply and demand for local poultry in Los Angeles is 
 the live-weight price paid by city processors. This is reported daily by the 
 Federal-State Market News Service. The price report is distributed to a large 
 number of direct mail addressees and is published in abridged form in most local 
 •newspapers. The price received by city processors from retail buyers for New-York- 
 dressed poultry is also reported. This price often determines the farm price paid 
 by certain processors for contract-produced poultry. 
 
3. 
 
 Marketing agencies 
 
 Functions performed 
 
 Class of poultry handled 
 
 Producers 
 
 Processing, selling 
 
 
 
 Fryers and roasters 
 
 
 Huckster 
 
 Assembly 
 
 All classes 
 
 
 Country processor 
 
 Financing production, 
 assembly^ processing, 
 grading, storage, 
 selling, delivery 
 
 Mainly colored hens 
 fryers — some Leghc 
 
 and 
 >rns 
 
 City processor 
 
 Assembly, storage, 
 processing, 
 grading, selling, 
 delivery 
 
 All classes 
 
 
 Broker 
 
 Buying , sel] ing 
 
 All classes. Also c 
 types of produce 
 
 )ther 
 
 Live and dressed 
 poultry retailer 
 
 Assembly, storage, 
 processing, 
 selling 
 
 Mainly colored hens 
 fryers. Some Legi 
 hens 
 
 and 
 lcrn 
 
 Retail meat markets 
 and restaurants 
 
 Storage, processing, 
 selling 
 
 All classes. Leghorn 
 broilers go primarily 
 to restaurants 
 
 The marketing system for poultry in this area does not include a central market 
 place, an auction market, or a farmers' cooperative marketing association. Many 
 agricultural commodities are marketed through one or more of these types of agencies. 
 The absence of any of these marks one of the pecularities of the Los Angeles poultry 
 market. This and other distinctive features affect the price-making process. This 
 study investigates the price-making process for poultry in Los Angeles to determine 
 how well it operates, 
 
 II. FACTORS AFFECTING THE EFFICIENCY OF PRICE-MAKING FOR POULTRY 
 
 ' 1. Price Reporting by the United States Department of Agriculture 
 
 Importance of Daily Price Report . — Los Angeles is the central market for poult- 
 ry in southern California, Prices paid there exert an influence throughout the area. 
 The daily price report publishes information concerning these prices and certain 
 shipments. The accuracy and adequacy of this information is of vital significance 
 to the efficiency of price making in the whole area. 
 
 The basic indicator of supply and demand for local poultry in Los Angeles is 
 the live-weight price paid by city processors. This is reported daily by the 
 Federal-State Market News Service. The price report is distributed to a large 
 number of direct mail addressees and is published in abridged form in most local 
 newspapers. The price received by city processors from retail buyers for New-York- 
 dressed poultry is also reported. This price often determines the farm price paid 
 by certain processors for contract-produced poultry. 
 
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9 
 
 Before 1942, the quotation of the Produce Exchange of Los Angeles was considered 
 the basic price for poultry and eggs in Los Angeles. This quotation was established 
 daily by trading among the members of the Exchange. In 1939 the Department of Jus- 
 tice brought suit against the Exchange and several members as individuals, for viola- 
 tion of the Sherman Anti-Trust Act. The indictment charged the prices established 
 on the Exchange were arbitrary, capricious, and based upon an extremely small part 
 of the total volume moving through the market. In 1942 the Federal Court in Los 
 Angeles restrained the Exchanged from meeting to establish prices. At the same time, 
 the Federal-State Market News Service was expanded to cover dairy and poultry prod- 
 ucts and the price report replaced the Exchange quotation as the barometer of supply 
 and demand for poultry in the city. 
 
 An example of the form of the Department of Agriculture daily price report 
 follows : 
 
 Poultry Price Report for Los Angeles 
 Monday, October 10, 1949 
 
 Class 
 
 Weight 
 
 Live poultry no. 1 
 quality f.o.b. pay- 
 ing prices 
 
 New York-dressed 
 poultry grade A - 
 prices to retailers 
 
 Broilers — Leghorn 
 Fryers — colored 
 Fryers — colored 
 Roasters — colored 
 Fowl — Leghorn 
 Fowl — Leghorn 
 Fowl— Austra White 
 Fowl — colored 
 
 
 cents per pound 
 
 
 2if pounds and under 
 
 2- 4 - 3 pounds 
 
 3- 4 pounds 
 
 4 pounds and over 
 4 pounds and under 
 4 pounds and over 
 4g- pounds and over 
 All weights 
 
 29-31 
 31-34 
 31-34 
 34-36 
 18-20 
 20-21 
 23-25 
 29-32 
 
 43- 45 
 
 44- 47 
 
 45- 48 
 47-50 
 28-30 
 30-32 
 33-35 
 40-42 
 
 
 Collection and Mean in g of Prices in the Report .— There is no central market place 
 for poultry in Los Angeles such as there is for beef cattle or hogs. The day's ship- 
 ments of livestock are usually assembled in a central yard, where prices are deter- 
 mined by bids and offers .5/ In contrast the poultry market is decentralized into 
 areas where buyers are located. The buyers are processors scattered over a wide 
 area of the city. Prices paid and received in the city are collected from individual 
 dealers rather than by visits to a market. There has never been a central wholesale 
 market place for poultry because no producer or trade association has ever taken the 
 initiative to form one. Sound competitive prices can prevail without a central mar- 
 ket place, however, if adequate information is available in all parts of the de- 
 centralized area. The price report is the only present source of information and 
 the collection, meaning, and adequacy of its prices are greatly affected by the ab- 
 sence of a central market place. 
 
 5/ Direct shipments from farm to processor are quite common in beef arid hog mar 
 keting as well as in poultry. But livestock producers have the alternative of 
 shipping direct or consigning to central yards. Poultrymen do not have this al- 
 ternative and as a result, price making suffers. 
 
■i 
 
10. 
 
 The price report is gathered from city processors only . The 65 or so retail 
 live poultry stores in the city are not accounted for, although they handled about 
 as much volume as the 14 city processors and operate under entirely different busi- 
 ness methods and type of competition. A main reason for limiting the source of 
 price information to the city processors is ease of collection. The large number 
 and high mortality of the retail stores would make accurate price information diffi- 
 cult to get. The prices paid and charged by a new firm or a firm about to close 
 are not likely to represent the true condition of the market. A further reason 
 for selecting the city processors for price information is that each of them buys 
 all classes of poultry daily. 
 
 The Market News reporter calls certain city processors daily and visits them 
 occasionally. Prices of all classes rarely change at the same time. The reporter 
 may hear one day that "supplies of hens are plentiful" at going prices; or "fryers 
 may be down a cent tomorrow." These hints and reports are followed up to determine 
 what the majority of processors are paying. If there has been no indication of a 
 price change, the reporter may check only with dealers whose record of price changes 
 shows the greatest sensitivity to supply-demand changes. 
 
 The prices of most interest to producers are those quoted for live poultry. 
 These prices are those which were paid by "certain processors" for specified 
 quantities and qualities of poultry delivered to their doors. These quantities 
 are arranged for prior to delivery and are in relation to the amount that can be 
 sold at expected prices, or to the size of plant or labor force. This explains 
 processors' reluctance to buy any more poultry than this even though offered at a 
 lower price. 
 
 The price report gives a range of prices paid and received by city processors. 
 There is always some range in prices paid for a given commodity on any market at 
 any given time, but the range for poultry in Los Angeles seems unduly large. This 
 is because (l) there are no official grades in the market and dealers disagree on 
 the quality of live chickens; (2) there is always some range of quality within any 
 one grade and (3) most buyers will pay a cent or two per pound premium for chickens 
 coming from a regular and dependable source of supply. Other special considerations 
 often bring sales figures outside the range. The range of prices does not include 
 all prices paid and received but only the range covering the bulk of purchases and 
 sales by certain processors. Furthermore, it covers only dry-packed but no ice- 
 packed poultry. 
 
 Accuracy and Adequacy of the Daily Price Renort .— Many poultrymen, hucksters, 
 and processors say that the report is wrong or inaccurate. At times they say that 
 even though accurate, it is of little value to them. These two comments point to 
 the difference between the accuracy and adequacy of the report. Many poultrymen 
 feel that their receiving a price outside the range in the report indicates that 
 it is inaccurate. Before deciding this, the source and meaning of the prices re- 
 ported must be fully understood. The only test of the accuracy of the report is 
 an examination of the buying records and an inspection of the poultry bought by the 
 dealers from whom the prices were collected. 
 
 The author has had the opportunity to observe conditions which led to prices 
 being received by farmers which were outside the range of the report. One of these 
 conditions is distance from the city. The prices reported are those paid in the 
 city; country prices are ordinarily city prices minus transportation costs.- These 
 usually vary directly with distance. Another condition noted was the grade of the 
 
11. 
 
 chickens in a particular lot. The prices reported are for No. 1 quality live 
 chickens and if a lot is largely No. 2 quality or lower, the price will be differ- 
 ent. Another condition noted and confirmed by processors is that buyers frequently 
 pay a premium to obtain a dependable supply or to acquire a new source of supply. 
 Occasions have also been noted when a premium was paid to acquire chickens for 
 feeding or for speculative purposes. Many producers sell to processor-retailers 
 in Los Angeles or to processors outside the city. These sales at prices outside 
 those in the report cannot be interpreted as inaccuracies in the report. There 
 are wide differences in bargaining power between individual farmers and buyers. 
 Persons well acquainted with poultry marketing in Los Angeles and elsewhere state 
 that these differences often result in prices above or below the range of the re- 
 port. Such prices should not raise a question of accuracy of the report. 
 
 The adequacy of the price report is a different natter. By adequate we mean 
 able to fulfill certain purposes; to give the amount and kind of information de- 
 sired by all parties in the market. In order for any market to function properly, 
 all parties must have certain information. The most important items of informa- 
 tion needed are: current prices, the quantities and quality of the commodity on 
 the market, and the degree of buyer interest. These are most easily obtained at 
 an auction or central market place. But the Los Angeles poultry market is decen- 
 tralized into many widely separated markets. They are not in close contact with 
 each other. As a result, the items of information urgently needed are difficult 
 to collect. Much buying and selling is done without adequate information available. 
 
 The daily price report of the United States Department of Agriculture is the 
 only information published in Los Angeles which can be used as a guide to intelli- 
 gent buying and selling. Hence, its inadequacy is a serious barrier to price- 
 making efficiency. The price report is inadequate as such a guide for several 
 reasons. Some of these are: 
 
 (1) It does not include quantities of live and dressed poultry delivered to 
 the city per day or week. There is no physical bottleneck through which all the 
 poultry must pass. Complete rail receipts of dressed poultry are collected but 
 only a partial count of truck receipts is obtained. Nearly all live poultry 
 arrives by truck and no count of these shipments is made. There are about 100 
 buyers of live poultry in the area. Funds and personnel are not available at 
 present to contact them to obtain this information. 
 
 (2) It does not report prices of qualities other than No. 1. It is well known 
 that there are side variations in the quality of poultry delivered to the city. 
 When the price for only one portion of the supply is known, the price for the other 
 portion can be such as to nullify the information on the former. However, this 
 problem cannot be solved until definitions of various grades of poultry are agreed 
 upon. The range of prices quoted at present is \^ider than it would be if the grades 
 were defined. The fact that grades of poultry are not defined reduces greatly the 
 value of any price information. 
 
 (3) It does not report retail prices for poultry. This is not a serious de- 
 ficiency but competition among handlers would be raised if accurate information 
 concerning retail prices were available. Producers do not have the opportunity of 
 directing their product into alternative retail outlets. This is done for them by 
 processors and receivers,. Publication of retail prices would serve a useful purpose 
 to producers who sell direct to consumers and wish to maintain a price competitive 
 with those found in the city. Publication of retail prices would be difficult under 
 the present system of class designations. There are eight different classes 
 
-Tteftli'S en' Hi:,; <>v ! 
 
 .,(.'. • 
 
 I • f 
 
 ■ :. 
 
12. 
 
 included in the sample price report above. These same classes are carried through 
 citjr processors but not to consumers. All eight classes are not available to con- 
 sumers because some are sold to restaurants and to institutions. But the six or 
 so available are compressed into three or four. For instance, no distinction is 
 made at retail between light and heavy Leghorns, between Austras and colored hens, 
 or between light and heavy fryers. Maximum usefulness of reporting retail prices 
 would not be attained without uniform definitions of classes of poultry. 
 
 (4) The prices which it reports are based upon a relatively small proportion 
 of the total receipts in the market. This is the result of three factors: the 
 limited coverage of buyers, the practice of buying by "agreement" with prices based 
 on those in the daily price report and new marketing developments. 
 
 It does not report prices paid by all the buyers in the city. It has been ex- 
 plained that only city processors are furnishing the prices quoted. The higher 
 prices paid by processor-retailers-'could be included in the report. This would 
 be of value to producers who do not know this fact and to those who could sell to 
 a small processor. 
 
 It will be explained later that a lack of a dependable sales outlet is one of 
 the problems facing producers in this area. In an effort to offset this uncertain- 
 ty, they seek "agreements" with buyers to take their entire output at some pre- 
 arranged price. This price usually has some definite relationship to a quotation 
 in the report. An unknown but large percentage (over half) of sales of fryers are 
 made on this basis. The more of a product which is covered by contract, the less 
 there is to be considered "free" to influence the price. Furthermore, the city 
 processors are in a situation where they buy poultry at prices which they are in- 
 fluential in making. 
 
 Two recent developments in the marketing of poultry in Los Angeles serve to 
 reduce the coverage of the price report. One is the increase in the proportion of 
 fresh fryers sold in the ice-packed condition; another is the increase in the pro- 
 portion of fryers sold as "caponettes," 
 
 It is estimated that 15 per cent more chickens will be raised in California 
 in 1949 than in 1948.1/ The large meat packers are responsible for stimulating 
 part of this incroase through their programs of financing production and construct- 
 ing processing facilities in the state. Receipts of dressed poultry in Los Angeles 
 by the packers have increased greatly during the past year. All of the poultry 
 processed at their plants in California is sold in ice-packed condition. Since 
 the price report does not cover this poultry, the proportion of the total included 
 is getting smaller. 
 
 - Many chickens formerly sold as fryers are now being sold as "caponettes." 
 It is estimated that !•§- million birds in this classification were sold in southern 
 California in the first half of 1949. 8/ Caponetto refers to chickens which have 
 
 6/ Evidence on this point will be presented later. 
 
 7/ California Poultry-Hatchery Report. California Crop and Livestock Reporting 
 Service, Sacramento, September 26, 1949. 
 
 8/ F. W. Lorenz. "Estrogens for Fattening Poultry." California Agriculture , 
 vol. 3, no. 9, September, 1949, p. 11. 
 
13. 
 
 been treated by an estrogen— usually diethylstilbcsterol. A small pill is injected 
 into the bird from four to six weeks before sale, and it has roughly the same effect 
 as caponizing. It serves to thicken the skin and increase body fat formation. Both 
 improve the finish of dressed birds. It is not clear yet whether this procedure 
 creates a different class of chicken from those now reported, or whether it serves 
 merely to create an AA grade dressed bird. The number of these sold in the market 
 is rapidly increasing and at the same time reducing the number of "regular" fryers. 
 Many processors are offering financial incentives to producers to change over en- 
 tirely to the production of the new type. Others predict that in a short tine, 
 there will be no "regular" fryers on the Los Angeles market. The caponettes are 
 sold at premiums above fryer prices. Since the caponettes are not included in the 
 price report, the changing situation causes the coverage of the report to be reduced. 
 
 Another feature of price reporting in Los Angeles must be considered. The 
 prices are obtained as a voluntary service of the processors who are requested to 
 furnish them. Some processors do not want to be bothered by the reporter; others 
 recent "interference" by any governmental agency. The processors are under no com- 
 pulsion to show sales slips or otherwise prove their statements of prices paid and 
 received. The reporter is able to check the statements of one against another, but 
 sometimes he cannot resolve the differences. The net effect of this condition is 
 that only a few of the city processors regularly furnish usable information. This 
 again serves to reduce the coverage of the report. 
 
 The inadequacy of the price report as an instrument for giving complete market 
 information is thus clearly shown. Its inadequacy is due to a lack of a central 
 market place, lack of uniform grades for live and dressed poultry, lack of person- 
 nel to increase the coverage, and the organization and practices of the market. 
 Price-making efficiency in the poultry market will be low as long as the informa- 
 tion available is so incomplete. 
 
 2. Competition in the Poultry Market 
 
 The 1945 Census of Agriculture showed 3,857 poultry farms in the four local 
 counties; Los Angeles, Riverside, Orange and San Bernardino. 2/ In addition, a 
 large number of farms sell chickens as a minor source of income. How these pro- 
 ducers — and the dealers who handle their product — are organized among themselves 
 will strongly influence the competition in the market. 
 
 There is no organization of Los Angeles area poultrymen of any significance 
 to the market for poultry meat. Cooperative organizations and local bargaining 
 groups are important factors in the San Francisco, SanJxsaquin Valley and San Diego areas 
 for chickens, and in the Los Angeles area for eggs. Such organizations are unde- 
 veloped in Los Angeles, although at the moment the market may be undergoing some 
 change in this respect. One group of poultrymen in Los Angeles County, for example, 
 sells chickens through its own bargaining agency; others are being organized. 
 These groups are not yet significant. 
 
 The lack of cooperatives in the local area means that each poultryman and each 
 buyer bargain as individuals over the price of chickens. Farmers usually have less 
 information about the market than buyers. Their bargaining depends largely on the 
 
 9/ A poultry farm is defined as one on which over 50 per cent of the total value 
 of all farm products sold is derived from the sale of poultry products. 
 
■ME Qdv 
 
14. 
 
 availability of information and alternative buyers. The United States Department 
 of Agriculture Price Report is the most important means of furnishing information 
 to farmers. Bargaining power between individual producers and buyers will not be 
 equalized until more adequate information is available to both. 
 
 Live poultry buyers in the Los Angeles area number an estimated 175-190. In- 
 dependent hucksters make up the largest proportion of these 5 the rest are agents of 
 processor-retailers and city processors. Competition among them for the supply 
 varies with fluctuations in supply. When supplies are plentiful some producers 
 have trouble getting buyers to come and pick up their chickens. When supplies are 
 scarce they are besieged with buyers. 
 
 Nearly all the fresh-dressed poultry is sold at wholesale and retail on a price 
 competition basis. Packaging, branding and advertising by brand name are not prac- 
 ticed extensively. A few processors sell fryers by brand name which remains all 
 the way to the consumer. On the other hand, several processors handle large quan- 
 tities of medium and low grade poultry at minimum prices. 
 
 There are about 125 retail poultry stores in the city, and about 3,900 retail 
 meat markets, most of which carry some form of poultry regularly. Because of the 
 price policies of many retail markets there is reasonably strong competition among 
 them. 
 
 Competition in the market is one of the most important factors affecting price- 
 making efficiency. There are a large number of poultry buyers and sellers in Los 
 Angeles and there are no barriers to their entry or exit from business. In order 
 to have active competition in the market, it is also necessary that all the parties 
 have full and adequate information. The inadequacy of the information available 
 has been explained and tends to offset the other factors making for keen competi- 
 tion. 
 
 We may note here that relatively few poultrymen seek the information available 
 in the hatchery reports published by the California State Crop Reporting Service. 
 This source of information warns of fluctuations in the local supply of fryers. 
 For example, the sharp increase in the supply of fryers in February, 1949 was pre- 
 ceded by a report of sharp increases in hatchings twelve weeks previously. Poultry- 
 men, however, customarily order baby chicks in accordance with the current return 
 on fryers. During sharp price declines, some poultrymen are forced to take sacri- 
 fice prices to get rid of their birds. Many are forced out of business this way, 
 and the decline in producers accentuates the subsequent shortage of chickens on 
 the market. A more widely available hatchery information program would increase 
 the competition in the market. It would also tend to prevent sharp fluctuations 
 in supply of chickens on the market, and reduce high losses and turnover among 
 marginal producers. 
 
 3. Relation Between Prices in Different Sections of the United States 
 
 Los Angeles is a deficit poultry market and receives large shipments from the 
 Midwest each year. The price differential between surplus and deficit areas usually 
 equals the cost of transporting poultry from one area to another. Producers in 
 both regions are thorefore interested in freight rates and the effect they have up- 
 on competition for sales in different markets. Table 2 shows the average farm 
 prices' received for chickens for certain years in several areas which ship poultry 
 to Los Angeles, 
 
XQX\F J-y^ 
 
 vLoviir Coi J^rM st&iI od^ofi *fi>!F c- ' r 
 
TABLE 2 
 
 Average Farm Prices of Poultry, Selected 
 Areas, Selected Years, 1925-1948 
 
 1 
 
 Year 
 
 California 
 
 Nebraska 
 
 Utah 
 
 Texas 
 
 
 
 cents per pound live weight 
 
 
 Average 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 1925-1929 
 
 25.0 
 
 18.5 
 
 18.0 
 
 18.4 
 
 
 Average 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 1930-1934 
 
 17.1 
 
 10.8 
 
 11.2 
 
 11.0 
 
 
 Average 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 1935-1939 
 
 17.5 
 
 12.6 
 
 12.1 
 
 12.4 
 
 
 1940 
 
 15.9 
 
 10.7 
 
 10.9 
 
 11.0 
 
 
 1941 
 
 18.6 
 
 13.4 
 
 13.6 
 
 13.8 
 
 
 1942 
 
 23.3 
 
 16.5 
 
 16.7 
 
 17.5 
 
 
 1943 
 
 23. 8 
 
 20.9 
 
 23.8 
 
 23.1 
 
 
 1944 
 
 27.0 
 
 20.6 
 
 23.4 
 
 22.3 
 
 
 1945 
 
 28.6 
 
 21.9 
 
 26.5 
 
 25.0 
 
 
 1946 
 
 29.9 
 
 24.3 
 
 23.4 
 
 25.1 
 
 
 1947 * 
 
 32.4 
 
 21.5 
 
 27.2 
 
 24.9 
 
 
 1948*./ 
 
 34.3 
 
 23.7 
 
 27.3 
 
 26.8 
 
 
 a/ Preliminary- 
 Source of data: 
 
 U.S. Bureau of Agricultural 
 
 Economics . 
 
 Farm Pro- 
 
 
 duction, Disposition, Cash Receipts, and Gross 
 Income, Chickens and Errs , 1941-1945, 1946-47. 
 Washington. 
 
 Data for 1948 from monthly reports of U.S. Bureau 
 of Agricultural Economics. Agricultural Prices. 
 
.31 
 
16. 
 
 Freight rates on poultry have risen sharply since 1943. These increases have 
 had several important effects on the pricing and marketing of poultry in the Los 
 Angeles area. The first has been to give local farmers a wider price margin over 
 Midwest producers.. This tends to isolate the Los Angeles market. The higher Mid- 
 west prices bring about an increase in local production. How much increase de- 
 pends on the profitability of poultry as compared to other farm enterprises. 
 
 The second effect has been on the location of poultry processing plants and 
 hence upon competition faced by local producers. Large and regular shipments of 
 live poultry were received in Los Angeles up to 1942. Higher freight rates have 
 made such shipments unprofitable because of the high proportion of waste products 
 in live chickens. This has meant an increase in volume of poultry processed near 
 the point of production. The local product now faces competition from a processed 
 (frozen) product rather than a fresh one. This creates a problem in price making. 
 Buyers can now distinguish between the fresh and the processed product. The speed 
 with which the market is cleared of one or the other often depends upon the willing- 
 ness of buyers to accept one form instead of the other. 
 
 The increased freight rates have stimulated shipments of high qualify and re- 
 duced shipments of low quality poultry. Freight rates are the same for various 
 grades of poultry; the freight charge is therefore a higher proportion of the price 
 of the low grade than of the high grade product. Low quality poultry will tend to 
 be consumed in the area where produced and high quality poultry will be shipped to 
 distant markets (like Los Angeles). 
 
 Los Angeles and Chica g o Buying , Prices . —The data in table 2 showed a relation- 
 ship between chicken prices in various states. These annual averages hide fluctua- 
 tions up and down which occur during each year. They also hide the fact that prices 
 for different classes of chickens and for the same class in different sections of 
 the state may differ significantly. One of the most common complaints heard in Los 
 Angeles about poultry marketing concerns sharp price fluctuations and large turn- 
 over of producers. Prices of No. 1 quality fryers in Chicago and Los Angeles were 
 collected and studied to investigate this complaint. 
 
 Fryer prices in Los Angeles varied from 5 cents below to as much as 13 cents 
 above those in Chicago during early 1949 (table 3). The yearly average will show 
 Los Angeles prices about 6 cents above Chicago. 
 
 Fluctuations in the price of local fresh fryers are important for three 
 reasons: (l) the price of fryers affects prices of all other classes of poultry; 
 (2) fluctuations cause dealer uncertainty as to source of supply, and producer un- 
 certainty as to his market and price; (3) severe price fluctuations cause a high 
 turnover and mortality among producers. 
 
 Los Angeles poultry prices fluctuate sharply because of sharp changes in the 
 supply of young chickens and because prices do not adjust quickly to clear the 
 market when surpluses and shortages appear. 
 
 Changes in supply of young chickens are due to changes in the chicken feed 
 price ratio. Commercial broiler and fryer producers around Los Angeles are sensi- 
 tive to the price of grains since little home grown grain is fed to chickens. 
 Chicken feed is nearly all purchased from other firms. Furthermore, it is rela- 
 tively easy to get in and out of fryer production, or to increase or decrease pro- 
 duction on farms. Fluctuations in the local supply of hens on the market over that 
 caused by normal flock replacement are controlled primarily by the price of eggs. 
 
TABLE 3 
 
 Weekly Average Live-weight Buying Prices of 
 Fryer Chickens, Chicago and Los Angeles, 1949 
 
 
 
 
 Differential 
 
 
 Los Angeles 
 
 Chi cago 
 
 Los Angele 
 
 3 
 
 _ 
 
 Week beginning 
 
 price 
 
 price 
 
 minus Chicago 
 
 
 cents per pound 
 
 
 January 3, 1949 
 
 39 
 
 37 
 
 2 
 
 
 January 10, 1949 
 
 39 
 
 36 
 
 3 
 
 
 January 17, 1949 
 
 39 
 
 34 
 
 5 
 
 
 January 24, 1949 
 
 36 
 
 32 
 
 4 
 
 
 January 31 ^ 1949 
 
 35 
 
 31 
 
 4 
 
 
 February 7, 1949 
 
 31 
 
 30 
 
 1 
 
 
 February 14, 1949 
 
 30 
 
 29 
 
 1 
 
 
 February 21, 1949 
 
 30 
 
 28 
 
 2 
 
 
 February 28, 1949 
 
 31 
 
 30 
 
 1 
 
 
 March 7, 1949 
 
 33 
 
 31 
 
 2 
 
 
 March 14, 1949 
 
 34 
 
 31 
 
 3 
 
 
 March 21, 1949 
 
 35 
 
 33 
 
 C 
 
 
 March 28, 1949 
 
 31 
 
 35 
 
 - 4 
 
 
 April 4, 1949 
 
 30 
 
 34 
 
 - 4 
 
 
 April 11, 1949 
 
 30 
 
 35 
 
 - 5 
 
 
 
 30 
 
 34 
 
 - 4 
 
 
 April 25, 1949 
 
 30 
 
 32 
 
 - 2 
 
 
 May 2, 1949 
 
 30 
 
 33 
 
 - 3 
 
 
 May 9, 1949 
 
 39 
 
 33 
 
 - 3 
 
 
 May 16, 1949 
 
 30 
 
 30 
 
 0 
 
 
 May 23, 1949 
 
 31 
 
 31 
 
 0 
 
 
 May 30, 1949 
 
 32 
 
 31 
 
 1 
 
 
 June 6, 1949 
 
 36 
 
 31 
 
 5 
 
 
 June 13, 1949 
 
 39 
 
 29 
 
 10 
 
 
 June 20, 1949 
 
 39 
 
 26 
 
 13 
 
 
 June 27, 1949 
 
 37 
 
 27 
 
 10 
 
 
 Source of data: 
 
 Daily Poultry Price Reports of the United States Department of 
 Agriculture, from Los Angeles and Chicago. 
 
' - 
 
 a tma 
 
 ; 
 
 S ^ 
 
 - 
 
 08 
 
 ; M Y 
 
 St 
 15 
 
 *1 
 
 not': % « 
 
18. 
 
 A factor contributing to the severity of the price fluctuations here is the 
 lag in shifting from local to outside poultry (and vice versa) by buyers when 
 changes occur in the local supply. The local poultry must be sold in and about 
 Los Angeles. This, however, is only one third of consumption requirements. The 
 balance is made up by shipments from other part of California and other states. 
 
 The lag in shifting from fresh to frozen poultry (most local poultry is fresh 
 and most from outside is frozen) and vice versa is caused by buyer practices and 
 perhaps by lack of information of consumers. If there were sharp competition 
 (substitutability) between the two forms, a decrease in price of fresh poultry 
 relative to frozen, would cause some purchasers ' to shift to the fresh. But the 
 major purchasers of frozen poultry are those who need large volume to satisfy their 
 needs. They have found that surpluses of fresh poultry are only temporary. If they 
 buy the surplus fresh for awhile and attemnt to purchase frozen poultry they may 
 have difficulty in obtaining supplies. Buyers of fresh poultry who shifted quickly 
 to frozen when it become relatively cheaper have had difficulty later in getting 
 fresh supplies. In this situation, factors other than price have a major influence 
 on purchasing. This situation causes buyers and sellers at all levels to "team up" 
 through periods of rapid price changes. This introduces a kind of barrier to rapid 
 clearing of the market and price fluctuations are more serious than they would 
 otherwise be. 
 
 The question arises why city processors do not buy up surpluses when they 
 occur, freeze them. and store them for higher prices. This would be profitable 
 whenever poultry prices in the surplus period dropped below the price in the next 
 period minus processing and storage cost. The reason processors do not buy for 
 storage is that they have no facilities for cutting up, packaging and freezing 
 the poultry. They are concerned almost exclusively with fresh poultry. The hand- 
 lers of frozen poultry (receivers), furthermore, have few facilities for handling 
 the fresh product. The expenses of maintaining a crew of help for work only when 
 surpluses of fresh poultry occur are too high to be undertaken. Thus, local poul- 
 try has no effective alternative to being sold as fresh. The result is that local 
 surpluses become more serious than they would otherwise be. 
 
 The lag in shifting between fresh and frozen forms of poultry isolates the Los 
 Angeles market for short periods of time, accentuates price fluctuations and ad- 
 versely affects efficiency of price making. 
 
 A detailed study of the poultry market leads to the conclusion that there is 
 also a lag in the transmission of changes in supply into reported prices. This 
 cannot be proved because of the lack of data on supplies of live chickens. However, 
 certain buying practices point to this conclusion. The practice of changing the 
 grade of certain live chickens in a lot is a form of hidden price change and is 
 widespread. Another practice is the eagerness or reluctance of buyers to take 
 chickens at going prices. This varies with changes in the supply while the re- 
 ported price remains constant. Some of this lag is due to the small amount of 
 "free" poultry bought by processors. A large increase in supply of chickens can 
 occur before being felt by them. Then the surplus suddenly becomes burdensome and 
 prices drop severely. 
 
 The main effect of this lag is to create uncertainty for producers in disposing 
 of their chickens. It leads them to seek "secure" market outlets — those that will 
 take their product regardless of changes in supply. Each farmer wants to be "pro- 
 tected" against this uncertainty. The most common method of obtaining protection 
 is to make an agreement with a buyer. The agreement concerns taking all the 
 
19. 
 
 chickens at some price in fixed relation to a quotation in the price report. Even 
 when this procedure brings a lower average price than direct bargaining would, it 
 gives some security against uncertain market outlets. 
 
 4. Relation Between Prices in Different Parts of the Market 
 
 As a product moves through marketing channels toward consumers, it becomes 
 more valuable because of certain services performed on it. The prices of the same 
 product in different stages of marketing are related to each other by about the 
 cost of marketing at each step. Market practices, consumer preferences and the 
 kind of competition have an influence on whether these differentials are equal to 
 the cost involved. A study of these factors gives information concerning the ef- 
 ficiency of price-making forces. 
 
 Prices for colored fryers and Leghorn hens at various stages in the Los Angeles 
 market are shown in figure 2. These two classes represent the bulk of the local 
 poultry. The prices ordinarily move in the same direction but not at the same rate. 
 Reasons for this are: (l) retailers usually attempt to keep their prices rather 
 stable; (2) the competition of poultry from outside the local area may affect one 
 class more than others; (3) some middlemen find themselves with more rigid costs 
 than others. 
 
 Figure 2 shows that the entire level of Leghorn hen prices is below that of 
 colored fryers. This is because consumers who prefer a tender young bird to an older 
 one are willing to pay more to get it. Processing and merchandising costs are 
 about the same for these two classes of poultry. 
 
 Relation of Farm Prices to City Prices . — Little detailed information is avail- 
 able concerning farm prices for chickens in this area. Few producers keep detailed 
 records, and the records of most country buyers are unavailable. For this study, 
 prices and other data were collected directly from poultrymen and analyzed in an 
 attempt to answer questions of importance to them. These are: By how much are 
 farm prices below city buying prices for various classes of chickens? Are changes 
 in city prices reflected promptly in farm prices? How does grading on the farm 
 affect prices received? Do farm-to-city margins vary with the season or the price 
 level? 
 
 The farm prices collected are shown in table 4 and compared with city proces- 
 sor buying prices for the same weeks from November 1948 to June 1949. The compari- 
 son does not give conclusive answers to the questions posed above. The main reason 
 is that producers reported prices for each lot by class, weight and grade as the 
 buyers classified them. The prices and grades for which these same lots were resold 
 in the city is not known. Buyers do not segregate the chickens of each producer by 
 class or grade and do not always sell all of a load to one city processor. 
 
 The data seem to indicate that the farm-to-city margin for Leghorn hens is 
 about 2 to 4 cents per pound. However, these farm prices are for those chickens 
 called No. 1 quality by the buyer. The price paid for No. 1 quality chickens is 
 greatly affected by the price paid for No. 2 quality. The buyer's margin for all 
 chickens then also depends on the price received for No. 2 chickens in the city. 
 Furthermore, the buyer' s margin is affected by the number of chickens placed in 
 each quality category. It is necessary that the buyer earn only a certain margin 
 on a whole load — not on each class and grade of poultry hauled. The effect of 
 these conditions which must be considered is that the farm-to-city margins shown 
 in table 4 may not represent the actual cost of hauling. More data is needed to 
 determine definitely the size of these margins. 
 
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FIGURE 2 
 
 Pricing Point 
 
 Poultry Meat Price Structure 
 Los Angeles Area, December 1-15, 1948^' 
 
 Price, Cents Per Pound 
 
 Buyer price to producer in 
 San Joaquin Valley 
 
 Huckster price to local producer 
 
 Live weight buying price, F.O.B. Los 
 Angeles (by city processors) 
 
 Live weight buying price, i.Q.B. Los 
 Angeles (by retail live poultry stores) 
 
 N.Y. dressed-f rozen (to retailers and 
 restaurants) 
 
 N. Y. dressed-f resh (to retailers and 
 restaurants) 
 
 Retail live weight — to consumers 
 
 Retail N. Y. dressed--to consumers 
 
 Eviscerated, cut up, frozen pack, 
 U. S. Grade A 
 
 24 30 40 
 □ 
 
 50 
 
 60 
 
 70 
 
 80 
 
 90 
 
 ebb 
 
 □ 
 
 a/ Colored fryers, 3-4 pounds, No. 1 quality 
 Heavy leghorn hens, 4 pounds, No. 1 quality 
 
 Source of data: Collected by author. 
 
TABLE 4 
 
 Comparison of Farm Prices with F.O.B. City Buying Prices 
 For Various Classes of Poultry, Los Angeles, 1948-1949 
 
 Week 
 
 Leghorn hens 
 
 Colored hens 
 
 Colored 
 
 fryers 
 
 Austr? 
 
 i hens 
 
 beginning 
 
 Farm 
 
 F.O.B. citv 
 
 Farm 
 
 F.O.B .city 
 
 Farm 
 
 F.O.B. city 
 
 Farm 
 
 F.O.B. citv 
 
 
 
 
 
 cents per pound (live wei 
 
 ght> 
 
 
 
 November 1, 1948 
 
 26-28 
 
 30-32 
 
 35-40 
 
 39-42 
 
 a/ 
 
 32-34 
 
 29-33 
 
 33-35 
 
 November 8, 1948 
 
 27-31 
 
 30-32 
 
 38-40 
 
 39-42 
 
 32-34 
 
 32-34 
 
 a/ 
 
 33-35 
 
 November 15, 1948 
 
 28-30 
 
 30-33 
 
 35-41 
 
 39-42 
 
 32-36 
 
 34-37 
 
 a/ 
 
 33-35 
 
 November 22, 1948 
 
 27731 
 
 31-33 
 
 39-41 
 
 40-43 
 
 34-38 
 
 36-38 
 
 33-35 
 
 34-36 
 
 November 29, 1948 
 
 27-30 
 
 31-33 
 
 a/ 
 
 40-43 
 
 35-38 
 
 38-40 
 
 31-34 
 
 34-36 
 
 December 6, 1948 
 
 29-32 
 
 31-33 
 
 a/ 
 
 40-43 
 
 38-41 
 
 37-40 
 
 34-36 
 
 34-36 
 
 December 13, 1948 
 
 27-31 
 
 30-32 
 
 40-43 
 
 40-43 
 
 37-40 
 
 38-40 
 
 33-36 
 
 34-36 
 
 December 20, 1948 
 
 27-31 
 
 30-32 
 
 38-41 
 
 40-43 
 
 36-40 
 
 38-40 
 
 34-36 
 
 34-36 
 
 December 27, 1948 
 
 27-31 
 
 30-32 
 
 $J 
 
 40-43 
 
 38-40 
 
 38-40 
 
 33-35 
 
 34-36 
 
 January 3, 1949 
 
 27-30 
 
 30-31 
 
 38-42 
 
 40-43 
 
 38-39 
 
 38-40 
 
 32-34 
 
 34-46 
 
 January 10, 1949 
 
 26-29 
 
 30-31 
 
 a/ 
 
 40-43 
 
 38-40 
 
 38-40 
 
 a/ 
 
 34-36 
 
 January 17, 1949 
 
 25-28 
 
 29-31 
 
 39-41 
 
 40-43 
 
 36-39 
 
 37-40 
 
 32-34 
 
 34-36 
 
 January 24, 1949 
 
 a/ 
 
 29-31 
 
 40-42 
 
 40-43 
 
 33-37 
 
 35-37 
 
 31-32 
 
 34-36 
 
 January 31, 1949 
 
 26-28 
 
 29-31 
 
 .337-40 
 
 40-43 
 
 31-35 
 
 33-36 
 
 28-31 
 
 34-36 
 
 February 7 r 1949 
 
 25-27 
 
 28-30 
 
 35-38 
 
 38-41 
 
 29-31 
 
 30-32 
 
 28-31 
 
 32-34 
 
 February 14, 19<i9 
 
 25-27 
 
 28-30 
 
 40-41 
 
 38-41 
 
 27-29 
 
 28-31 
 
 30-31 
 
 32-34 
 
 February 21, 1949 
 
 26-28 
 
 28-30 
 
 38-40 
 
 38-41 
 
 27-29 
 
 28-31 
 
 28 -3C 
 
 32-34 
 
 t ebruary 28, 1949 
 
 26-28 
 
 28-30 
 
 38-40 
 
 38-41 
 
 28-30 
 
 29-33 
 
 30-31 
 
 32-34 
 
 March 7, 1949 
 
 25-27 
 
 29-31 
 
 38-40 
 
 39-41 
 
 30-32 
 
 31-34 
 
 30-32 
 
 32-34 
 
 March 14, 1949 
 
 26-29 
 
 31-32 
 
 38-40 
 
 40-42 
 
 32-34 
 
 33-35 
 
 32-34 
 
 34-36 
 
 March 21, 1949 
 
 27-29 
 
 31-32 
 
 39-40 
 
 4C-42 
 
 32-35 
 
 32-36 
 
 32-34 
 
 34-36 
 
 March 28, 1949 
 
 27-30 
 
 31—32 
 
 
 40-42 
 
 30-34 
 
 30-32 
 
 31-34 
 
 34-36 
 
 April 4, 1949 
 
 27-30 
 
 30-32 
 
 40-41 
 
 40-42 
 
 30-32 
 
 29-31 
 
 30-33 
 
 34-35 
 
 April 11, 1949 
 
 27-30 
 
 30-32 
 
 
 40-42 
 
 26-30 
 
 29-31 
 
 30-33 
 
 34-35 
 
 April 18, 1949 
 
 27-29 
 
 30-32 
 
 sJ 
 
 40-42 
 
 30-33 
 
 29-31 
 
 a/ 
 
 34-35 
 
 April 25, 1949 
 
 26-27 
 
 29-31 
 
 a/ 
 
 37-39 
 
 30-34 
 
 29-31 
 
 30-32 
 
 32-34 
 
 May 2, 1949 
 
 24-27 
 
 29-31 
 
 34-37 
 
 37-39 
 
 29-33 
 
 29-31 
 
 a/ 
 
 32-34 
 
 May 9> 1949 
 
 25-28 
 
 29-31 
 
 a/ 
 
 36-39 
 
 29-32 
 
 29-31 
 
 28-31 
 
 32-33 
 
 May 16, 1949 
 
 24-28 
 
 28-30 
 
 a/ 
 
 35-36 
 
 29-33 
 
 30-31 
 
 a/ 
 
 31-32 
 
 May 23, 1949 
 
 24-27 
 
 28-30 
 
 29-33 
 
 35-36 
 
 29-35 
 
 30-32 
 
 27-30 
 
 31-32 
 
 May 30, 1949 
 
 24-27 
 
 27-28 
 
 a/ 
 
 34-35 
 
 a/ 
 
 31-33 
 
 27-29 
 
 30-31 
 
 (continued on next page.) 
 
J a 
 
 .. • . . ... 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 .. ; ' -. . 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 t \ 
 
 
 
 - 
 
 ■ 
 
 
 
 
 
 - 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 * • 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 * - • 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 ■ 
 
 ■ 
 
 
 • ■ ■' 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 j 
 
 
 
 - » 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 . i . , ; J 1 . i 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 " . j 
 
 ■ ■ • 1 • " :■■■>■ 
 
 ..... 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 \%v%.6$ 4* life 
 
 • ■ 
 
 . ■ 
 
 
 
 • 
 
 
 ■ 
 
 i 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 ; 
 
 
 
 
 " 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 • 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 t 
 
 
 
 
 
 • 3 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 " 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 • 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 . « tea* b « 
 '*f f \ ... S 1 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 -■ 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 . ..... . . . .... . . 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Table 4 continued. 
 
 a/ Insufficient data available. 
 Source of data: 
 
 Farm prices collected by author; F.O.B. city prices as quoted by the United States Department of Agriculture; 
 Market News Service, Los Angeles office. 
 
 7Y> 
 A3 
 
... • • •; • 
 
23. 
 
 The farm-to-city margin for colored fryers and colored hens appears from the 
 comparison to be consistently smaller than for Leghorn hens. For several weeks in 
 April and May, the farm price for fryers was above the city price. The transporta- 
 tion charge from farm to city is about the same per pound for all classes. We can- 
 not conclude that a loss was taken on the chickens whose price was higher in the 
 country than the city. The actual margin again depends on the grading and the 
 prices for each grade. 
 
 It appears that changes in city prices are promptly reflected in farm prices. 
 This is true at least for the chickens represented by these data. This must be 
 interpreted with caution because hidden price changes can occur so easily. How- 
 ever, it is well known that most producers receive the daily price report and use 
 it in determining prices they will accept. Hence, it has an effect on the price 
 they receive for some of their chickens. The major reason for this is that a large 
 proportion of the chickens are sold by agreement with respect to some price in the 
 report. 
 
 The question concerning the seasonal variation in margins cannot be answered 
 definitely because of the same qualifications mentioned above. 
 
 Relation of City Processor to Processor-Retailer Prices . — The price report 
 does not cover prices paid by processor-retailers. The majority of these are live 
 poultry stores and buy a significant quantity of live chickens. Are their buying 
 prices significantly different from those of the city processors? To answer this 
 question, prices paid and received by a sample of 10±5/of the 65 or so retail live 
 poultry stores were collected and tabulated. Their paying prices compared with 
 those of the city processors are shown in table 5. 
 
 The prices obtained were for poultry of No. 1 quality delivered to their door. 
 Every effort was made to maintain comparability of quality of poultry. The price 
 comparison in table 5 shows that the retail stores consistently paid higher prices 
 than the city processors for colored hens and colored fryers. The differential was 
 greater around the Christmas holiday season than at other times. For a certain 
 quantity and quality of poultry, the retail live poultry store may be setting the 
 standard of buying competition. 
 
 The reasons for the higher prices paid by the retail store are: assembly costs 
 are higher, the quality must be uniform and high, and the source must be dependable. 
 What poultrymen want to know is this: Does the farm price for poultry going to this 
 outlet reflect the higher price paid for it in the city? 
 
 It is difficult for poultrymen to know or to find this out. They usually sell 
 to hucksters who go to the city and sell to whomever possible. Some chickens may 
 be told to a retail store and the balance to a processor, Poultrymen can find out 
 where their chickens go only by direct personal investigation, or the retailers go 
 
 10/ There was some turnover among the stores in the original sample. When one 
 store dropped out, another was selected at random from the same neighborhood. 
 Reasons for turnover were: selling out the business, did not wish to cooperate 
 in giving prices, had the retail sales only as a convenience and operated mainly 
 at wholesale, began buying exclusively in the country. 
 
i r \J rtX ©0X10 S!at 
 
 -it 10'! es. 
 
 xJ.on 36 
 
 ax •jolty. 
 
 jjs -sat* 
 
 id 10 
 
 ,r!T 
 
 ±6 k! Sx 
 
TABLE 5 
 
 24. 
 
 Live Poultry Prices Paid By Retail Poultry 
 Stores and by City Processors, 
 Los Angeles, 1948-49 
 
 
 Colored hens 
 
 Colored frvers 
 
 (3-4 
 
 pounds ) 
 
 
 Retail 
 
 Processor 
 
 
 Retail 
 
 Processor 
 
 
 
 
 buying 
 
 buying 
 
 
 buying 
 
 buying 
 
 
 
 Beginning 
 
 price 
 
 price 
 
 Difference 
 
 prioe 
 
 price 
 
 Difference 
 
 
 
 
 cents 
 
 per pound 
 
 
 
 November 1, 1948 
 
 43 
 
 41 
 
 +2 
 
 36 
 
 33 
 
 +3 
 
 November 8, 1948 
 
 A 1 
 
 43 
 
 A T 
 
 41 
 
 i o 
 +c 
 
 37 
 
 33 
 
 +4 
 
 November 15, 1948 
 
 A A 
 
 44 
 
 A 1 
 
 +3 
 
 38 
 
 35 
 
 +3 
 
 November 22, 1948 
 
 A P. 
 
 40 
 
 
 +6 
 
 40 
 
 37 
 
 +3 
 
 November 29, 1948 
 
 A C 
 
 46 
 
 A O 
 
 4<s 
 
 +4 
 
 42 
 
 39 
 
 +3 
 
 December 6, 1948 
 
 46 
 
 A O 
 
 42 
 
 +4 
 
 42 
 
 38 
 
 +4 
 
 December 13, 1948 
 
 47 
 
 A O 
 
 42 
 
 +5 
 
 43 
 
 39 
 
 +4 
 
 December 20, 1948 
 
 A CI 
 
 48 
 
 A O 
 
 4<i 
 
 +6 
 
 44 
 
 39 
 
 +5 
 
 December 27, 1948 
 
 48 
 
 42 
 
 +6 
 
 44 
 
 39 
 
 +5 
 
 January 3, 1949 
 
 45 
 
 42 
 
 +3 
 
 43 
 
 39 
 
 +4 
 
 January 10, 1949 
 
 45 
 
 42 
 
 +3 
 
 42 
 
 39 
 
 +3 
 
 January 17, 1949 
 
 46 
 
 42 
 
 +4 
 
 42 
 
 39 
 
 +3 
 
 January 24, 1949 
 
 44 
 
 42 
 
 +2 
 
 40 
 
 36 
 
 +4 
 
 January 31, 1949 
 
 43 
 
 42 
 
 +1 
 
 38 
 
 35 
 
 +3 
 
 February 7, 1949 
 
 42 
 
 40 
 
 +2 
 
 35 
 
 31 
 
 +4 
 
 February 14, 1949 
 
 42 
 
 40 
 
 +2 
 
 33 
 
 30 
 
 +3 
 
 February 21, 1949 
 
 43 
 
 40 
 
 +3 
 
 34 
 
 30 
 
 +4 
 
 February 28, 1949 
 
 43 
 
 40 
 
 +3 
 
 34 
 
 32 
 
 +2 
 
 Marph 7, 1949 
 
 44 
 
 40 
 
 +4 
 
 36 
 
 33 
 
 +3 
 
 March 14, 1949 
 
 A C 
 
 45 
 
 / 1 
 41 
 
 +4 
 
 37 
 
 34 
 
 +3 
 
 March 21, 1949 
 
 45 
 
 41 
 
 +4 
 
 37 
 
 34 
 
 +3 
 
 March 28, 1949 
 
 45 
 
 41 
 
 *4 
 
 35 
 
 31 
 
 +4 
 
 April 4, 1949 
 
 45 
 
 41 
 
 +4 
 
 34 
 
 30 
 
 +4 
 
 A hmJ 111 1 QA CS 
 
 April 11, 1949 
 
 45 
 
 41 
 
 +4 
 
 34 
 
 30 
 
 +4 
 
 April 18, 1949 
 
 44 
 
 41 
 
 +3 
 
 34 
 
 30 
 
 +4 
 
 April 25, 1949 
 
 41 
 
 38 
 
 +3 
 
 34 
 
 30 
 
 +4 
 
 May 2, 1949 
 
 40 
 
 38 
 
 +2 
 
 34 
 
 30 
 
 +4 
 
 May 9, 1949 
 
 40 
 
 38 
 
 +2 
 
 34 
 
 30 
 
 +4 
 
 May 16, 1949 
 
 38 
 
 35 
 
 +3 
 
 34 
 
 30 
 
 +4 
 
 May 23, 1949 
 
 38 
 
 35 
 
 +3 
 
 36 
 
 31 
 
 +i 
 
 
 May 30, 1949 
 
 36 
 
 34 
 
 +2 
 
 36 
 
 32 
 
 +i 
 
 i 
 
 Source of dataj 
 
 Retail store prices collected by author; processor buying prices from Daily 
 Market News Report, United States Department of Agriculture. 
 
V'lcHiroi XfftfeH -^n bijefj. 3«>oi;t*l. ^t*Xyo% avid 
 
25. 
 
 to the country directly and bid for the supply. 
 
 The daily price report is an especially poor guide to buying prices of colored 
 hens. This class makes up about 15 per cent of the dressed weight equivalent of 
 all poultry produced locally, and most are sold to the live poultry stores. Most 
 city processors state that they cannot get sufficient supplies of colored hens. A 
 more suitable source of city paying prices for this class might, therefore, be the 
 agencies which handle most of them. 
 
 Farm Prices and the Present Grading System . — The most important buying prac- 
 tice affecting farm prices and the efficiency of price making is the system of live 
 poultry grading. Certain comments already made indicate that this practice is the 
 cause of much confusion and discontent in all parts of the industry. 
 
 Grading by buyers at the farm is different from that by buyers in the city. 
 Poultry is sold on farms (l) on a lot-price basis for which a flat price per pound 
 is paid without regard for quality, or (2) on a graded basis, the common designa- 
 tions being No. 1, No. 2, and "culls." Most poultrymen prefer to establish some 
 kind of verbal agreement with a buyer to take his poultry on a lot-price basis with 
 no grading. This plan is much more common, indeed necessary, in the sale of fryers 
 than the sale of hens. Fryers are sold in larger lots than hens, and farm grading 
 of large numbers of chickens is costly. 
 
 City processors buy chickens by grade also but their standards are flexible 
 and they prefer to pay an average price for a load and reject only the culls. 
 These processors then sort dressed poultry for their customers according to the 
 individual requirements of each. This is a form of grading but is not called by 
 that name. Each level of quality is charged a different price. Chickens are not 
 sold by grade at retail. 
 
 Comparison of prices received by different farmers are not very meaningful be- 
 cause of this flexibility in grading. This becomes more significant because of the 
 wide differential paid on farms between grades when they are used. Table 6 shows 
 this differential for Leghorn hens and colored fryers. It also indicates the in- 
 frequency with which fryers are graded on farms. Although the price of No. 1 
 quality chickens varied by as much as 25 per cent during the period shown, it is 
 significant that the price for No. 2 quality did not vary in the same amount nor 
 at the same time. 
 
 It is apparent that the present grading system confuses the determination of 
 prices and prevents meaningful comparisons from being made. This does not mean that 
 poultrymen are being exploited and receive lower income than they might under other 
 systems. But the flexible standards and wide grade differential makes it possible 
 for buyers to overpay for one grade and underpay for another. It is also possible 
 to vary significantly the price received by a small change in the number in each 
 grade classification. Grades then are used as a reflection of bargaining power and 
 not as an indication of quality of product. This represents a distortion of the 
 ordinary and legitimate use of grades for farm products. The present system of 
 grading seriously impairs efficient price making for poultry. 
 
 One of the most important functions of prices in the economy is guiding pro- 
 ducers in the selection of most profitable lines of action. The speed with which 
 this occurs depends on the precision with which prices can be interpreted. The 
 above discussion illustrates the difficulty in interpreting farm poultry prices so 
 they are accurate guides to production. 
 
f 1 rwi-i 
 
 V 
 
 iM i&y. bfuj icf j 
 
 lease ax £300$$ 
 
 I 
 
TABLE 6 
 
 Farm Prices: Comparison for Different Grades 
 of Leghorn Hens and Colored Fryers, 
 Los Angeles Area, 1948-1949 
 
 Week 
 beginning: 
 
 Classes of poultry 
 
 Leghorn hens 
 
 Colored 
 
 fryers 
 
 No. 1 
 
 Ko. 2 
 
 No. 1 
 
 No. 2 
 
 
 cents per pound 
 
 November 1, 1948 
 
 27 
 
 9 
 
 a/ 
 
 
 November 8, 1948 
 
 29 
 
 8 
 
 33 
 
 
 November 15, 1948 
 
 29 
 
 10 
 
 34 
 
 20 
 
 November 22, 1948 
 
 30 
 
 9 
 
 36 
 
 20 
 
 November 29, 1948 
 
 29 
 
 10 
 
 37 
 
 
 December 6, 1948 
 
 30 
 
 12 
 
 39 
 
 
 December 13, 1948 
 
 29 
 
 10 
 
 39 
 
 
 
 December 20, 1948 
 
 29 
 
 11 
 
 39 
 
 
 December 27, 1948 
 
 30 
 
 10 
 
 39 
 
 
 January 3, 1949 
 
 28 
 
 11 
 
 38 
 
 m m 
 
 January 10, 1949 
 
 27 
 
 12 
 
 39 
 
 
 January 17, 1949 
 
 27 
 
 12 
 
 37 
 
 
 January 24, 1949 
 
 26 
 
 
 35 
 
 20 
 
 January 31, 1949 
 
 27 
 
 11 
 
 33 
 
 25 
 
 February 7, 1949 
 
 26 
 
 12 
 
 30 
 
 
 February 14, 1949 
 
 26 
 
 12 
 
 28 
 
 
 February 21, 1949 
 
 27 
 
 10 
 
 28 
 
 V 
 
 February 28, 1949 
 
 26 
 
 12 
 
 29 
 
 March 7, 1949 
 
 26 
 
 13 
 
 32 
 
 
 March 14, 1949 
 
 28 
 
 14 
 
 33 
 
 
 March 21, 1949 
 
 28 
 
 15 
 
 33 
 
 20 
 
 March 28, 1949 
 
 29 
 
 12 
 
 32 
 
 
 April 4, 1949 
 
 29 
 
 13 
 
 32 
 
 
 April 11, 1949 
 
 29 
 
 12 
 
 28 
 
 
 April 18, 1949 
 
 28 
 
 14 
 
 31 
 
 
 April 25, 1949 
 
 27 
 
 12 
 
 32 
 
 
 May 2, 1949 
 
 26 
 
 10 
 
 32 
 
 
 May 9, 1949 
 
 27 
 
 
 30 
 
 
 May 16, 1949 
 
 25 
 
 13 
 
 30 
 
 
 May 23, 1949 
 
 26 
 
 13 
 
 31 
 
 
 May 30, 1949 
 
 25 
 
 10 
 
 V 
 
 
 a/ Insufficient data reported. 
 
 Source of data: Collected by author • 
 
Si 
 
27. 
 
 Little information is known concerning the actual quality of poultry being 
 delivered to processors in Los Angeles. To check on this, certain selected ship- 
 ments received by one city processor were graded by official U. S. standards by a 
 competent grader. The results, shown in table 7 indicate a wide range in quality 
 although nearly all the broilers and fryers had been purchased as No. 1 quality nn 
 the farm. More testing of this would be desirable, but it seems that there is 
 little or no relationship between grading as it is done in the area and as it would 
 be done under U. S. standards. The question may be raised as to how accurately live 
 chickens can be graded. It is known that this accuracy is less than can be accom- 
 plished in grading dressed poultry. No tests are available to measure this differ- 
 ence. However, competent graders of both live and dressed poultry state that there 
 is only a small difference between grading a group of chickens first as live and 
 then when dressed. 
 
 5. Competition Between Classes of Poultry 
 
 Each class of poultry has different characteristics upon which buyers place 
 different values. As a result, each class is considered a separate product. Also, 
 whenever buyers recognize different grades of the same commodity and pay a differ- 
 ent price for each, then each grade is a separate product as well. The relation- 
 ship of prices for each grade and class to others within the same commodity group 
 will differ according to local market practices and consumer preferences for each. 
 Competition between products has a significant influence on the effectiveness of 
 price making. 
 
 Changes in the prices of poultry arc not always explained by conditions within 
 the poultry field itself. Consumers are continually comparing the prices of poultry, 
 fish and red meats in every market where poultry is sold. These meats are the major 
 sources of high protein food in the diet and are easily interchangeable with each 
 other. 
 
 The relative importance in local production of each class of poultry was shown 
 in table 1. A large number of low or nonproducing Leghorn hens are available as a 
 by-product of the egg industry. These find a place on the market in competition 
 with other classes of poultry produced primarily for their meat. The pricing of 
 Leghorn hens becomes a special problem because of their large supply, retail market 
 practices and consumer preferences. The live paying price of Leghorn hens is low 
 compared to that for colored hens. 
 
 Figure 3 shows the annual average prices for the major classes of poultry in 
 Los Angeles and Chicago. The Chicago market prices were selected for comparison 
 because they reflect relationships in the large Midwest surplus producing area. 
 
 An examination of figure 3 reveals three points of interest. These points are 
 substantiated by the monthly data making up the annual averages. First, the price 
 of hens is more stable than that of fryers; second, the margin between colored and 
 Leghorn hens is wider in Los Angeles than in Chicago," and third, fryers soil for 
 more than colored hens in Chicago but occasionally for loss than colored hens in 
 Los Angeles. These points are to be explained by the peculiar characteristics of 
 the Los Angeles poultry market. 
 
 - . -V™ . .- ^Tn5^ , I 
 
 The instability in fryer prices is due primarily to fluctuations in local 
 supply, which is sensitive to changes in the ratio between fryers and feed prices. 
 Hens, however, are marketed more or less regularly as low producers are removed 
 from flocks. Also the demand for colored hens is fairly stable because they go 
 
■ 
 
28. 
 
 TABLE 7 
 
 Results of Dressed Poultry Grading Tests, Los Angeles, 1948-49 
 
 Shipment 
 
 Number birds 
 
 Per cent 
 
 Per cent 
 
 Per cent 
 
 No grade 
 
 number 
 
 graded 
 
 A 
 
 B 1 
 
 C 
 
 nor cent 
 
 
 Leghorn hens 
 
 
 
 1 
 
 55 
 
 44.0 
 
 44.0 
 
 12.0 
 
 
 
 o 
 
 d 
 
 59 
 
 58.0 
 
 41.0 
 
 1.0 
 
 
 — 
 
 3 
 
 28 
 
 68.0 
 
 25.0 
 
 7.0 
 
 
 
 4 
 
 28 
 
 54.0 
 
 32.0 
 
 14.0 
 
 
 — 
 
 5 
 
 19 
 
 16.0 
 
 47.0 
 
 37.0 
 
 
 — — 
 
 6 
 
 35 
 
 37.0 
 
 54.0 
 
 9.0 
 
 
 
 7 
 
 38 
 
 39.0 
 
 47.0 
 
 0.0 
 
 
 14.0 
 
 8 
 
 60 
 
 45.0 
 
 36.6 
 
 11.7 
 
 
 6.7 
 
 9 
 
 55 
 
 34.5 
 
 27. 3 
 
 20.0 
 
 
 18.2 
 
 10 
 
 21 
 
 61.9 
 
 14.2 
 
 
 
 23.9 
 
 Average 
 
 398 
 
 45.7 
 
 36.8 
 
 11.2 
 
 
 6.3 
 
 
 Leghorn broilers 
 
 
 11 
 
 22 
 
 14.0 
 
 86.0 
 
 
 
 
 1 2 
 
 51 
 
 51.0 
 
 31.0 
 
 18.0 
 
 
 
 13 
 
 168 
 
 44.0 
 
 54.0 
 
 2.0 
 
 
 
 14 
 
 19 
 
 47.0 
 
 47.0 
 
 6.0 
 
 
 
 Average 
 
 Am V W JL 
 
 260 
 
 39.0 
 
 54.5 
 
 £Li^ 
 
 
 
 
 colored hens 
 
 
 15 
 
 17 
 
 53.0 
 
 41.0 
 
 6.0 
 
 
 
 16 
 
 20 
 
 90.0 
 
 10.0 
 
 0.0 
 
 
 
 Average 
 
 37 
 
 71^5 
 
 25.5 
 
 3.0 
 
 
 
 
 colored frvers 
 
 
 17 
 
 33 
 
 30.0 
 
 60.0 
 
 10.0 
 
 
 
 18 
 
 32 
 
 75.0 
 
 25.0 
 
 0.0 
 
 
 
 19 
 
 63 
 
 22.2 
 
 66.7 
 
 7.9 
 
 
 3.2 
 
 20 
 
 61 
 
 0.0 
 
 £M - 
 
 34.5 
 
 
 o t o_ 
 
 Average 
 
 189 
 
 31.8 
 
 54.3 
 
 13.1 
 
 
 0.8 
 
 Source of data: Los Angeles Country Extension Service. 
 
FIGURE 3 
 
 Legend: 
 
 Colored fryers 
 
 . Colored hens 
 
 . . Leghorn hens 
 
 Live Poultry Buying Price?, Chicago and Los Angeles, 1929-1948 
 
 Chicago 
 
 Los Angeles 
 
 Source cf data: For Chicago, The Foul try and Egg S itua tion. U.S. B.A.E., June and July, 1941, and reports of the Market News 
 Service. For Los Angeles, Annual Summary of Price; f or Live Foultry, 1929-47 , U.S. P.wi„A.,and reports of the Market 
 News Service. 
 
30. 
 
 primarily to the retail live trade for regular customers . Apparently certain con- 
 sumers buy colored hens for special week-end consumption and do not seriously con- 
 sider prices of other meats in making their selection. 
 
 The price difference between colored and Leghorn hens has created much concern 
 in the Los Angeles market. It is a "problem 11 in the minds of producers who cannot 
 understand why the price difference is so great. Colored hens averaged 11.7 cents 
 a pound above Leghorn hens in Los Angeles in 1947; in Chicago they averaged only 
 7.4 cents above. Similar, if smaller, differentials have existed for many years. 
 
 The explanation of the greater difference in the local market is found primarily 
 in the supply conditions in the two markets. It has been stated that Leghorn hens 
 made up about 40 per cent of the local poultry. The comparable percentage for the 
 Chicago market is not known definitely but is much less than this. The larger sup- 
 ply in Los Angeles relative to other classes causes their price to be relatively 
 lower. At the same time, few colored hens are produced in the area and there is a 
 relatively stable demand for them. 
 
 Retail market practices and poultry nomenclature also affect this Leghorn hen- 
 colored hen differential. These points, will be discussed later under "Retail Market 
 Practices." 
 
 Fryers in Chicago are priced above colored hens. This is considered "normal," 
 as fryers are young, soft-meated birds, while hens are mature birds with tougher 
 flesh'. Where sufficient quantities of each are available, as in Chicago, consumers 
 will pay slightly more per pound for fryers. The short supply of colored hens on 
 the Los Angeles market keeps their price above that of fryers most of the time. 
 
 6. Public Health Regulations 
 
 The primary responsibility of the Los Angeles City Health Department is to pro- 
 tect the health of the city residents. The Health Department regulates poultry 
 marketing in various ways. Regulations cover construction and maintenance of poul- 
 try slaughter houses, standards of employee health, wholesomeness of poultry sold 
 in the city and the form in which poultry may be sold. These last two points in 
 particular affect methods of selling and hence prices in the market. 
 
 City ordinances prescribe that all poultry sold in the market shall have the 
 head and feet attached, or be inspected for wholesomeness by a qualified inspector 
 and tagged or labeled. This is why nearly all local poultry is sold in the Hew- 
 York-dressed form. None of the city processors are large enough to warrant hiring 
 a full-time inspector. The ordinances assume that any diseased condition of the 
 bird will be revealed in the head, and the Health Department inspectors will bo 
 able to identify it. Consumers rarely ask to inspect the head of a dressed chicken 
 because of its unsightly condition. The main protection consumers have against 
 getting a diseased bird is periodio inspection by Health Department officials of 
 slaughter houses and retail moat counters. These are admittedly infrequent because 
 of budget and personnel limitations. 
 
 City ordinances contrast with requirements of the Los Angeles County Health De- 
 partment. Drawn and cut-up poultry may be sold in the county area without in- 
 spection. This is considered a merchandising advantage because it permits sale 
 of individual chicken parts or of less than a whole chicken. This appeals to 
 smaller households. 
 
31. 
 
 The Los Angeles city regulation governing the form of dressed poultry has two 
 important economic effects: (l) it increases the cost of retailing poultry, and 
 (2) it encourages the importation of frozen New York-dressed poultry. 
 
 The increased cost of retailing is the price consumers have to pay for pro- 
 tection of their health. Retailing of New York-dressed poultry is more expensive 
 than retailing of drawn or cut-up poultry. The job of drawing or eviscerating can 
 be done at lower cost in the country or city processing plant than in retail butcher 
 shops. There is, besides, a saving in transportation cost when shipping drawn poul- 
 try. Approximately 24 per cent of the weight of dressed fryers is inedible. 
 
 The second economic effect more directly influences competition. Consumers 
 are led to think of frozen poultry as always appearing in boxes in the cut-up form, 
 and fresh poultry as in the New York-dressed form. Consumers are not generally 
 aware than some New York-dressed poultry may have been frozen. The keeping quality 
 of recently- thawed poultry is much lower than that of the fresh-dressed product. 
 Any factor affecting keeping quality of poultry influences consumer preference and 
 prices, provided the information is known. Consumers cannot readily determine which 
 dressed poultry has been frozen and which has not. Hence, this public health regu- 
 lation appears to open a market for frozen dressed poultry which it might not other- 
 wise have. 
 
 7. Retail Market Practices 
 
 Retail market practices have a direct effect on farm prices. For example, 
 the wide margin between colored and Leghorn hens is parti y the result of lack of 
 available consumer information. Certain market practices impede the free choice 
 of consumers between products. The retail practices which most strongly influence 
 prices and price making are: lack of grades at retail and the system of naming 
 different classes of poultry. These two are closely related. 
 
 Consumer Preference on the Basis of Col or. — The names of most classes of 
 chickens are associated with their manner of cooking. Fryers are cooked by frying, 
 roasters by roasting, etc. Hens are cooked by stewing and are called stewing or 
 fricassee hens at retail. Both colored and Leghorn hens are used for stewing. Los 
 Angeles consumers, nevertheless, have long been asking for "colored hens" in prefer- 
 ence to Leghorn hens for stewing, and have been willing to pay a premium for such 
 breeds as Rhode Island or New Hampshire. At retail, hens fall into two name cate- 
 gories: colored hens and stewing chickens. The former was introduced to permit a 
 class designation showing consumer preference over Leghorns. This nomenclature 
 contrasts to that of other large city markets where hens regardless of breed, are 
 classified only by weight. The following paragraphs explain how a lack of grades 
 and a lack of definitions of classes have encouraged this preference and caused an 
 exaggerated price difference. 
 
 When consumers buy hens according to breed, they are making decisions about 
 quality on the basis of color. 11/ Quality is not synonymous with color, however, 
 for each class of poultry appears in all quality grades. A real consumer prefer- 
 ence probably exists for a "meat-type" hen over an "egg-type" hen, assuming both 
 
 11/ The association between color of feathers and the so-called "heavy" breeds is 
 not constant since White Rocks are white, yet have "heavy" breed characteristics. 
 
32. 
 
 are the same grade. Many buyers for retail outlets have expressed their opinion 
 to the author that this preference should result in a four to five cent differen- 
 tial at retail. But owing to the peculiar system of naming and the lack of grades, 
 consumer preference is not permitted real expression. In the showcase two grades 
 may be grouped together; the consumer may compare an "A" grade colored hen with a 
 "B" or "C" grade Leghorn, or vice versa. This results in an erroneous association 
 of weight or color with quality. 
 
 None of the poultry class designations are defined in the State Agricultural 
 Code. Their meanings are generally recognized throughout the trade. Without 
 definitions, the practice of placing any kind ot color of hen under the label 
 "colored hen" is within the law. Members of the trade acknowledge that the sale 
 of heavy, high-quality Leghorn hens as "colored hens" is a common practice. Austra- 
 white hens, bringing a farm price between that of colored and Leghorns, all sell 
 at retail as colored, as can be observed by noting that some "colored hens" on the 
 market have black legs. The practice is a form of producer and consumer deception. 
 Consumer choice betxjeen classes is impaired and producers cannot be sure that tire 
 product which they sold returns to them the retail price minus costs of marketing. 
 This problem would correct itself were competition stronger, and consumers better 
 informed. 
 
 Unimpaired, intelligent freedom of consumer choice between products is an 
 essential part of the operation of an efficient price-making process. This choice 
 is impaired since different classes and grades of poultry are not considered differ- 
 ent products and are not so divided and priced. 
 
 SUMMARY AND COKCIUSIONS 
 
 Our study of the factors which influence poultry pricing in the Los Angeles 
 area has disclosed that the pricing system is operating badly. It is operating 
 far below a level of efficiency which is both possible and desirable. The speci- 
 fic conditions which prevent efficient price making are: 
 
 1. Lack of a Central Market Place (or Equivalent) in the City fcr Buying and 
 Selling Live Poultry . — The lack of a central market place prevents the concentra- 
 tion of supply and prevents buyers from competing directly among themselves for the 
 supply. Only a large amount of information available to and used by producers and 
 consumers, or an auction market for part of the supply, can compensate for the ab- 
 sence of a market place. This absence has meant that: (a) Farmers do not have an 
 assured outlet for their poultry. As a result they try to make special arrange- 
 ments with country buyers. This reduces the quantity of "free" poultry to affect 
 the price and causes changes in supply to be revealed in nonprice forms, (b) No 
 means of estimating total daily shipments to market are available. As a result, 
 changes in supply are often large before dealers are aware of it. (c) Adequate 
 price reporting is greatly impaired. 
 
 2ut Lack of Definitions for Classes of Poultry on the Market . — The class 
 
 names of poultry bought from the producer are not all carried through to the con- 
 sumer. There is thus an incentive to buy poultry as one class and sell it as 
 another at a higher price. This shifting and the system of class naming at retail 
 prevents free consumer choice between classes and contr5.butes to an exaggerated 
 preference for one class over another. 
 
33. 
 
 3 r Lack of Uniform Grades for Defining Quality Characteristics of the 
 Poultry . — Any agricultural commodity has certain characteristics by which its^ 
 quality is described. These may vary widely, are given different values by differ- 
 ent consumers, and are commonly defined in grades. Buyers and sellers must have a 
 common language about the characteristics of a product in order to arrive at its 
 price. Hence, grades are an inseparable part of the price of an agricultural prod- 
 uct. 
 
 An examination of the system of grading live poultry in Los Angeles shows ^ that 
 it is a flexible one. It differs among dealers and among classes of poultry; it 
 differs with changes in supply or demand for poultry, and with fluctuations of bar- 
 gaining power between buyers and sellers. Only a nominal relationship exists between 
 grades used and official U. S. grades. The lack of official grades has created the 
 following situations: 
 
 (a) Farm prices for so-called No. 1 quality chickens are greatly affected by 
 prices received for so-called No. 2 quality chickens, because of the wide differ- 
 ence between them. With no grades it is difficult to determine if retail selling 
 prices are being accurately reflected in farm prices. It is likewise difficult for 
 producers to compare returns, to determine the actual quality of their birds, or to 
 make management decisions concerning the most profitable grade to produce. The 
 present system of farm grading fosters deception of producers because it introduces 
 many nonprice factors. The prices resulting from this system are poor guides to 
 production. 
 
 (b) The transmission of consumer preference regarding quality of poultry is 
 impeded or blocked. The present selling system fosters ignorance and dissatis- 
 faction of consumers about poultry products. 
 
 (c) The Market News Service Price Report is not as useful as it should be. 
 The price report includes prices for only one portion of the supply. Bargaining 
 then turns on the price of the other portion, and on what grade each chicken shall 
 be assigned. 
 
 Buyers of agricu] tural oroducts typically have more information and larger size 
 and hence a buying advantage' over individual farmers. This situation is reinforced 
 in the Los Angeles poultry market. Most sales are made between individual buyers 
 and sellers. Farmers do not have information concerning the outlets or prices re- 
 ceived for their poultry in the city. They have no third party making grade desig- 
 nations which will hold all the way to consumers. They arc dependent upon the in- 
 tensity of competition between buyers and upon the United States Department of Agri- 
 culture Price Report for protection. The price report is inadequate as a source of 
 information which all buyers and sellers need. 
 
 The establishment of uniform grades for live and dressed poultry and of defini- 
 tions for various classes of poultry would raise the competition in the market, im- 
 prove the efficiency of the price-making system for poultry, and would improve the 
 quality of poultry grown for the Los Angeles market. 
 
 An expansion of the Market News Service coverage would be necessary to make 
 the above changes effective. 
 
■ 
 
 t<vrff "A? 
 
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS 
 
 The author wishes to express his appreciation for the invaluable assistance 
 given by many persons at all stages of this investigation. 
 
 Mr. R. F. Brueckner of the Los Angeles Office of the Market News Service, 
 United States Department of Agriculture, was particularly helpful in discussions 
 on all phases of the study; Mr. Lynn Sanborn, Assistant Farm Advisor, Los Angeles 
 County, and Mr. Erie Goodall of the California Farm Bureau Federation helped in 
 planning the study and criticizing an early draft of the manuscript; Mr. Eric 
 Stuewe of the California Chain Stores Association gave much assistance in suggest- 
 ing sources of and collecting data; numerous city processors, retail store managers, 
 hatcherymen and producers are all thanked for giving of their time and opinions and 
 data needed to make the study. 
 
Appendix I* 
 
 UNITED STATES SPECIFICATIONS FOR STANDARDS 
 FOR LIVE, DRESSED, AND READY-TO-COOK POULTRY 
 (Kinds and Classes, Quality for Individual Birds, 
 Weights, and Grades) 
 
 §00.1*7 Kinds and Classes for Live, Dressed, and Ready-to-Cook Poultry , 
 (a) Chickens^ (1) Broilers and Fryers ; Young chickens of either sex 
 (usually under 16 weeks of age), tender-meated, with soft, pliable, smooth- 
 textured skin, and flexible breastbone cartilage. 
 
 (2) Roasters ? Young chickens of either sex (usually under 8 months of 
 age), tender-meated, with soft, pliable, smooth-textured skin. Breastbone 
 cartilage somewhat less flexible than in broilers and fryers. 
 
 (3) Capons ? Unsexed male chickens (usually under 10 months of age), 
 tender-meated, with soft, pliable, smooth-textured skin. 
 
 (k) Stags ? Male chickens (usually under 10 months of age) with somewhat 
 toughened and darkened flesh, coarse skin, and considerable hardening of 
 the breastbone cartilage. Stags show a condition of fleshing and maturity 
 intermediate between that of roasters and cocks. 
 
 (5) Hens, Stewing Chickens, Fowl ; Mature female chickens (usually more 
 than 10 months old) with meat less tender than young chickens, and with a 
 nonflexible breastbone. 
 
 (6) Cocks (Old Roosters ); Mature male chickens with toughened and 
 darkened meat and hardened breastbone. 
 
 (b) Turkeys: (1) Fryers ; Young turkeys of either sex (usually under 
 lU weeks of age), tender-meated, with soft, pliable, smooth-textured skin, 
 and flexible breastbone cartilage. 
 
 (2) Young Hen Turkeys ; Young female turkeys (usually under 8 months of 
 age), tender-meated, with soft, pliable, smooth-textured skin, and flexible 
 breastbone cartilage. 
 
 (3) Young Tom Turkeys ; Young male turkeys (usually under 8 months of 
 age), tender-meated, with soft, pliable, smooth-textured skin, and flexible 
 breastbone cartilage. 
 
 (U) Mature (Old) Hen Turkeys ; Mature female turkeys (usually over 10 
 months of age), with toughened flesh and hardened breastbone. May have 
 coarse or dry skin and patchy areas of surface fat. 
 
 (5) Mature (Old) Tom Turkeys : Mature male turkeys (usually over 10 
 months of age), with toughened flesh, coarse skin, and hardened breastbone. 
 
 # Subpart F of "Proposed Revision of Poultry Standards and Grades and Regula- 
 tions, etc.," U. S. Department of Agriculture, Production and Marketing 
 Administration, Washington, D. C, May 2l|, I9k9* 
 
ii. 
 
 (c) Ducks . (1) Broiler and Fryer Ducklings: Young ducklings of 
 either sex (usually under 8 weeks of age), tender-meated and with soft bills 
 and windpipes. 
 
 (2) Young Roasting Ducklings : Young ducks of either sex (usually under 
 12 weeks of age), tender-meated, and with bills not completely hardened and 
 easily dented windpipes. 
 
 (3) Mature (Old) Ducks : Mature ducks of either sex (usually over 12 weeks 
 of age), with toughened flesh, hardened bills, and hardened windpipes. 
 
 (d) Gees e. (1) Young Geese : Young geese of either sex, tender-meated 
 and v/ith easily dented windpipes. 
 
 (2) Mature (Old) Geese : Mature geese of either sex, with toughened flesh 
 and hardened windpipes. 
 
 (e) Guineas . (1) Young Guineas : Young guineas of either sex, and 
 tender-meated. 
 
 f 
 
 (2) Mature (Old) Guineas : Mature guineas of either sex, with toughened 
 flesh. 
 
 (f ) Pigeons . (1) Squabs : Young, immature pigeons of either sex, extra 
 tender-meated, that have not flown. 
 
 (2) Pigeons: Mature pigeons of either sex, with toughened flesh and 
 coarse skin. 
 
 |00.U8 United States Standards for Quality for Individual Live Birds , 
 (a) General . (1) The United States standards for quality for individual 
 live birds contained in this section are applicable only to live poultry 
 of the kinds and classes as defined in |00.1i7 entitled "Kinds and Classes 
 for Live, Dressed, and Ready-to-Cook Poultry." 
 
 (2) The following factors are considered in the application of these 
 standards for quality: Health and vigor, feathering, conformation, fleshing, 
 fat covering, defects. 
 
 (b) Specifications . (1) A or No. 1 Quality : Each bird shall: 
 (i) be alert and have bright eyes and other conditions indicating health 
 and vigor; (ii) be well feathered, with feathers showing luster or sheen 
 and quite thoroughly covering all parts of the body. There may be a 
 slight scattering of pinfeathers; (iii) be of normal physical conformation. 
 It may have a slightly curved breastbone or other slight abnormality in 
 the shape of the breastbone if it does not interfere with the normal 
 distribution of the flesh. A dent in the breastbone shall not exceed l/h 
 inch in depth for turkey classes and 1/8 inch in depth for other classes 
 of poultry. The bird may also have a slightly crooked back; (iv) have a 
 well- developed, moderately broad and long breast, well fleshed throughout 
 its entire length and thighs and back well covered with flesh according to 
 age and sex. There shall be no appreciable toughening of flesh (if tender 
 meat is a class requirement); (v) have breast, back, hips, and pin bones, 
 in the case of classes of young chickens and turkey toras, showing fat, 
 
. esqlqfcnxw bos 
 
iii. 
 
 and in other classes of poultry have these parts well covered with fat. A 
 chicken hen (fowl) shall not have excessive abdominal fat; (vi) be free of 
 tears, broken bones, and external evidence of disease. It may have slight 
 scratches, slight bruises, or slight callouses (slightly thickened, hardened, 
 and darkened areas of skin over the breastbone), any of which must not 
 materially affect its appearance, especially the breast, when feathers are 
 removed. It may also have slightly scaly legs. 
 
 (2) 3 or No. 2 Quality ; Each bird shall: (i) be of good health and 
 vigor, (ii) be fairly well feathered, that is, some feathers may be lack- 
 ing on some parts of the body. There may be a moderate number of pin- 
 feathers; (iii) be of normal physical conformation but may have a slightly 
 crooked breastbone if it does not seriously interfere with the normal 
 distribution of the flesh. It may have a moderately crooked back and slightly 
 misshapen legs or wings; (iv) be fairly well fleshed in relation to length 
 and depth of body, with all parts fairly well covered with flesh according to 
 age and sex; there shall be no appreciable toughening of flesh if tender meat 
 is a class requirement; (v) have sufficient coverage of fat to prevent a dark 
 appearance. A chicken hen may have excessive abdominal fat; (vi) be free of 
 tears, broken bones, and external evidence of disease, slight breast blisters, 
 heavy callouses (thickened, hardened, and darkened areas of skin over the 
 breastbone), and seriously scaly legs. 
 
 (3) C or No. 3 Quality : Each bird may: (i) be lacking in vigor; (ii) have 
 large number of pinfeathers over all parts of the bird; may have complete lack 
 of feathers on the back; (iii) have crooked breastbone, hunchback, and other 
 definite deformities; (iv) have poorly developed, narrow breast, and thin 
 covering of flesh over all parts of the bird; (v) have only small amount of 
 
 fat in feather tracts and be completely lacking in fat on back and thighs; 
 (vi) have large skin bruises, small flesh bruises, and severe breast blisters. 
 It may be slightly crippled but must be free of broken bones. It shall also 
 be free of external evidence of disease or any other conditions which would 
 render it unfit for food. 
 
 (U) Reject: Any bird below C or No. 3 shall be classified as a Reject 
 (a Reject is a bird that shows evidence of disease or that has large flesh 
 bruises, severe discolorations, severe injury, emaciation, and other similar 
 conditions which will render the bird unfit for human food. ) 
 
 §00. h9 United States Specifications for Grade? for live Poultry , 
 (a) General . (1) These specifications for grades are applicable to all kinds 
 and classes of poultry, as set forth in |00.1f7« 
 
 (2) All terms in the United States Standards for Quality for Individual 
 Live Birds (§00.1+8) shall, when used herein, have the same meaning as they 
 have in the standards. 
 
 (b) Specifications. (1) U. S. Grade A or No. 1: Each lot shall consist 
 of A or No. 1 Quality birds, except that a tolerance of 10 per cent B or No. 
 2 Quality birds shall be allowed, provided no individual container in the 
 lot shall have more birds of B or No. 2 Quality than specified in subparagraph 
 (2) of (c) of this section (|00.U9), and shall contain no Rejects. 
 
iv. 
 
 (2) U. S- Grade B or No. 2 ; Each lot shall consist of B or No. 2 Quality 
 
 or better, except that a tolerance of 10 per cent of C Quality or No. 3 shall 
 
 be allowed, provided no individual container in the lot shall have more birds 
 
 of C or No. 3 Quality than specified in subparagraph (2) or (c) of this 
 
 section (f00.1i9), and shall contain no Rejects, 
 s 
 
 (3) U. S. Grade C or No. 3 ? All edible birds below B or No. 2 Quality, 
 No Rejects allowed, 
 
 (h) No Grade t Lots of poultry containing Rejects shall be classed as 
 "No Grade." 
 
 (c) Tolerances ; (1) All poultry having excessive feed in the crops 
 shall be considered as "overcropped" and may be subject to dockage. "Excessive" 
 feed shall be interpreted to mean more than an average of (i) 1 ounce of feed 
 in crops of birds weighing not more than 2\ pounds; (ii) 2 ounces of feed in 
 crops of birds weighing more than 2-| pounds (except turkeys); (iii) 3 ounces 
 of feed in crops of turkeys. 
 
 (2) Table of Maximum Tolerances per Individual Container 
 
 Maximum no. of birds 
 No. of birds of next lower 
 
 in container quality allowed 
 
 Less than 10 1 
 
 10 to IS 2 
 
 16 to 20 3 
 
 21 to 2$ 4 
 
 26 to 30 5 
 
 |00.f>0 United States Standards for Quality of Individual Birds for 
 Dressed and Ready-to-Cook Poultry , (a) General . (1) U. S. Standards for 
 Quality of individual Birds are applicable to all kinds and classes of 
 dressed and ready-to-cook poultry, as defined in §00. U7 for kinds and classes, 
 except as they are hereinafter qualified, and they apply to both male and 
 female birds of all ages with due allowance made for differences in body 
 conformation, fat covering, and fleshing conditions characteristic of age, 
 sex, kind, and class. 
 
 (2) The standards for quality may be applied to cut-up "Ready-to-Cook" 
 poultry. 
 
 (3 ) Any bird showing evidence of disease or any other condition which 
 renders it unwholesome or unfit for food shall not be permitted in any of 
 the quality groups specified herein. 
 
 (h) When dressed poultry is graded at the time of packing, each bird, 
 in order to qualify for A Quality or 3 Quality, except as hereinafter pro- 
 vided, shall be free of the following conditions; Dirty or bloody head, or 
 carcass; dirty vent; dirty feet; fan (on wing tips), garter (around hock 
 joint), or neck feathers; hair or down; feed in crop. 
 
0 
 
 io fi vrolad «bixd eldibd Llh . :£ « ci> io S obf/iC. ;5 »U (Q 
 
 r /.Urlp stfo&tefl gnxn-jETnoo Y'l-ilt'O'i 1c aicj ta baig oil (4) 
 
 TftK iafopO Igrjbxv xbrcl -teg asaic^g / oT aw-ty e M .lo .afds T (5) 
 
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V. 
 
 (5) When dressed poultry is graded at receiving point or shipping destina- 
 tion, any bird otherwise of A Quality or B Quality which has a dirty or bloody 
 head or carcass; dirty feet or vent; fan, garter, or neck feathers; hair or 
 down; or feed in the crop, shall be lowered one quality. 
 
 (6) To meet A Quality specifications a bird shall be dry-picked or wet- 
 picked (nonscalded or seraiscalded only) except for ducks and geese, which 
 may be immersed in scalding water for a limited time so that the cuticle and 
 outside layer of skin are not damaged. 
 
 (7) To meet B or C Quality specifications a bird may be dry-picked or 
 wet-picked (nonscalded, semiscalded, or scalded). 
 
 (8) The following factors are considered in the application of these 
 standards for quality: Conformation, fleshing, fat covering, dressing defects, 
 discolorations, and freezer burn. 
 
 (b) Specifications . (1) A Quality: Each bird shall: (i) be of normal 
 physical conformation. It may have a slightly curved breastbone or other slight 
 abnormality in the shape of the breastbone that does not interfere with the 
 normal distribution of the flesh. A dent in the breastbone shall not exceed 
 1/h inch in depth for turkey classes and 1/8 inch in depth for other classes of 
 poultry. The bird may also have a very slightly crooked back; (ii) have a well- 
 developed, moderately broad and long breast, well fleshed throughout its entire 
 length, with the flesh carrying sufficiently well up to the crest of the breast- 
 bone so that the breastbone will not be prominent. Its legs shall be well 
 covered with flesh. There shall be no appreciable toughening of the flesh (if 
 tender meat is a class requirement). 
 
 Slight stagginess permitted in young turkey toms, not including fryers; (iii) 
 have breast, back, hips, and pin bones, in the case of classes of young chickens 
 and young turkey toms, showing fat, and in other classes of poultry be well 
 covered with fat; (iv) have (for dressed poultry) not more than 6 protruding 
 and nonprotruding pinfeathers on the breast and not more than 12 elsewhere on 
 the bird, and be free of hair and down. For ready-to-cook poultry the bird 
 shall be free of protruding pinfeathers, hair, and down, with the breast having 
 not more than 2 nonprotruding pinfeathers, nor more than 6 elsewhere on other 
 parts of the carcass; (v) have no discolorations or blemishes of the skin, 
 from any cause, the aggregate of which exceeds an area 1 inch square on the 
 breast, legs, or wings, and 1-1/2 inches square on other parts of the carcass 
 for turkey, geese, and chicken hen classes. Of the aforesaid areas not moro 
 than an area of 1/2 inch square and 3/h inch square, respectively, may be due 
 to a skin bruise showing a slightly reddened condition. For other classes of 
 poultry the aggregate of such areas of discolorations or blemishes shall not 
 exceed l/2 inch square on the breast, legs and wings and 1 inch square else- 
 where on the carcass, and of these areas not more than an area of l/U inch 
 square and 3/I4. inch square, respectively, may be due to a skin bruise showing 
 a slightly reddened condition. The bird shall have no bruises or discolorations 
 of the flesh. The bird may have only slight reddening, due to improper bleeding, 
 in the feather follicles on the neck near the head and on the wings; (vi) be 
 free of tears on the breast and legs. Open tears elsewhere on the carcass shall 
 not exceed 2 in number and shall not exceed 1-1/2 inches in length for turkey 
 and geese classes and 3/I4. inch in length for other classes of poultry. Ho 
 sewn tears are permitted. A disjointed leg or wing is permitted if there is no 
 appreciable bruise or blood clot. One nonprotruding wing bone, if not showing 
 
b Y£t bixcf e anci+feoxlxoaqa yJ'xXbjo';;! 0 9a 3 J£ 
 •(iahlijoe io ,£>obX£oexc3!=! t babr«08r. 
 
 i^soiXci'Tfj ©rid* f»x boisLxsrj^o s-xs sic Job 'i attivroXic 
 
 3X£> OCl 9V£>ii {v 
 
vi. 
 
 bruise or blood clot, is permitted in the broiler and fryer chicken class only. 
 On ready-to-cook poultry the wing tips may be clipped off if desired; (vii) 
 have only very slight freezer burn or evidence of small (not to exceed 1/8 
 inch in diameter) pockmarks on the neck or wings and not over 3 such pockmarks 
 on other parts of the carcass. 
 
 (2) B Quality ; Each bird shall: (i) be of normal or practically normal, 
 physical conformation. It may have a dented, curved, or slightly crooked 
 breastbone if it does not seriously interfere with the normal distribution of 
 the flesh. The bird also may have a moderately crooked back or misshapen legs 
 or wings; (ii) be sufficiently well fleshed on the breast and legs to prevent 
 a thin appearance and a very prominent breastbone. There shall be only slight 
 toughening of the flesh (if tender meat is a class requirement). Young turkey 
 toms, not including fryers, may have a pouchy, thick, and somewhat flabby skin 
 on the forepart of the breasts; (iii) have a sufficient coverage of fat to pre- 
 vent a dark red appearance; (iv) nave (for dressed poultry) not more than 10 
 protruding and nonprotruding pinfeathers on the breast and not more than 2h 
 elsewhere on the carcass and be free of hair and down. For ready-to-cook 
 poultry the bird shall be free of protruding pinfeathers, hair, and down, with 
 its breast having not more than U nonprotruding 'pinfeathers nor more than 10 
 elsewhere on other parts of the carcass; (v) have no prominent discolorations 
 or blemishes, from any cause, other than flesh bruises, the aggregate of which 
 exceeds an area 1-1/2 inches square on the breast, legs, and wings or 2 inches 
 square on other parts of the carcass for turkey and geese classes. For other 
 classes of poultry, such area shall not exceed 1 inch square on the breast, 
 legs, and wings and 1-1/2 inches square elsewhere on the carcass. The total 
 aggregate areas of discoloration from flesh bruises shall not exceed 1/2 inch 
 square on the breast, legs and wings and 3,/U inch square elsewhere on the 
 carcass. The bird may have some reddening due to improper bleeding in the 
 feather follicles on the neck near the head and on the wings and hips; (vi) 
 have not more than 1 tear on the breast, which shall not exceed 1 inch in 
 length for turkey and geese classes, and 1/2 inch in length for other classes 
 of poultry. Open tears elsewhere on the carcass shall not exceed 3 in number 
 and not more than 2 inches in length for turkey and geese classes and 1 inch 
 in length for other classes of poultry. Mo sewn tears are permitted. Two 
 disjointed bones are permitted if there is no appreciable bruise or blood clot. 
 One nonprotruding broken wing or leg bone is permitted if it does not shov/ 
 excessive bruise or blood clot. On ready-to-cook poultry the wing tips may be 
 clipped off if desired; (vii) have no more than moderate freezer burn or 
 evidence of small (1/8 inch in diameter) pockmarks on any part of the carcass 
 and no dried areas in excess of 1/2 inch in diameter. 
 
 (3) C Quality ; Each bird may: (i) be of abnormal physical conformation, 
 such as a crooked back or breastbone, or other serious abnormal conditions if 
 it is fairly well fleshed; (ii) be poorly fleshed, with a narrow breast and 
 with legs poorly covered with flesh. A young torn turkey may have a thick, 
 coarse skin and extended breast that is pouchy or flabby; (iii) be lacking in 
 fat covering over all parts of the body; (iv) have slightly reddened areas on 
 breast and thighs, or have any other parts of the skin excessively reddened 
 because of poor bleeding. It may have numerous and large discolored areas or 
 blemishes of the skin, from any cause. These may be accompanied by some red- 
 dening and darkening of the flesh beneath, as long as this condition does not 
 cause any part of the carcass to be unfit for food; (v) have (for dressed 
 poultry) pinfeathers, down, and hair scattered over the entire carcass pro- 
 viding they do not seriously detract from its appearance. For ready^to-cook 
 
vii. 
 
 poultry a bird shall be free from protruding pinfeathers, hair, and down but 
 may have nonprotruding pinfeathers only to the extent that they do not seriously 
 detract from the appearance of the carcass; (vi) have open tears of any size, 
 disjointed bones or broken, nonprotruding bones if not accompanied by a severe 
 bruise or blood clot. Wing tips or broken, protruding wing bones may be clipped 
 off if desired; (vii) have severe freezer burn showing numerous pockmarks or 
 large dried areas or evidence thereof on any part of the carcass. 
 
 §00.51 Suggested Weight Specifications for "Dressed" and "Ready-to-Cook " 
 Poultry , (a) General . (1) The suggested weight specifications for dressed 
 chickens (Table 1), dressed turkeys (Table 2), dressed ducks, geese, guineas, 
 squabs, and pigeons (Table 3), and "Ready-to-Cook" poultry (Table !).) are for 
 optional use. 
 
 (2) The actual weights for "Ready-to-Cook" individually identified poultry 
 shall be as stated in pounds and ounces. 
 
 TABLE 1 
 
 Suggested Weight Specifications for Dressed Chickens 
 
 Class of 
 chickens 
 
 Weight range per bird 
 
 Weight range per dozen 
 
 birds 
 
 Minimum 
 
 Maximum 
 
 Minimum Maximum 
 
 Broilers- 
 Fryers 
 
 None 
 
 Over 1 lb. 8 oz. 
 Over 2 lbs. 
 uver c ids. 0 oz. 
 Over 3 lbs. 
 
 1 lb. 8 oz. 
 
 2 lbs. 
 
 2 lbs. 8 oz. 
 
 J XDS . 
 
 3 lbs. 8 oz. 
 
 None 
 
 Over 18 lbs. 
 uver cu xDs. 
 Over 30 lbs. 
 Over 36 lbs. 
 
 18 
 2h 
 30 
 36 
 h2 
 
 lbs. 
 lbs. 
 lbs. 
 lbs. 
 lbs. 
 
 
 
 1 
 
 Roasters 
 
 r 
 
 Over 3 lbs. 8 oz. 
 
 Over k lbs. 
 
 Over h lbs. 8 oz. 
 
 Over 5 lbs. 
 
 Over 5 lbs. 8 oz. 
 
 h lbs. 
 
 k lbs. 8 oz. 
 $ lbs. 
 
 5 lbs. 8 oz. 
 
 None 
 
 Over h2 lbs. 
 Over U8 lbs. 
 Over $h lbs. 
 Over 60 lbs. 
 Over 66 lbs. 
 
 U8 lbs. 
 5h lbs. 
 
 60 lbs. 
 66 lbs. 
 
 None 
 
 Capons 
 
 1 
 
 None 
 
 Over 6 lbs* 
 Over 7 lbs. 
 Over 8 lbs. 
 Over 9 lbs. 
 Over 10 lbs. 
 
 6 lbs. 
 
 7 lbs. 
 
 8 lbs. 
 
 9 lbs. 
 10 lbs. 
 
 None 
 
 None 
 
 Over 72 lbs. 
 Over 8U lbs. 
 Over 96 lbs. 
 Over 108 lbs. 
 Over 120 lbs. 
 
 72 lbs. 
 
 Bh lbs. 
 
 96 lbs. 
 108 lbs. 
 120 lbs. 
 
 None 
 
 Stags 
 
 None 
 
 Over 3 lbs. 
 Over i| lbs. 
 Over £ lbs. 
 Over 6 lbs. 
 
 3 lbs. 
 h lbs. 
 
 5 lbs. 
 
 6 lbs. 
 
 None 
 
 None 
 
 Over 36 lbs. 
 Over I4.8 lbs. 
 Over 60 lbs. 
 Over 72 lbs. 
 
 36 lbs. 
 U8 lbs. 
 60 lbs. 
 72 lbs. 
 
 None 
 
 Cocks 
 
 None 
 
 Over h lbs. 
 Over $ lbs. 
 Over 6 lbs. 
 
 h lbs. 
 
 5 lbs. 
 
 6 lbs. 
 
 None 
 
 None 
 
 Over US lbs. 
 Over 60 lbs. 
 Over 72 lbs. 
 
 U8 lbs. 
 60 lbs. 
 72 lbs. 
 
 None 
 
 Hens 
 
 (Stewing 
 
 chickens) 
 (Fowl) 
 
 None 
 
 Over 3 lbs. 
 
 Over 3 lbs. 8 oz. 
 
 Over h lbs. 
 
 Over h lbs. 8 oz. 
 
 Over 5 lbs. 
 
 3 lbs. 
 
 3 lbs. 8 oz. 
 k lbs. 
 
 I4. lbs. 8 oz. 
 5 lbs. 
 
 None 
 
 None 
 
 Over 36 lbs. 
 Over h2 lbs. 
 Over hQ lbs. 
 Over lbs. 
 Over 60 lbs. 
 
 36 lbs. 
 h2 lbs. 
 U8 lbs. 
 5U lbs. 
 60 lbs. 
 None 
 
viii. 
 
 TA3LE 2 
 
 Suggested Weight Specifications for Dressed Turkeys 
 
 
 Weight range per bird 
 
 
 Class 
 
 Minimum 
 
 Maximum 
 
 ! 
 
 1 
 
 | 
 
 I 
 
 xoung x-urKeys 
 
 None 
 
 
 
 O XDS. 
 
 1 
 
 Over 
 
 o 
 
 XDS« 
 
 8 lbs. 
 
 
 
 Over 
 
 8 
 
 lbs. 
 
 10 lbs. 
 
 i 
 
 i 
 
 
 Over 
 
 10 
 
 lbs. 
 
 12 lbs. 
 
 I 
 
 
 Over 
 
 12 
 
 lbs. 
 
 Ill lbs. 
 
 1 
 
 
 Over 
 
 Hi 
 
 lbs. 
 
 16 lbs. 
 
 > 
 
 i 
 
 
 Over 
 
 16 
 
 lbs. 
 
 10 IDS* 
 
 i 
 
 
 Over 
 
 18 
 
 lbs. 
 
 20 lbs. 
 
 i 
 1 
 
 
 Over 
 
 20 
 
 lbs. 
 
 22 lbs. 
 
 j 
 
 
 Over 
 
 22 
 
 lbs. 
 
 2k lbs. 
 
 
 
 Over 
 
 2h 
 
 lbs. 
 
 None 
 
 
 Mature turkeys 
 
 None 
 
 
 
 10 lbs. 
 
 1 
 
 (old) 
 
 Over 
 
 10 
 
 lbs. 
 
 1$ lbs. 
 
 1 
 
 Over lj? 
 
 lbs. 
 
 20 lbs. 
 
 
 
 Over 
 
 20 
 
 lbs. 
 
 None 
 
 
 
 TA3LS 3 
 
 Suggested Weight Specifications for 
 Dressed Ducks, Geese, Guineas, Squabs, and Pigeons 
 
 Kind of 
 poultry 
 
 Weight range per bird 
 
 "Weight range per dozen birds 
 
 Minimum 
 
 Maximum 
 
 Minimum Maximum 
 
 Ducks 
 
 None 
 
 Over h lbs. 
 Over 5> lbs. 
 
 h lbs. 
 i lbs. 
 
 None 
 
 Hone 
 
 Over U8 lbs. 
 Over 60 lbs. 
 
 U8 lbs. 
 60 lbs. 
 
 None 
 
 Geese 
 
 None 
 
 Over 8 lbs. 
 Over 10 lbs. 
 
 8 lbs. 
 10 lbs. 
 
 None 
 
 None 
 
 Over 96 lbs. 
 Over 120 lbs. 
 
 96 lbs. 
 120 lbs. 
 
 None 
 
 Young 
 Guineas 
 
 None 
 
 Over 1 lb. 8 oz. 
 Over 2 lbs. h oz. 
 
 1 lb. 8 oz. 
 
 2 lbs. h oz. 
 
 None 
 
 None 
 
 Over 18 lbs. 
 Over 27 lbs. 
 
 18 lb 
 
 27 lb 
 None 
 
 5. 
 5. 
 
 Old 
 
 Guineas 
 
 None 
 
 Over 2 lbs. 
 
 2 lbs. 
 
 None 
 
 None 
 
 Over 2h lbs. 
 
 2k lbs. 
 
 None 
 
 Squabs 
 and 
 
 pigeons 
 
 None 
 
 Over 8 oz. 
 Over 11 oz. 
 Over lUoz. 
 
 8 oz. 
 11 oz. 
 lU oz. 
 
 None 
 
 None 
 
 Over .6 lbs. 
 
 Over 8 lbs. 6 oz. 
 
 Over 10 lbs. 8 oz. 
 
 6 lbs. 
 
 8 lbs. 6 oz. 
 10 lbs. 8 oz. 
 
 None 
 

 
 
 ■ . 
 
 ■ 
 
 
 
 
 - 
 
 
 
 
 
 • i i 
 
 
 
 i 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 <• 
 
 
ix. 
 
 TABLE h 
 
 Suggested Weight Specifications for Ready-to-Cook Poultry 
 
 Kinds and classes 
 
 Weight range per bird 
 
 
 of poultry 
 
 Minimum 
 
 Maximum 
 
 
 .oroxxers— xryers 
 
 None 
 
 1 lo. o c 
 
 z. 
 
 
 Over 1 Id. o oz. 
 
 2 lbs. 
 
 
 
 Over <L lDSf 
 
 2 lbs. o o 
 
 z. 
 
 
 Over d lbs. o oz. 
 
 3 lbs. 
 
 
 
 Over 3 lbs. 
 
 3 lbs. 8 o 
 
 Z. ' 
 
 
 Over 3 lbs.- 8 oz. 
 
 U lbs. 
 
 
 Roasters 
 
 Over k lbs. 
 
 It lbs. 8 o 
 
 £ . 
 
 
 Over k lbs. 8 oz. 
 
 5 lbs. 
 
 
 
 Over i> ids. 
 
 None 
 
 
 
 None 
 
 2 lbs. 
 
 
 
 Over 2 lbs. 
 
 2 lbs. 8 o 
 
 z. 
 
 
 Over 2 lbs. 8 oz. 
 
 3 lbsi 
 
 
 hens 
 
 Over 3 lbs. 
 
 3 lbs. 8 o 
 
 z. 
 
 ( Stewing chickens ) 
 
 Over 3 lbs. 8 oz. 
 
 h lbs* 
 
 
 (Fowl) 
 
 JVci L}. J_L>o. 
 
 
 z* 
 
 
 D\r o >•» Ji "1 He? H n 9 
 
 p xus . 
 
 
 
 Hvor 1 K 1 he 
 
 < The? ft n 
 
 z. 
 
 
 l/Vci p XoS • U OZ. 
 
 
 
 
 None 
 
 2 lbs. 8 o 
 
 z. 
 
 Cocks 
 
 Over 2 lbs. -8 oz. 
 
 3 lbs. 8 o 
 
 z. 
 
 (Old roosters) 
 
 Over 3 lbs* 8 oz. 
 
 li lbs. 8 o 
 
 z. 
 
 
 Over h lbs. 8 oz. 
 
 5 lbs. 8 o 
 
 z. 
 
 
 Over $ lbs. 8 oz. 
 
 None 
 
 
 
 
 )i 1 h<!- • 
 
 
 
 UVci U XL) 5. 
 
 A 1 'no 
 
 
 
 i/ver o xus. 
 
 O XUS. 
 
 
 
 UvcX U lUbi 
 
 
 
 Turkeys 
 
 Over 10 lbs. 
 
 12 lbs. 
 
 
 Geese 
 
 Over 12 lbs . 
 
 lU lbs. 
 
 
 
 Over lit lbs. 
 
 16 lbs. 
 
 
 
 Over 16 lbs. 
 
 18 lbs. 
 
 
 
 Over 18 lbs. 
 
 20 lbs. 
 
 
 
 Over* PD 1 Vic 
 
 
 
 
 None 
 
 12 oz. 
 
 
 
 Over 12 oz. 
 
 1 lb. 
 
 
 Guineas 
 
 Over 1 lb. • 
 
 1 lb. h oz 
 
 . 
 
 
 Over 1 lb. h oz. 
 
 1 lb. 8 oz 
 
 • 
 
 
 Over 1 lb. 8 oz. 
 
 None 
 
 
 
 None 
 
 6 oz. 
 
 
 Squabs 
 
 Over 6 oz. 
 
 10 oz. 
 
 
 Pigeons 
 
 Over 10 oz. 
 
 li| oz. 
 
 
 i 
 
 Over lU oz. 
 
 None 
 
 

 
 
 
 
 
 ♦SO ^ .3C/1 *S9V0 
 
 
 
 
 i 
 
 
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 h 
 
 » • 
 
 m 
 
 
 ■ 
 
 ■ 
 
 ■ 
 
 » ■ ~ 
 
 ■ - 
 
 - 
 
 ■ 
 
 
 . ,' i. 
 
 * 
 
 I., w#0.#. X Ivv ^' 
 
 t ! Z ; 
 
 
 .... 
 
 
§00.52 United States Specifications for Grades and Dressed and Ready-to - 
 Cook Poultry o (2) Genera l;, (1) These specifications for grades are applicable 
 to all kinds and classes of poultry, as set forth in §00. kl when such poultry 
 is packed in bulk or institutional packages and not individually grade labeled* 
 If poultry is individually grade labeled, each bird must be of the grade and 
 class specified, and no tolerances shall be allowed. 
 
 (2) All terras in the United States Standards for Quality of Individual 
 Birds for Dressed and Ready-to-Cook Poultry, as set forth in §00.50 shall, when 
 used herein, have the sane meaning as is given to them in the standards for 
 quality. 
 
 (3) In bulk or institutional packages all birds not individually grade 
 labeled and packed in the same package shall be of the same class and quality 
 except for permitted tolerances. This must not be construed to mean that birds 
 within the permitted tolerances shall be intentionally packed in any packages. 
 All birds in bulk packages should be within the same weight class unless other- 
 wise specified. 
 
 (U) In grading of dressed poultry at receiving point or shipping destina- 
 tion, any birds, Otherwise of A or B Quality, which have dirty or bloody heads 
 or carcasses; dirty feet or vents; fan, garter or neck feathers, or feed in 
 the crops, shall be lowered one quality. 
 
 (b) Specifications.- (1) U. S» Gr a de A ; Any lot either of "Dressed" 
 or of "Ready-to-Cook" poultry composed of one or more bulk or institutional 
 packages or shipping containers shall consist of birds not less than 90 per cent 
 of which shall be of A Quality; and none shall be below B Quality, No individual 
 package in any lot shall contain more 3 Quality birds than in the proportion of 
 2 to each 12. 
 
 (2) U. S. Grade B ; Any lot either of "Dressed" or "Ready-to-Cook" poultry 
 composed of one or more bulk or institutional packages or shipping containers 
 shall consist of birds not less than 90 per cent of which shall be of 3 quality 
 or better, and none shall be below C Quality. No individual package in any lot 
 shall contain more C Quality birds than in the proportion of 2 to 12. 
 
 (3) U, S. Grade C: Any lot either of "Dressed" or "Ready-to-Cook" poultry 
 shall consist of birds all of which shall be of C Quality or better. 
 
■