The purpose of this bulletin is to show statistically how Iowa farmers sell their hogs.

Hitherto, the bulk of the livestock marketing statistics has been obtained from terminal markets and meat packers. Such data tell very little about the farmer's end of the marketing machinery. For example, they do not show how much of the livestock that is sold "direct to packers" really moves direct (without going through one or more local dealers). They do not show statistically whether individual farmers usually patronize one buyer, or whether they "shop around" among several buyers. They do not show how far farmers range in their search for market outlets. Neither do they show what the local dealer situation is-whether there is a large number of small dealers dividing up the business in a manner that results in an excessive duplication of services, or whether there is a comparatively small number of dealers, each of whom handles a large share.