The Warner sun. (Warner, Brown Co., Dakota [S.D.]) 1885-1???, 1886-05-14
IMPORTANT TO FARMERS.
Interesting Speeches Delivered in st. Paul
at a Banquet Given to a Delegation
of Montana C~attlemen.
SPEECH OF A. B. srIcKNEY.

ket Is desirable. IniS city Is situated on a Live
stock trail" so to speak. Montana shipped
through this city from seventy to eighty thou.
sand beeves. The shipment this year will be
lager, and shipments will probably" increase foi
several years to come. Thousands of yearlings
are driven yearly to the Montana ranges to be
fed a couple Of years or more, and then shipped
east through this city TO a market. When, by
immigration and natural increase, the ranges
will be so heavily stocked that none will fatten
on the range, which time I have heard variously
estimated by the ranchmen at from two to five
years distant, Montana will not ship beeves but
the frame-the bone and muscle which must be
fattened elsewhere to make beef. Now the ques-
ton occurs, how can this stream of animals be
prOftably stopped here, bought from the ranch
men, and sold to the consumer or otherwise.
That would be a market. The incentive TO buy
ing and selling is a profit. In this case the ranch
men would esteem 1t a profit to them If they
could sell here so as to net them as much money
as in Chicago. thus saving the time and trouble
of going to Chicago. But the man or men who
buy here must make a profit.
CAPITAL NEEDED.
To make a profit by slaughtering and distrtb-
uting dressed beef over the country requires an
enormous capital and organization, numerous
cold storage warehouses, refrigerator cars. etc.
As beef dressed can only be preserved a compar-
atiVely few days. 1t follows that these concerns
must slaughter every day and must have beeves
to slaughter every day. For about three months
only fat cattle come from the ranges, beginning
say in August and ending in November. The
farms of Illinois, Ohio, Indiana. Iowa and other
corn growing states furnish the slaughterhouses
llO ObAlSL JAAN AOAS" WY VhAAO \ " O5Il-
mated from the best data at my command that
our local consumption and that Of the country
west and north Of here Is fully equivalent TO the
present annual product OF Montana and our own
state, L can see no reason why we should not
be able to at least kill beef for our own con-
sumption except the difficulty Of holding the
houses a daily supply. This can only be
done by feeding. If the resources of
our state are such that cattle can be profitably
fed here during the winter months and fattened,
| believe it is practicable to establish a market
here, otherwise ! am unable to see any basis for
such a market. It Is upon this point that infor-
nation is desired by our friends from Montana,
and l. it is upon this point we as citizens of Min
nesota would desire TO hear an expression from
them. Demonstrate that range cattle can be
bought il the fall, fed by our farmers or other
wise during the winter, and increase their
weight sufficiently that the increased weight
added to the increased price usually obtainable
make a satisfactory profit to the feeder and a
market will follow easily and naturally.
OUR LOCAL CONSUMPTION.
If it is true that the local consumption Is equal
to the surplus of Montana and our own farms to-
gether, by Strengthening here this market would
have the advantage of the Chicago market equiv
alent to the freight both ways, viz, from here to
Chicago and from Chicago back here, amounting
to hundreds of thousands OF dollars, which could
be divided between the Montana producer, the
feeder and the consumer. Statistics show that
Minnesota can raise corn In 1879, the last re-
port which / have seen, shows a Production of
Is, 100000 bushels. II we can raise l5,000,0 900
bushels of corn, we can raise 3O,O00.OO0 or
100, 600, 900 The census tables show that the
average corn production of Minnesota in 1879
was thirty-foar bushels per acre, while In
Indiana IL was only thlrty-one, Ohio thirty-four,
Illinois thirty-six. and only seven states in the
Union produced a larger average, one-half Of
them being in New England, where the
fields are small and highly cultivated
The same census shows that the average per
acre in Minnesota was: Corn, 81 bushels;
wheat, IL bushels. With wheat at 81 per
bushel, as it was then, and corn at % cents, an
acre of wheat would bring SIP and an acre of
corn So. so. Notwithstanding the increased cost
of raising an acre of wheat, 1t was probably a
slightly more profitable crop: but as now wheat
is worth say GO cents, and the average produc.
ton is reduced TO 8 or 10 bushels, an acre of
wheat will bring $3.50 TO Sc, while an average
acre of corn at % cents will bring So so, and even
at 20 cents a corn crop is undoubtedly more
profitable than wheat.
THE FEEDING QUESTION.
As / have said, | have had no experience In
feeding, but within the last few months 1 have
seen figures, said to be accurate. which seemed
to prove that the farmers OF Minnesota can
feed cattle say for four winter months during
the fattening process at a net proht OF say SlO
to SI5 per head. Ii this is correct, and we could
by any means place il within the reach OF the
farmers of this state that each could care for say
thirty head and make a profit OF $40 per head or
it would be to the farmer2 Three hun
dred dollars net profit to each OF
the 100000 farmers of Minnesota means
$50, 900, o net profit TO the state.
Do you realize how much the average farmer of
this state needs additional industry which viii
give him an additional income? Take the United
States census tables of 1880 and you will find
the statistics of the crop of 1873. You will find
in that year that Minnesota farmers producea
81, 600, 900 bushels of wheat, 215,000 bushels
of rye. 23. 600. 900 bushels OF oats, $4,000, 600
bushels Of corn. 8. D 900 bushels of barley, Al
900 bushels of buckwheat, a little nax, a little
sorghum, poultry. eggs. butter, cheese, garden
truck, potatoes, ETC., etc. that the wnole value
Of all these products, except live stock, on the
farms before 1t had paid any freight,inciuding all
sold and consumed by the farmer and his lam
ily, amounted TO $49.469,o00. This was the
gross value, without deducting the cost TO raise
1t, Now divide this gross sum. $49,4oJ,oOV. pe-
tween 92.4O0 farms then in the state, and am
sure you will be astonished, as was, 70 ma IL
amounts to only 1888 to each farm. Mind this
is not profit, or what the crop brought over ana
above the cost of production. Applying the same
test to our neighboring state OF Iowa, we ma the
average farm produces 1874, about Az per cent
more.
What can we do to encourage the adding OF
live stock raising to the agricultural industries
OF Minnesota2 In my judgment nothing would
do so much as an established market. AS IL IS
now, IL the farmer raises wheat ne can turn ~
into cash by hauling it to the nearest railway
station any day in the year at its market value.
If he raises steers, he must walt I'LL some ltln-
Grant purchaser happens along and makes MN
an offer; or. perchance, he may sell ~ TO the local
butcher on sixty DAYS time and take his chances
of getting paid. For the average farmer 10 sllp
directly to Chicago is evidently impracticabie;
use Of raising it? / have demonstrated,
to nv satisfaction, at least, that
we can't have o market here unless the farmers
can feed stock, and that the farmers can't keep
stock until there Is a market. The farmers have
no money to buy stock with. The most of
them think they can't feed cattle because they
cant raise corn" The question Is what 10 90
about lie. Nv own Judgment Is that some OF us
who have the courage OF our convictions must
build a bic barn like they have near Omaha, and
fiji 1t this fall with say 1000 head OF steers ana
feed them during the winter on the available
nrodncts Of the country. and demonstrate that Q
profit can be made In fattening cattle here the
same as the bonanza farmers demonstrated that
wheat could be raised Inc the. Red river valley.
Once demonstrate by actual figures that u Is
prodtablo. the farmers win take hold OF IL. Men
OF CAPITAL and our banks will furnish money 10
carry the cattle while being red py the aine
THE RESULT.
ataadv daily simply of beeves will be pro-