River Falls journal. [volume] (River Falls, Pierce County, Wis.) 1872-2019, 1886-05-13


made interesting addresses, an abstract
OF which we append:
a. -, stlckney's Remarhs.
1t goes without saving that live
stock market is desirable. This city is
situated OF Give STOCK trail" SO to
speak. Montana shipped through this
city from seventy to eighty thousand
beeves. The shipment This year will
be larger, and shipments will probably
increase for several years TO come.
Thousands Of yearlings are driven
yearly TO the Montan. ranges 10 be fed
a couple Of yeas OF more, aud then
shipped east through this city To a mar
ket When, by immi grafton and nat
ural increase, the ranges will be so
heavily stocked that none viii fatten
on the range, which time have heard
variously estimated by the ranchuien
at from two to live years distant, Mon
tana Will not ship beeyes bot the frame
the bone and muscle which must be
fattened elsewhere 10 make beef. Now
/ the question occurs, how can this
stream Of animals be prolitably stopped
here, bought from the ranchmen, and
l sold TO the consumer or otherwise.
/ That would be a market. The incen-
tive To buying and selling is a profit.
In this case the ranchmen would es-
TEEN it 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.
nj In l.,
must make a profit.
LARGE CAPITAL NEEDED.
To make a profit by Strengthening
and distributing dressed beef over the
country requires an enormous capital
and organization. numerous cold stOr-
age warehouses, refrigerator cars, etc.
/ As beef dressed can only be preserved
a comparatively few days. it follows
/ that these concerns must slaughter
/ every day and must have bccyes TO
4 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 slaugh-
/ ter houses the Othernine months. Now,
/ while | have estimated from the best
/ data al my command that our local
consumption and that Of the country
I west and north of here is fully equiya-
4 lent to the present annual product Of
4 Montana and our own state, | can
see no reason why we should not
/ be able TO at least XIII beef for our
/ own consumption except the difficulty
of holding the animals here SO as TO
! give the slaughtcr-houses daily sup
/ ply. This can only be done bv feeding
I II the resources of our state are such
/ that cattle can be probably fed here
/ during the winter months aud tattened,
! | believe it is practicable to establish
a market here. otherwise | am unable
/ 10 see any basis for such a market Ii
( j, upon this point that information is
desired by our. friends from Montana.
and it is upon this point that we a citi-
IONS OF Minnesota would desire to hear
4 an expression from them. Demonstrate
( that range cattle can be bought in the
fall, fed by our farmers or otherwise
! during the winter, and increase their
weight sufficiently that the increased
weight added to the increased price
usually obtainabc in the winter and
spring will be sufficient to make a sat
isfactory profit to the feeder, and amar-
ket wlll follow easily and naturally.
OUR LOCAL CONSUMPTION.
fit is true that the local cousump-
ton is equal to the surplus of Montana
and our own farms together, by slaugh-
tering here this market would have the
advantage of the Chicago market
equivalent TO the freight both ways viz:
I from here TO Chicago aud from Chica-
70 back here, amounting to hundreds
+ OF thousands of dollars. which cOuld be
divided between the Montana producer.
the feeder 2ni the consumer Statistics
show that Minnesota can raise corn. In
/ 1879, the last report which ! have seen.
I shows a production Of 100000 bush
els II We can raise 15,00b.UO bushels
Of corn. we can raise 80. 600, 600 or lO0.-
900. 600 The census tables SHOW that
the average corn production OF Mtune-
sofa in 1879 was thirty four bu>hcl, per
acre. while in Indiana i was only thirty
one, OHIO thirty four, Illinois thirtv-siS
and only seven states il the Union pro-
duced larger average. one-half of
them beingin New England. where the
fields are small and highly cultivated.
The same census shows that the aver
aga per acre ia Minnesota was: Corn,
"a bushels; wheat II bushels. With
wheat at ; per bushel, as it was then,
and corn a, p cents, All acre of wheat
would bring Sl2 and an acre of corn
800. Notwithstanding the Increased
cost of raising an acre Of wheat 10 was
probably a slightly more profitable
crop; but as now wheat is worth say
90 cents, and the average production Is
reduced TO or 10 bushels, au acre Of
wheat will bring 81 80 to S., while an
average acre of corn at - cents viii
bring $3.50, and even at - ceut~ n corn
crop is undoubtedly more Profitable
than wheat.
THE FEEDING QUESTION,
As have said have had no expert
ence in feeding, but within the lasi few
months have seen figures sail to be
accurate, which seemed 10 prove that
the farmers of Minnesota can feed
cattle" say for four winter months
during the fattening process, at a net
profit of say so to SD per head. Ii
this is correct, and we could by any
means place it within the reach Of the
reach oil the farmers OF this state that
each could care for say thirty head. and
make DrOtt of so Dal. head or ssjJB