Mower County transcript. [volume] (Lansing, Minn.) 1868-1915, 1886-05-12

At a banquet given the Montana
cattlemen at St. Paul, on the evening
of May 3rd, A. B. Stickney, of the
Minnesota & Northwestern R. R., and
j. J. Hill, of the St. Paul & Manitoba,
made interesting addresses, an abstract
of which we append:
A: b, stickney's Remarks.
1t goes without saying that live
stock market is desirable. This city is
situated on olive stock trail," SO to
speak. Montana shipped through this
city from seventy to eighty thousand
beeves. The shipment this year will
be larger, and shi pments will probably
increase for 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 mar
ket. When, by immigration and nat
nral increase, the ranges will be 80
heavily stocked that none will fatten
on the range, which time l have heard
variOusly estimated by the ranchmen
at from two to five years distant, Mon
tana will not ship beeves but the frame
the bone and muscle which must be
fattened elsewhere to make beef. Now
the question occurs, how can this
stream of animals be protitably stopped
here, bought from the ranchmen, and
sold to the consumer or otherwise.
That would be 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.
But the man or men who buy here
must make 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.
a comparatively few days, it 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 slaugh-
ter houses the other nine months. Now,
while l have estimated from the best
data at my command that our local
consumption and that of the country
west and north of here is fully equiva-
lent to the present annual product Of
Montana and our own state, | can
see no reason why we should not
be able to at least kill beef for our
own consumption except the difficulty
of holding the animals here SO as to
give the slaughter houses daily sup
ply. This can only be done by feeding.
that cattle can be protitably fed here
during the winter months and fattened,
I bellows it is practicable to establish
a market here, otherwise am unable
to see any basis for such market. 1t
is upon this point that information is
desired by our friends from Montana,
and it is upon this point that we as citi-
zens of Minnesota would desire to hear
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 obtainable in the winter and
spring will be sufficient to make sat-
isfactory profit to the feeder, and mar
ket will follow easily and naturally.
OUR LOCAL CONSUMPTION.
If it is true that the local consump-
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:
from here to Chicago and from Chica-
90 back here, amounting to hundreds
of thousands of dollars, which could he
divided between the Montana producer,
the feeder End the consumer. Statistics
show that Minnesota can raise corn. In
1879, the last report which have seen,
shows production of 100000 BUSH
els. If we can raise $1,000, 900 bushels
of corn, we can raise 3O,000,0O0 or 1OO.-
100000. The census tables show that
the average corn production of Mime
sofa in 1879 was thirty four bushels per
acre, while in Indiana it was only thirty
one, Ohio thirty.four, Illinois thirty-six
and only seven states in the Union pro.
duced 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 aver
ag, per acre in Minnesota was: Corn,
"a bushels; wheat II bushels. With
wheat at 81 per bllshel, as it was then,
and corn at 25 cents, an acre of wheat
would bring $12 and an acre Of corn
$3.50. Notwithstanding the increased
cost of raising an acre of wheat. it was
probably a slightly more profitable
crop; but rs now wheat is worth say
60 cents, and the average production is
reduced to or 10 bushels, an acre of
wheat will bring ST.. 80 to Sc, while an
average acre of corn 1T % cents will
bring $3.50, aud even at 20 cents corn
crop is undoubtedly more profitable
than wheat.
THE FEEDING QUESTION.
AS l have said, have had no expert
ence in feeding, but within the last few
months I have seen figures. said to be
accurate, which seemed to prove that
the farmers of Minnesota can ''feed
CATTLE say for four winter mouths
during the fattening process, at a net
profit of say $40 to Sl5 per head. If
this is correct, and we could by any
means Mace If within the reach of the
reach of the farmers of this state that
each could care for cay thirty head, and
make profit of $40 per head or $500
for the winter. do you realize what
boon it would be to the farmer? Three
hundred dollars net profit to each of
the 100. 900 farmers of Minnesota means
$50, 900, 900 net profit to the state. DO
you realize how much the average far
mer of this state needs additional in
dustry which viii give him an addi-