Thomas County cat. [volume] (Colby, Kan.) 1885-1891, 1888-05-17
BUTTER VERSUS essf.

BUTTER VERSUS BEEF.
WY the for.sr Pays More satisfaesosy
RToflts 1hAn TIE Latter.
It is almost impossible for the farm
er on 100 acres or less to produce beef
At profit, for having so few animals
to sell in any one year he can not at-
ford to ship them. and he il at the
mercy Of the local buyer. In my
market choice two-year-old cattle sold
during the last six months at from
$3.50 to $3.50 per cwt. and nice
smooth three-year-Old steers have not
at any time this winter sold in tho
local market for more than g. There
is much uncertainty. too. as to wheth-
or ono can get paid at all for the feed
when stock must be kept until three
years old before realizing on it. !or .
dry season and short crops. like last
year, first depresses the price of cattle
in the fall. on account of the pressure
to sell. and then tho advance in
the price of feed makes it inn
possible to feed through the
winter without loss. and l have
known cattle kept a year that did not
pay seventy-five cents . month for
their keep. and there are farmers in
my locality who would be better of. if
they had given away half OF their cat
tie last fall. One thing is ccrtaip-
scrub cattle do not pay and never will.
for any purpose. Nevertheless. to
maintain fertility of our farms we
must follow "animal industry" Our
rotation must include an extended acre.
age of grass and clover-to be fed on
the tarm, not sOld-and this must be
fed 50 rs to insure profit besides tho
manure pile. can not advise farmers
indiscriminately to go into pork rais-
ing. for this would. if successful. soon
result in over-production and unre-
munerative prices. Moreover. much
of our land is unsuited to swine hus-
bandry. and. also. the prevalence of
disease makes it too risky a business
in many localities. Dairying. / believe.
offers better chance for profit than any
other plan of keeping animals on the
farm. The fact that so many object
to being tied down to milking twice
day during the entire year will prob
ably prevent the business being over.
done.
l think l can prove that the food re-
quired to make pound of dressed
beef will make pound of butter. The
average cattle of the country do not
gain 500 pounds a year.. and there are
plenty of diaries that average more
than 250 pounds of butter to the cow
and some that average 500 pounds.
Now. the rule is 2 pounds of live
weight to l pound of beef and the COW
that makes 250 pounds of butter in a
year produces weight equal to 500
pounds of cattle live weight, and this
weight of beef will bring, at 81 per
hundred weight, 800, while the butter.
at 20 cents pound. will bring $50;
and all my experience as feeder and
a dairymaa goes to show that it is easier
to get 20 cents pounds for butter
than 81 per hundred weight for beef
In other words, 20 cents pound for
butter is equal to $40 hundred live
weight for beef Is it not bet
ter even than this? Look at another
fact: The farmer who would sell
ten beeves a year must keep on hand
thirty animals-ten yearlings, ten two
year-olds and the ten he prepares for
market; while the farmer with ten
good cows can milk them for ten
years. or longer if he gives them the
care he ought. The income of the
dairyman will be regular, giving him
weekly cash to meet expenses. while
the man who looks to the beef cattle
for his money will wait year for it.
To he sure. he will not have SO much
milking and will not have to churn,
but to Offset this there will be enough
income from the skim-milk and butter.
milk to pay for this labor. If wisely
fed in connection with other food, each
ten to fifteen pounds of milk will
make pound of pork. and after rails.
ing the heifcr calves you can make
several dollars worth of pork to the
cow before the year is out l believe |
have made a fair statement. but even
if you reduce the butter to 200 pounds
per COW there is still good margin OF
profit when compared with beef at
"a per 100 weight. 1 have put the
price of butter at 20 cents, but there
is no need Of selling it for that if you
make frst-class article, and if-as
believe you can-you get rs cents or
more. all the better. Waldo F.. Eroun,
~ ~ j. Tribune.