The Billings gazette. [volume] (Billings, Mont.) 1896-1919, 1902-06-24
WHY BEEvES ARE FEw
Reasons For Scarcity In Spring
Cattle Supply Explained.
LARGELY DUE TO DROUGHT,
Shortage Of Feed Caused by That Of
Last Summer-Unusual Condition.
Affecting the Market In the Plains
ReEions-Enect OF Reduction OF the
Free Range. % T

In view Of the high prices for beef
now prevailing in most parts Of the
country. the following article on the
scarcity Of beef cattle is of interest:
An abnormal condition exists in the
cattle industry of the west. says the
Kansas City correspondent of the New
York Evening Post. 1t is entering on
the new grass season with remarkably
high prices for fat cattle. and vet there
have been very low prices, compare
lively, for '%.stockers." This condition
has obtained over Kansas, Missouri.
parts Of Nebraska, Iowa and OklahO-
ma. 1t affects the market at Kansas
City and at other points for reception
II western range stock. Fat cattle sold
IN Chicago the other day for the high.
est figure since 1882. 1t was laid ut the
door Of the packers combination. and
to a degree that was / reasoning.
But back of the packers combination
and making that sort of movement pos
sible to a large degree has been the
unusual history of the cattle production
of the plains in the last half decade.
The immediate cause of the shortage
Ut fat cattle from the range region is
the drought Of last season extending
over Kansas. Missouri. Oklahoma a0s
parts Of Iowa. Nebraska and Colorado.
The corn crop Of the section affected
was cut down four-ffths. and the rough
feed question became u serious n for
most of the farmers. The farmers sold
all their cattle that could be spared,
thinning the herds down to what could
be cared for during the winter without
fattening, and did not buy any stock
for feeding. There was abundance OF
money for stock fattening purposes.
Cattle paper was sought by the eastern
banks and investors, and the western
banks had the largest deposits in their
history. But the farmers could not feed
SO cent corn and make returns and
could not get rough feed. So train
loads of cattle ven out of the farming
section to the far northwest for the
winter or were slaughtered when out
of condition.
Kansas City and Topeka marked a
shortage as early as March /. Chicago
was sensible of the smaller receipts of
fat stock from the plains during the
weeks following. and as the days have
gone on the shortage has become more
noticeable. 1t is not so much that the
number Of cattle on the plains is less
ened as that the number fattened last
year was below the usual proportion.
The low point in the western cattle
business came five years ago. The
low prices had discouraged breeders.
and the ranches were stocked less
heavily than for two decades, When
good cows We're selling at auction for
$40 and two-year-olds were worth less
than the feed that had been given
them. what could the farmer see for
the future? But the revival of bust
ness in the east made a better market.
and the farmers of the prairie states
awoke to the fact that they could make
money out of stock. They also learned
that it was good business for them to
mingle agriculture with stock raising.
The report for 1900 of the government
showed that the southwest cattle re-
gion had the following number of
range cattle. exclusive Of milk cows:
Average