The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1907-11-06
High Priced Beef.

there is an article entitled why the
Price of Beef Is High" by G.. w.
Ogden. The article carries a lesson
to the people Of the. Southeast, and
for these it might be entitled, /"Why
the popie Of the Southeast states
should now raise cattle for beef.'
The article recites how the conditions
are growing more and more unfavor-
able in the West for raising beef cat
tie. These conditions are comprised
in, the dimfnution Of the grass lands
by settlement, the increased adverse
influence Of droughts in the dfmfn-
'ished area, the high price Of feed
stuffs and the increased demand for
beef by increasing population, and
also for export. The demand for beef
is growing greater, and the supply is
growing less in proportion.
All these influences tend to en-
nance the, profits Of cattle raising in
the Southeastern cotton area.
While the feed stuffs in the West
have been diminishing on account OF
the decrease Of the grass area, those
in the Southeast have been increasisg
In the increased production of cot.
ton seed bulls and meal. '.,:.
There has always been in the
Southeast, grass, and forage enough
to keep cattle 8 to 9 months in the
year. The Others or 4 months with
out grass or forage was the only
thing standing in the way Of a prof.
table cattle business, wen when the
ranges in Texas and Oklahoma were,
for practical purposes, unlimited. The
cotton seed hull and meal, having
supplied this deficiency, and the grass
lands OF the West being very much
diminished, the Southeast Is not only
In position to compete, but is In &C.
tually better situation to raise cattle
for the beef markets that any other
part of the United States.
Mr.. Ogden says: 1T is questionab-
ly whether, under the most favorable
circumstances, beef will ever be as
cheap in the United States again as
it was five years ago. Since that
times, there has been a gradual in
crease in the price of live cattle, and
a corresponding increase in the price
Of dressed meat. This opens the
second proposition bearing on high
priced beef-the increased consump-
ton at home and the growing export
trade, against the comparative stand
still of the live stock industry
According to this opinion, the con-
.ditions are not only, favorable now
for the cattle raiser, but they will
continue favorable for a long time
to come. .,...r 81
1t Is a question of the demand out
weighing the supply. A Beef Trust
could not limit the output Of beef, if
fat cattle were plentiful and cheap.
II it were possible to buy all in sight
and dress, store and keep the meat
for an indefinite period such an &C
ton might be possible. But beef Is
perishable, and no man is bound
down by laws prohibiting his killing
and dressing meat for his own use
and selling it to his neighbors. A
capital of $50 or $40 is all that is
required to open a butcher shop in
a village when fat cattle sell at $3.50
to $500 a hundred. 1t is a business
with so many possibilities that the
Beef Trust could not block them ALL
THUS it would seem that the far
mers of the Southeast cotton grow
ing states are now in fine situation to
undertake the production of beef cat
tie with promise of good fair profit,
and of the business being a lasting
one. =