Omaha daily bee. (Omaha [Neb.]) 187?-1922, 1911-01-15
Beets Profitable
Food for Hogs and
Packers Approve
Utah Farmers Learn a Lesson that
Turns New Tide Of Money
70 Them.

raising. ono Of the most profitable and.
until recently. neglected branches Of 1--we
stock industries In tie west, s. receiving
much attention "a Utah through the sue
cess achieved b. many farmers in feeding
sugar bees 20 hogs. Il Is figured hat
using beets 20 fs.ten toss will net the beet
growers Of this state sil a ton.
Tor many years the packers OF the inter
mountain region have been f5-ced % ship
hogs from Nebraska because the pork
raised IN this section u Tie country wss
not the kind that could be satisfactorily
used BY the packers. But with the COM
ing Of farmers into Utah from the corn
belt better quality OF hogs is being pro-
duced and the packers are having to ship
in less from other states.
The feeding Of beets has solved the hog
raising problem in this state and the
farmers who once could not produce the
desired kind OF pork are now raising beets
for hog feed BY feeding beets exclusively
one man made his hogs gain fifty pounds
each in one month. This is considered a
strong testimonial to the qualities Of beets
hog fattener.
Large Profit Made.
This farmer in question fed 80 pounds
Of beets per head At the high price of
$3.50 per 100 pounds for hogs, the beets
would bring this man SlO55 per ton. At
the usual fall price for hogs Of 81 per 100
pounds beets fed to hogs would be worth
$3.50 per ton. Another farmer in this sec
ton OF the state bought three tons Of
sugar beets for si2.t5 last summer. He
fattened eight hogs. which for a little
over two months feeding, gave him a
profit Of Sl3. The beets we're cooked by
this man before being used.
S. s. Jensen. manager Of the ogden Pack
ing and Provision company Of ogden, has
been active I'm encouraging the raising OF
hogs in the intermountaiu country. His
firm has been a leader in getting the farm
ers to produce a better class OF pork for
use OF the packing interests. Mr.. Jensen
has followed closely all the changes in the
hog feeding problem and he has the fol-
lowing to say about feeding sugar beets to
hogs:
For years thousands Of dollars has been
going east every month for live hogs.
Packers could not get satisfactory ones In
this section of the country and they had
to ship them in from other states. Besides
Utah peaple are confronted with the situa-
ton Of seeing over 100000 worth Of pork
products shipped into this state every
month. This means between 100000 and
A,O0oO 900 a year that should be received by
local packing companies.
1900 Monthly on 100 Hogs.
For an outlay of IS for six months to
raise a hog that will sell for $50 seems un-
reasonable. Still this is the very thing
which is being accomplished in Utah at
the present time. A man with herd of
100 hogs can take In 500 each month for
! his labors -N.
Last summer a farmer sold $40 worth
of hogs from four and one-half acres Of
land. This land was fenced with hog wire.
and half an acre of It was in beets. The
remainder produced barley. alfalfa and
peas. lie let the hogs pasture in II.
Hog raising in this section has been
| revolutionized during the last twelve or
fifteen months. Formerly a farmer thought
It impossible to raise a hog on anything
but grain. He is now learning. through
actual tests that hogs can be raised on
other feed at greatly increased profit and
yet produce as good a quality Of pork.
1t is not too much to say that every
! farmer should have from ten to twenty
five hogs 60 market every year. Even at
/ normal prices there are enormous profits
in raising hogs Beets and alfalfa in large
proportions, and with little grain. will
grow a hog at slight expense. Farmers
have learned that peas as an finisher pro-
duce an excellent, sweet-flavored pork.
These are being used in Colorado with won
derful success.
Good Demand In Utah.
Formers Of this state should remember
that there always will be a steady demand
for good hogs in Utah, for packing plants
are springing up. The packers are enabled
to use hogs at all times Of the year. because
of their cold storage facilities During the
summer months, when prices are highest
they BUY large quantities Prices are usu-
ally highest from July to September.
Two young men of ogden have decided
TO raise stockers on an alfalfa field which
they have recently leased. They planned
to start with twenty sows when they
leased the land and expected to produce 100
animals the first year, which when fat
tened sholld bring approximately 5000.
They have had experience in sheep raising,
but declare there is more profit in the hog
business as the increase in greater. The
one adverse feature is the danger OF
cholera, though experienced hog men state
| that the disease can be kept out by sani-
I tary methods"