The Raymer enterprise., 1912-02-29
STOCK ON DRY FARMS
Crops Are Made More Sure and
Productive.
II Has Been Found After Many Years
Of Experience That There Is Much
Money in Keeping 100 Head
or So Of Cattle.

The dry land farmer should raise
live stock because feed crops are more
sure and productive and at the same
time greatly reduce the cost OF mar.
keting the products Of the farm. In
my farming and stock raising opera.
tions. | had for some years access
TO free range. but the country In my
immediate vicinity was finally all set
tied upon and naturally | had to con.
fine myself to my own farm In my
stock raising operations. writes W. F.
Gardner, In the Denver Field and
Farm. After having the free range 10
myself for so long |. like many 9TH
ers In the west, thought had been
put out OF business by the new set
tiers, but how easy 1t Is for a fellow
to adjust himself to conditions. II he
will get his head to work. After 2
good many years experience find
that there is more money in keeping
one hundred head Of better stock, bet.
ter fed and cared for. with small per
cent OF loss, than there was In keep.
ing the same number on the open
range; and the more organic matter
have put into my soil the more capa.
BILE 1t Is for holding moisture and the
less 1t will suffer when drouth comes.
We OF the west are in a position to
raise live stock more cheaply than the
farmers In the more humid sections
OF the country from the fact that our
soil and climate are peculiarly adapted
to the raising OF that most wonderful
forage plant. alfalfa, nitrogen gath.
erer and an enricber OF the soil. a sub
soiler and. when fed with corn, a bal
anced ration. Alfalfa is king In the
west and goes hand In hand with live
stock In many sections dairying is
rapidly gaining on horticulture and Is
bringing In more money than any 9TH
er industry. The dairymen are con-
sidering the fertility of their soil, the
greatest asset remaining to the Amer.
lean people. Probably the best rea-
son for western farmers going into
the dairy business Is the fact that
people in new country must accept
a system OF farming that will bring
quick returns In actual cash. The
stock business will do this quicker
than horticulture. especially dairying,
because II takes from five 10 seven
years to bring an orchard into bear
Ing. To my mind. the best farmer and
the one who will certainly succeed, is
he who keeps live stock. When the
horticulturlst In the near future Is
buying high-priced fertilizer to raise
the same fruit In quantity and quail.
ity that he raised when the soil was
virgin, the stockman's farm will be as
fertile and more productive than when
he first turned the sod as nature left
II. The man who goes into a new and
untried country. builds a home and
opens up new farm and by lntelli.
gence and close attention TO business
succeeds In converting that piece OF
Wild land into valuable property Is
not only a successful man. but has
shown himself to be benefactor
OF his race and 1t will be many years
In this country before the life work OF
such man will be given the recog.
milton II so Justly deserves. Cattls
raising is profitable even during the
present times OF high.priced land high
priced help and high.priced feed OF
course the farmer must look after and
properly care for his live stock in the
best possible manner. The raising OF
stock works nicely with other farm
operations and good profit can be
made II the animals are fed in the
proper way-there is so much good
feed that would be actually wasted on
the farm II live stock were not kept.
| do not give my stock any high
priced feed and yet always aim to keep
them thrifty. plan to feed economi.
cally. There is some feed in wheat
straw and oat straw Is good and the
stock Is converting II all into fertility
to be added to the land. Many logi.
cal reasons can be given why the dry,
farmer should keep live stock. The
first essential in dry.farming Is an
ample supply OF moisture In the soil
and the keeping OF live stock on the
farm will add to Its water carrying
capacity, because the more live stock
kept on the farm the more manure
and organic matter will the farmer
have to incorporate into the soil. 1t
Is an assured fact that the more hu.
mus the soil contains the more mois.
ture will It hold. The more live stock
the farmer keeps. the greater the In.
ducement TO raise larger acreage Of
forage and cultivated crops OF which
corn would probably be the main one.
The farmer would rotate and my own
experience In farming twenty.seven
years In the semi.arld country is that
1t pays to put half the land into a cul.
tivated crop every year. II fed to live
stock, corn is the best paying crop,
speaking from a money standpoint and
saying nothing about what It does to.
ward keeping up the fertility Of the
soil by the better cultivation given and