Arizona republican., 1912-02-25
WISE AND
 POUND FOOLISH
Policy of Farmers Who are Hypnotized by the High Price of Milk Discussed by One Whose Advice is Save the Calves.
(By O. O. Brew baker,

hesitancy just now among farmers and dairymen about saving their calves. Feed is scarce in good many
 localities and milk iS high in price
 and .',Cy figure that the calves wifi
 eat their heads off The writer does
 not attempt to pose as a prophet, or
 the son of a prophet. but he believes
 that if there eyer was a tune when
 the outlook was better than it is right
 now for the profitable growing of
 calves he doesn't remember it.
 Now for a few reasons For two
 years past there has been a tremen-
 dous sacrifice of cattle, thousands of
 which have gone to the shambles in
 q half-finished condition. their own
 CTS being forced to ship them because
 of short pastures. or an insufficient
 amount of winter feed. The year just
 closed has been unusually trying in
 this respect, the slaughtering process
 beginning early in the season. when
 the pastures dried up and the outlook
 for hay was very discouraging: in
 fact. so much that farmers began to
 curtail their stock supply as early as
 July. in large numbers. in many
 places. During this time there has
 been d good foreign demand. which
 means that a great deal of our meat
 has gone to feed the hungry mouths
 beyond the sea. while most of what
 was retained has been sold for inn
 mediate consumption. There k not
 a large supply of meat in storage at
 any of the great packing centers.
 which mav be attributed to unsettled
 financial conditions and adverse legal
 proceedings against the big concerns.
 which leaves the visible supply prn-
 Cipally in the hands of the farmers of
 the country. The ranges. which in
 the past wears have been q competing
 factor with the farmers of the Mis-
 Sissippi valley in the production of
 beef and mutton. have been so ShOrn
 of their capacity that they are no
 longer menace. since the land hun
 ger of the past decade has seized the
 people of the central and eastern
 states. ana thousands have scattered
 over the plains and fenced farms in
 the Very heart of the ranges The menace from south America" that
 has been Set up as a buGbear. will vanish into thin air when the con stantly increasing population of tho world demands food. Not only this. but the agricultural forces of the United States now hold the balance of power, and they propose to dictate Legislation that will save the cattle industry from unjust and illegitimate competition. IL is simply a matter of vigilance on the part of the farmers. the agricultural papers and our great institutions of learning, as to whether any foreign nation shall undermine ard destroy the stock industry of the United States
 The almost universal practice Of dairymeh of giving away their calves or vealing at as early an age as the law will permit. in order to sell the milk at fancy prices. should be no longer continued. While the immedi- | ate cash income from the milk is ! greater than the calf will return. the i future usefulness of the COW or steer ! will recompense one well for the trou- | ble and expense of growing the calf. ! Besides this, the growing animai will consume the rOughness. enrich the farm and bring the money in a lump
 Another thing we would consider is the interest We have, or should have. i in the cattle industry as a whole. No man liveth unto himself' is just as true in the cattle industry as it is in society. IT We continue to sacrifice the calves in the future as ruthlessly IS We have in the past. with q con- 'tantly growing demand for meats. a time will come when We cannot sup ply our home demand and We will be to submit to the competi- ion of Argentina and Canada If our ;attle industry shall continue to oc- ,upy the high position it mas always leld. those engaged in it must each contribute his share in keeping it at par or even at premium, and while 'ne may not See any immediate re- 'ults from such q practice. he is in- 'uring himself against disaster that would take years to overcome.
 The ability of the farmers of the United States to grow feed is not lmple enough to justify the growing 'f so many cattle as to seriously glut he market for any length of time. lnless We revolutiOniZe our methods If saving our supplies of forage by he erection of silos on d large scale; md even then the world stands ready O take off our hands any surplus We nay be able to create. I will not be 70 presumptuous as to say that the industry would never have setbacks. Those things are incident to every business. or even to life itself; but the nan who saves his calves. breeds good 'tock, and stays in the business is ;ure to succeed. It might be well to ollow the advice of Henry Wads- worth Longfeliow in our business as n anything else. Have faith in lothing but in industry; be at it late md early, peTsevere, and work right ,n, through censure and applause