Arizona republican., 1912-10-07
Hundreds of Carloads of Beef Cattle Are Being Shipped Here to Be Fat tened for the Outside Markets
PROFITABLE FOR LOCAL RANCHFRS
Santa Fe and Arizona East ern Prepared to Handle Heavy Shipments Expect ed to Begin Within Short Time

More and more is it becoming Ob- vious that in the Salt River valley ex-
 ists the greatest winter stock feeding
 lands of the Southwest. Carload after
 carload and trainload after trainload
 of cattle are being shipped to Phoenix from almost every section of Arizona
 and from New Mexico and Western
 Texas as well and sent out upon the
 ranches and individually controlled ranges in the immediate vicinity of
 Phoenix, Tempe and Mesa
 Both the Santa Fe and Arizona East
 ern have come to recognize the inn pOrtance of this section as a winter
 feeding ground for beef, and each maintains cOraIls, sidings and loading and unloading runways in this city and
 at various points throughout the val ley
 October witnesses the opening of the
 cattle shipping season and already the
 Santa Fe has brought several train
 loads of fine cattle here to be fattened. The approach of the cold weather in
 the northern section of r,:~ona has
 already begun to diminish the food supply and there are but two things to
 do, either ship the cattle to the market
 in their present condition and accept
 the present price, or ship them to this valley and in a few weeks dispose of
 them at a substantial advance. To the rancher of the valley, who en-
 gages for portion of the year in rais-
 ing alfalfa. the turning of his land into cattle feeding grounds results in an in creased revenue. while the stock thriVes upon the short alfalfa and goes upon the market in prime condition ] Throughout California and, to a great
 extent some of the middle west, Ari- zona alfalfa fed beef has come to be recognized as the choicest to be had
 at any price.
 Some days ago Superintendent H. C. Story of the Santa Fe was in Phoe- nix arranging for the receipt here of cattle trains from northern Arizona He would not venture a prediction as to the number of carloads that would come her during the ensuing fall and winter, but he said that it would mount well into the hundreds. He said | that he knew of large shipments that
 would be handled by his road from Mayer, Flagstaff. Williams and Ash
 Fork. Nearly 100 cars, he said, had been ordered for the handling of cat tie to be shipped to Portland, Oregon l and points in Idaho. These cattle rep resent the best on foot in the north today, and will mean that the remain der will come to the Salt River valley i H. A. Hammell, of this city, pur- | chased 1S7 head of cattle at Mayer last week, constituting a five ca~ shipment to Phoenix He will place these upon his ranch near Buckeye. The steers will be fattened and sold for beef while the cows will go to replenish his breeding and milch stock. Another shipment is expected in Phoenix about October 15 These cattle came from what is known as the Old Jake Miller range
 Just before the Hammell shipment
 was received here, about 500 head came in from the north, som of which were
 immediately converted into beef fol Arizona markets. while others were sent out to feed.
 Donald Mcqueen is looking after | several important shipments which are l expected to arrive in Phoenix before 1 October 20 and which will be distrib- uted along the Arizona Aastern neal l Tempe and Mesa. The Arizona East ern also expects quite few cattle tc i come in from the southern part of the state, as has been the case in former | years.
 MT. Hammell states that steer feed 1 CTS are bringing from from $4.75 tC | $500 per hundred weight direct from | the range, while cows are selling al | from S3.75 to s4.00 on the range. Bee | steers, he states are bringing $6.0( I here. and he predicts that before spring l the valley cattlemen will be receiving i from S6.5O to $700 for their stock. IT 1 California and Oregon beef steers art
 said at the present time to be bringing | $70O on the hoof