The Hays free press. [volume] (Hays, Kan.) 1908-1924, 1913-01-04
LIVE STOCK THE ONLY MEANS FOR THE
DEVELOPMENT OF GREAT PLAINS AREA
Dean Webster Believes that Four Successive Failures of Wheat
Has Demonstrated that Grain Farming in Western
Kansas is Unsafe TO Say
the Least.


because Of starvation and exposure,
but the actual loss. measured IN dol
lars and cents, was much less than
the loss sustained nearly every year
through the attempts OF the farmers
to grow wheat in this same region.
The surprising thing is that this
loss in live stock. when considered
in the light of the above facts. caused
more worry and concern among farm
ers and business men, generally. than
the repeated loss of the wheat crop.
The reason for this is apparent
when analysed. The loss Of the live
stock was the loss of tangible in
come producing mOTtgageable secur-
ity: or, in other words, the loss OF
actual wealth-the thing that kept
the average farmer from bankruptcy
The wheat crop is a liability; the
cattle crop an asset
The encouraging feature about IL Is
that the farmers who have stayed long
in the country look TO live stock as
their only possible insurance against
being compelled to leave
The peculiar system Of rainfall on
the Great Plains Area, speaking Of
that portion south of the Kansas Ne
braska line, insures in all but the ex-
ceptional year, such as year ago. an
abundant supply of feed for the grow
ing of all classes of live stock The
silo. which is no longer an expert
ment but a tested and proven insti-
tuition in this region, is opening up
new fields Of opportunity for the
stockman. 1t has been demonstrated
that even in years like last year there
need be no shortage Of feed. and that
Kaffir and cane are most excellent
silage crops. a supply sufficient for
two or three years can be carried as
insurance against such disaster
This country is facing d shortage
of cattle Prices are higher than ever
before known The great producing
center of the Central Mississippi Val
ley will, in all probability, be unable
to keep pace with the demand Of the
future The western ranges are, to a
large extent, broken up. These west
ern ranges, as small ranches and
/ farms of not less than a section in
extent, may yet produce many times
the number of cattle that the old
range conditions furnished The
] can SlOH leu lLC AeAAAcoC A-AOA4
could not. The farmer can grow feed
where grain fails. The farmer can
store this feed against a time Of
/ drouth. The farmer can give his per
sonal attention to the Improvement
/ Of his stock. The stock farmer can
preserve the fertility of his land and
/ build up its drouth-resistant qualities.
Every argument stands for the en-
/ enlargement and development Of a
vast live stock industry on the Great
/ Plains Let the stock farmers and
! the business men organize for this
purpose Encourage the growing OF
/ crops that have proven resistant to
/ unfavorabIe conditions, such as Kafir,
] Milo and other sorghums Build store
( houses against the time Of need.
! Learn from the experiment stations
what is possible under the best con
! ditions of culture.
The business men and the bankers
| hold the secrets Of the community as
] do no other class of men. Their Yer
/ dict is based on business necessity
| The man with live stock has credit;
| the grain farmer has none