The Birmingham age-herald., 1915-08-18
LOOK ID SOUTH ID
 AVERT THREATENED
 FAMINE IN CATTLE
Vice President of National Stockyards, St. Louis, Talks of Outlook
 for South

"The entire nation is closely watch = ing the development of the beef cat tie industry in these southern states, ' said E. F. Bisbee, vice president of the St. Louis National stock yards, who is here to attend the Southern Cattle Liens convention. accompanied by a large delegation from the northern market. Owing to the decline in beef cattle raising in the great western and southwestern states" continued Mir. Bisbee, meat consumers of the United States are forced to look else- where for adequate supplies. Lower Mississippi valley states offer the greatest opportunity for development the North American continent
 Here you have climatic conditions in your favor, practically all year open range. millions of acres of graz ing lands now going to waste and cheap feed in the way of cotton seed pi oducts and silage
 "As matters now stand today the state of Iowa alone has more beef cattle than Alabama, Mississippi and Louisiana combined. However. the south now seems keenly alive to its opportunities along this line and I would not be surprised If another dec ade sees the south a large surplus producer of beef cattle.
 ''In the corn belt the greatest draw bick to the cattle industry right now is the great advance in land values. Land has become worth so much per tcre there that many farmers claim It Is unprofitable to raise their own stockers. Hitherto they have been able to buy their stock cattle from the great plains of the south and southwest In recent years, however thousands of extensive ranches in the range country have b>sn cut up into small farms and have gone out of the business of pro- iucng stocl>ers to be finished in the corn belt. This has resulted in acute shortage In the United States.
 There seems to be only two ways to remedy the situation: One is for ,ne corn belt to produce it's own stock CTS and the other is for the south to go into the beef cattle raising busi- ness on an extensive scale, producing it's own stockers and finishing them for market as well.
 "1t will take a long educational cam paign of years to induce the corn belt farmers operating on high priced land to raise enough stock cattle at home to keep pace with the consumption. Therefore. the most feasible solution to the cattle problem. so far as I can see, is in development of the industry throughout the south.
 My personal opinion that your planters and farmers will rise to the emergency and prevent the threatened beef famine. which now looms up be :. fore the United States There Is no danger of the south overdoing the cat tie business for long period of years 10. come Official statistics compiled oy the government show that the num- l CT of beef cattle in the United States on the first of January of this year showed total of S7.067.000 head, whereas 15 years ago there were 50,- 0S3,777 head of beef cattle In the coun- try.
 "This alarming shrinkage of 26 per cent in our beef cattle supply in so short a time shows conclusively that something must be done to meet the critical situation and 1t is up to the south to get busy"