The Glasgow courier., 1916-04-21

MISTAKE OF OVER
STOCKING A FARM
While it is true that the greatest
mistake that is made by the grain
growing farmer comes from UNDER
stocking, it is true nevertheless that
it would be very easy to go to the op-
posite extreme. It is easy to overstock
and the fact should be recognized that
the hazard from overstocking may be
far greater than the hazard of les
sened gains that comes from having
too little live stock. In agricultural
lines there are few things that will
more quickly separate man from his
money than overstocking. That it
is so is not we'll understood, and be-
cause it is so, the aim should be rath-
er to be under than over stocked.
When a dry ranch is over-stocked,
see the hazard that occurs. A dry
season comes. 1t may be unpreced-
entedly dry, what happens? The av-
erage ranch finds itself short of food.
What is to be done? Only two courses
lie open. One is to sell the surplus
stock and the other is to buy food to
maintain them. To sell means in all
probability to sacrifice them, for all
farmers in that locality are in the
same plight. They are short of fod-
ler supplies, and therefore, they can
not buy. The stock thus sold must
therefore be sacrificed. If sold at all
it is to be carried away to where
food is more plentiful and the buyer
under these conditions, gets the stock
at his own price.
Again, there may be areas in which
live stock usually Craze on the open
range in the winter season. These
ranges only obtain where the cliln-
attic conditions are mild. But mild as
applied to these conditions is only a
relative term. Winters may drop
down as in 1916, when the SHOWS that
fell in western areas seemed in a
sense never ending. Sheep were cut
off from their usual winter pastures.
What follows? Losses, some of which
are of great magnitude, because no
provision has been made to meet such
contingency. The losses from this
source during the winter have been
singularly heavy on the Pacilc slopes
: and for these no adequate remedy has
been provided.
On the dry land farm east of the
Cascade mountains and on the Paci-
fc slopes it should be possible to pre-
vent these losses. The same will ap-
ply to the intermountain states and
even to dry land areas in the vast
plains country that lies to the east of
the Rocky mountains. How shall
they be prevented? With the dry
o land farmer they can only be prevent
ed by the adoption of one or two
courses or by the adoption of two
t combined. Which of these two? One
is to be careful to see to it that the
ranch is under rather than overstock-
:. ed. The other is to see to it that
some surplus food has been provided
for an emergency.
The temptation to overstock is ar
insidious one. It may be that the
r farmer in the dry area has kept stock
season when all the conditions
are favorable. 1t may be that from
these he has obtained returns. Be
cause of this he reasons that increas,
in the production Of livestock on hi.
farm will be followed by increase il
profit. He fails to consider that al
unusually dry season may follow ant
that it may cut off his food supplies
or at least that it may reduce them Il
minimum.
q How is the dry land farmer to NEE
such q condition? He can meet it b,
= being careful not to overstock hi
: farm. Depend upon it loss must fol
+ low, the loss from foods uneaten i
s less than the loss from the sacrific
of stock sold, because Of a shortage o
food supplies. Because Of the insta
= bility Of the seasons, the dry Ian
& farmer should always aim to maintain
9 upon his farm enough fodder to sup
s ply the need of the following seaso
! in part at least, should it prove dr.,
Z Such fodder may be kept in dry area
= with but little loss and the servic
g that it may render is simply benef
e cent. The farmer in dry areas
IS committing crime against natur
s and against himself who burns hi
8 straw.
But that does not meet the condi
|. tion west of the Rocky mountain
8 where sheep and other live stoc
3 Craze during much of the winter sea
s son because of the fact that the wir
s ters are unusually mild and free fror
"