El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1916-02-22
MAKE BIC STOCK
FARM Of VALLEY
Cattlemen and Sheepmen
Buy Many Tracts for
Feeding Farms.

Phoenix. Ariz., Feb. 22-Sheepmen,
cattlemen and swine growers are tax
ing the salt river valley. The 10
600 acres included in the salt river
reclamation project seems likely to be-
come one big stock farm.
Intensive farming" was the cry two
or three years ago. Extraordinary eff
forts were put forth to induce Cali
fornia and eastern TO settle
on tracts Of 10. 20 and 40 acres. At
the same time earnest e~ndeavors were
being made to improve market con-
ditions and find new ark for veg
etables n fruits. 1t was argued that
with its climate. the salt river valley
should be able to compete successfully
with the great truck and fruit-growing
sections Of California.
These efforts continue and il has
been demonstrated that this valley
can compete with California in the
production of range lettuce. cante-
Ioupes watermelons and other products,
But il is now realized that the saliva
ton" of the valley does not depend
upon intensive farming. immigration
is not regarded nearly so essential as
formerly.
90 Per Tent Sold To StOckmen.
The change has come from a direc-
tiOn that the real estate men and i'm
migration stimulators wholly over
looked. Local realty dealers say that
80 per cent of the land sold in the
valley the last year has been purchased
by Arizona sheepmen and cattlemen.
The sheepmen purchased far more than
the cattle growers.
There is hardly an important sheep
man Of northern Arizona who does not
W an Alfalfa farm in the valley.
Hugh Campbell, Harry Gray, Dan Fran
els. John Mudersbach, II. c.. Lockett,
Fred Golfer and scores of others who
follow the system of grazing their
fIocks in the northern counties during
the summer and in Maricopa county
during the winter, are now landholders
under the Roosevelt dam. Almost never
does a sheepman sell hay. Whenever
he is not pasturing his alfalfa he cuts
il and stacks il against the time when
feed on the range will be scarce.
Saves $4,000 on 80 Acres.
one sheepman estimated that an So
acre ranch in the salt river valley had
saved him at least 500 900. He had
1000 old ewes in the hills north of
:. PhOeniX when the rains and snow came
in January. There was no range feed
and the ewes would have died had not
he driven them down to his farm. Now
they are in excellent condition n
after Landing time his herd will be
increased to nearly 1000. In the spring
his sheep will be worth at least IS a
head
This is only one instance. Prob
200, OO0 sheep are on pasture in the Salt
. - 49, 49, 1ANA AHAAN Va NAAEA
undoubtedly would ave died last
month but for the alfalfa Thousands
that were cut off in the hills by floods
and SHOWS did die.
Cnttlemen Have Feeding Farms.
Lon Harmon, Charles Mullen, W. w.
Cook, CleVe Caveness, F A Reid and
Dell Crabb are only a few OF the veal
thy cattlemen who own cattle in the
north and alfalfa farms in the Salt
river valley. They use their farms to
! fatten their beef cattle n to save
their poor stock when feed is scarce.
They also hold their hay. COnserva-
| tion Of hay by sheepmen and cattlemen
is said to be the reason for the present
high prices OF alfalfa. Baled alfalfa
is $14 to SIS a ton and as high as
$l2 a ton is being paid for loose hay
in the stack. A year ago many far
mers were forced to sell their baled
hay for So a ton. 1t is now believed
that the prices will never again drop
below the point where alfalfa growing
ceases to be profitable for the area
OF land producing hay for the market
is greatly reduced.
$4,000 Cattle Being Fed.
Conservative estimates place the
number Of cattle being fattened in the
valley ut $4,000 head. In addition there
are $4,000 dairy cows. The number OF
dairy animals is increasing constantly.
A big creamery company at Tempe
recently imported several hundred head
Of registered COWS from California
California capitalists have financed
the Arizona Red Hog. company and
rave bought a big farm west of Phoe-
nix. The farm is now being equipped
and they Expect to have 30, 900 hogs
there within a year. Today there are
valley. The Red Hog company has a
plan to lease brood soWs to me