Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1916-07-21

have favored production by leading to
more widespread adoption Of the
practice of winter feeding and winter
pasturing on alfalfa and cultivated
crops.
The prediction that this decrease
hereafter will give way to an increase
is based upon the belief that the
amount of.live stock on farms and
! homesteads, will be greater in the
future: that the stock ranges in the
national forests will continue to i'm
prove; that the carrying capacity Of
the stock ranges on the public domain
may be increased by legal regulation.
and finally. that high prices of range
animals and better methods will re-
suit in more efficient utilization of
/ the available forage, or, in other
words, a greater production per unit
OF forage.
In 1914 it was estimated that no
more than 30 per cent of the new
settlers had mere live stock than was
necessary to supply them with work
and mich animals. The situation in
this respect. however, was changing
even then, and the movement for the
production OF more live stock may be
SApeClcu ~ COillliuSs tSSauoO ooSAA
market and agricultural conditions
make this indispensable to really sue
cessful farming. The change will be
gradual. it is said, and only few
] head of stock will be added to a farm
but ultimately and in the aggregate
| the increase will be greater than that
which is likely to be accomplished in
any other way The problem for the
states and the national government, it
is said, is to aid in the change by
working out a system which will make
such agriculture profitable.
In addition to this increase in the
numbers of farm stock. there is little
doubt that the carrying capacity of
| the existing ranges can be greatly en-
larged. This has been demonstrated
| in the national forests, where inn
proved methods and regulation have
increased the capacity Of many ranges
from Is to 30 per cent. This process
should continue for at least 10 years
more and should result in building up
the carrying capacity Of the national
forests as a whole by perhaps Is per
cent.
If similar control could be exercised
over the public domain outside of the
forests it is estimated that the ca
pacity Of these ranges could be in
creased about 80 per cent. About
half of this would result from the i'm
provement in the range itself after
overstocking and premature grazing
were prevented and natural reseedirs
facilitated The remainder would fol-
low water development the construc-
ton Of fences and the introduction OF
methods of handling stock are out OF
the question as long as the improve
ment of conditions on the range
merely provides an incentive for new
men &c crowd in and undo by over
stocking whatever good has been ac-
complished. The carrying capacity OF
these ranges has greatly diminished
in the past. and under the present
system there is no reason for sup
posing that it will increase in the
future.
Other factors, though OF less inn
portance, that should tend to increase
the future production Of live stock are
greater economy In the use of forage
both on the range and on the farm,
the use of more and higher grade
bulls, and better MANAGEMENT Of the
breeding animals thru the year. The
last two, it is said, offer the possibility
of increasing the calf crop or 10 per
cent and the average weight OF 2
year old steer perhaps thirty pounds.
Where winter feeding is practiced it
is believed that yearling steer will
cost approximately $50 and Tong"
2-year- old s45. In the range sections
of the southwest. on the other hand
the costs may be estimated at from
SIS to $40 for a yearling and from $40
to $25 for a 2-year- old. With sheep
there is similar variation. In Cali
forniaL the cost of producing a lamb is
placed at $1.55, In the southwest at
s1,71, and in the northwest at $1.S2. In
considering these figures it must be
remembered that they all may be ma
terially altered by increasing. or
diminishing the percentage of births In
the herds and flocks. Better methods,
it is pointed out, will almost certainly
increase the calf and lamb crops, and
in this way reduce the cost of pro-
duction per head.
In estimating these costs the in
vest;SatoTs charged against the stock
the market value Gin the vicinity OF
all the feed consumed. In this way the
necessity of considering the money in
vested in land and equipment was
eliminated, but, on the other hand,
allowing the stock owner a profit on
the feed increases somewhat the esti-
mated cost of producing animals. AS
the owner might not get his profit on
the feed if he did not raise stock to
utilize it, the actual profits in stock
raising are probably somewhat greater
than the difference between the mar
ket price of the animals and the re-
ports estimates of the cost of pro-
duction.
There's Money in Testing.
Two months after the COW testing