Pullman herald. [volume] (Pullman, W.T. [Wash.]) 1888-1989, 1916-09-15

| "sS' Us III OLher words
greater production per unit of for.
age. - iOi
In the year 1914 it was estimated
lhat no more than 80 per cent of tho
ne" settlers had more live stock than
was necessary to supply them with
WORK and dairy animals. The situa-
ton in this respect, however wos
changing even then. and the move
meht Tor the production of more live
STOCK may be expected to continue
because both market and agricul-
'ural conditions make this indis-
pensabie to really successful farm
ing The change will be gradual. it
Is said, and only a few head of stock
VIII be added to a farm. but ulti-
mately and in the aggregate the in
crease will be greater than that
which is likely to be Accomplished in
any other way. The problem for the
states and the national government
1t Is said, is to aid in the change nv
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
1 /.
enlarged. This has been demon
strated in the national forests. where
improved methods and regulation
nave increased the capacity of many
ranges from 10 to 80 per cent. This
process should continue for at least
10 pears 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 exer-
cised over the public domain outside
of the forests it is estimated that
the capacity of these ranges could
be increased about 20 per cent.
About half of this would result from
the improvement in the range itself
after overstocking and premature
grazing were prevented and natural
re-seeding facilitated. The remand
er would follow water development,
the construction of fences and the
Introduction of methods of handling
stock, which are out of the question
as long as the improvement of con-
ditions on the range merely provides
an incentive for new men to crowd
in and undo by overstocking what
ever good has been accomplished.
The carrying capacity of these ranges
has greatly diminished in the past
and under the present system there
is no reason for supposing that it
will increase in the future.
Other factors, though of less i'm
portance, that should tend to in
crease 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 man
agement of the breeding animals
through the year The last two, it is
said, offer the possibility of increas-
ing the calf drop five to ten per cent
and the average weight of two-year-
old steers perhaps 80 pounds.
Where winter feeding is practiced
it is believed that a yearling steer
will cost approximately $50 and
long two-year-old $45. In the
range sections of the southwest, on
the other hand, the costs may be es-
timated at from SIS to $40 for a
two-year-old. With sheep there is a
similar variation. In California the
cost of producing a lamb is placed at
$1.55, in the southwest at Sill, and
in the northwest at $1.S2. In con-
sidering these figures it must be re-
membered that they all may be ma
terially altered by increasing or di-
minishing the percentages of births
in the herds and flocks. Better
methods, it is pointed out, will al
most certainly increase the calf and
lamb crops and in this way reduce
the cost of production per head.
In estimating these costs the i'll
vestigators charged against the stock
the market value, in the vicinity, OF
all the feed consumed. In this way
the necessity of considering the
money invested in land and equip
ment was eliminated but, on the
other hand. allowing the stock own
err a profit on the feed increases
somewhat the estimated cost OF pro-
ducing 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 market price
of the animals and the reports esti-
mates of the cost of production.