Clinch Valley news. [volume] (Jeffersonville, Va.) 18??-2019, 1916-12-08

S.ocN raising is the chief industry now
and always will be the prime factor
in our wealth development. Thi:
being true what are the factors that
iii influence our progress?
/. The kind of live stock we raise
z. The treatment given that live
stock.
3. The business discretion shown in
selling our product.
This article deals with the first fac.
tor, "Ihe kind of live stock we raise
and will take up the most important
and Of live stock raised in Southwest
Sirginia-the beef cattle. 1t will try
to. show by Il practical illustration
what kind Of cattle we should keen
IN order to command the best prices
on all markets.
Two years ago seven Lee County
Hereford breeders came together and
organized what is known as the Lee
county Hereford Breeders Associa
lion. These men owned about 100
pure bred Hereford cattle and from
,hcir cows they had been selling the
calves for an average price not -ex-
ceeding $50. 500 was the highest
price ever paid for pure bred calf.
Very little interest had been taken in
The pure bred herefords and they re-
ceived no better treatment than the
grade steers that were sold for feed
ers and killers. Immediately after
.he men agreed to cooperate in i'm
proving the herds. A sale was sched-
uled to take place about seven months
from that time. A committee was ap-
pointed to inspect and reject all ami
mails that were not good enough to
go into the sale. This committee Sc
.ccted an Offering that was broad, low
and level preparation for the sale was
The next step taken by the consign-
ors. When the auctioneer sold the
18th calf, which was the last one in
the sale, the average price received
went to S129. This, as will be seen,
was around $40 more head than had
been previously paid by buyers hero
in Lee county.
Seeing the wonderful improvement
made by using pure bred bulls on
grade cows, and seeing that there was
IN opening for greater profits from
the pure bred business than from
any other form of live stock raising.
fourteen other good stock raiscrs
have joined the Lee County Hereford
Association and today there are about
$50 Hereford cattle in Lee county.
This year II sale was held at the Lee
County Fair and "a Hcrefords sold
for an average of $158, SD, 500 worth
of Herefords have brought into the
county during the last 18 months.
At the Virginia State Fair this year
the grand champion female was a
Lee county Hereford and $3,50O was
refused for the purple ribbon calf.
Ninety per cent of the pure bred
bulls sold by the Lee County breed
ers have been purchased by Lee coun-
ty cattle raisers and this has placed
much better class of calves in the
county than could have been placed
here by scrub bulls. The prices ran
from $40 to $50 more for each calf
paid at weening time than when sired
by scrub. These figures are not
theoretical but are actual and if YOU
question them, your question will be
answered when you come 20 Lee coun
ty to buy feeders.
This article deals with Herefords
because Lee county is being taken as
an example. Other breeds could be
shown to be doing great things in
other Virginia counties. The secret
to the entire plan is found in the one
small word which has so much mean
ing. Cooperation is the word and
with this word circulating through u
mans system in thought and action
the next thought is combination and
with these two spirits we have or
ganlzatlon which will lead to the for
nation of a live stock association.
Such associations in Southwest Vir-
ginia will be seen to give the best
quality of live stock found in Amer
lea.
Suppose that within the next i've
years every calf born In Southwest
Virginia is sired by a pure bred bull,
how much greater would be the in
come than if the calves were sired
by scrub bulls? The increase is too
large to assume n definite number of
dollars, but truly it would be some
thing enormous. In order to advance
rapidly we must begin where the
most good will be derived and a pure
bred bull association will be a good
start. Therefore, let every county