The evening leader. (Tarpon Springs, Fla.) 191?-19??, 1918-06-17
BIRDSEYE VIEW OF
FEED SITUATION
Brief Summary Outlining Regulation
In Prices on Feed
ADVISING LARGER USE
or FEED BY-PR0DUCTS
Important Suggestions offered For The
Benefit OF PouItrymen

feeding stuff industry by the Food
Administration becomes freed of de
tails which have thus far made the
problem unusually complex. Fully to
understand the present situation,
summary of events may be useful.
When feed control was inaugurated
last winter, standing contracts were
respected, and mills permitted to dis
pose of goods oversold or goods on
hand, at old prices. Normally. such
feed would nave gone into general
distribution within 80 to 60 days, but
transportation and bad weather de-
layed distribution and resulted in the
disposal of much of the feed locally.
The remainder has only lately reach
ed some of the points to which de-
livery was due last winter
The Regulations in Brief.
Consequently, while farmers near
mills have been securing their mill
feeds at less than $500 per hundred
pounds by calling at the mills and
hauling it away. feed buyers at dis
lance have not received the benefit
of the price limitations. Briefly, the
bulk price of bran per ton at mills
in car lots must not exceed 3S per
cent of the cost to the mill of one
ton of wheat at the mill.
Differentials have been established
for other mill feeds based on the
maximum price of bran. which as
just pointed out, is governed by the
wheat price. Shorts or standard
middlings must not exceed the bran
price by more than $500 per ton,
mixed feeds by more than $500 per
ton, flour middlings by more than
s9.Ca per ton and rel dog by more
than $500 per ton.
! Brokers in wheat mill-feed are linn
tied to charge of twenty-five cents
per ton; commission agents lmaking
sale delivery and collection) are not
to charge more than fifty cents per
ton commission: and wholesalers or
jobbers are limited to reasonable adj
vances over the average bulk price
at mill (pIus brokerage, commission
or inspection fee actually paid.)
Demand For Mill Feeds Exceeds Sup
ply.
| The trade has shown a spirit of
hearty cooperation, and the number
of revoked licenses and other penal
| ties is considered small in proper
ton to the size of the feed industry.
On the basis of actual nutritiye value,
however, prices of mill feeds now
sold under Food Administration price
regulations compare favorably with
other by-product feeds lin fact. SO
favorably that present demands for
mill feeds greatly exceed the supply.
This occurrence may be expected when
the price Of a commodity is limited
by factors othef than those actually
resulting from the law Of supply and
| demand
Under the restricted price sched-
ule, the public would like to buy
more mill feed than actually exists
in the country and for the remainder
| of this season at least. the Food Ad-
| ministration suggests a larger use of
other by-product feeds. Those at
present in greatest abundance, are
hominy feeds, gluten feeds, and Oil
meal.
Poultry Feed Suggestion.
t.. Az &c Sle, ~ nh
are made largely from coarse grains,
| perhaps the most satisfactory means
of lowering the costs is to reduce the
amount of scratching grains and in
crease the use of dry mash. By-prod-
uats of the coarse grains are less
expensive than the grains themselves,
and experienced poultrymen have
been able to secure excellent results
both in eggs and meat by the more
general use Of mash feeds. These
may be mixed to secure any desired
balance of nutritive ingredients and
may include meat and fish scrap. The
q. S. Department Of Agriculture ana
various experiment stations have
| worked out suitable formulas for the
guidance of poultrymen desiring to
secure best results from their feeding
investment.
Under present regulations, dealers
may not have more than 60 days sup
ply of mill feeds on hand. While the
storage of feed on farms in hot
weather is discouraged because of
danger of spoilage, farmers may wise
ly secure late this fall a liberal pro-
portion of their winter requirements,
especially of coarse feeds and by
products.
The purpose of contra is to pre-
vent speculation and boarding, to sta
bilize prices, and to secure distribu-
ton through the most direct chan
nels. Prices of feed cannot be fore
cast but they will more closely than
in the past conform to the prices of
the produces from which they are de-
rived. Actual selection Of feeds must
in the future as always, be largely a
matter of individual choice and In
telligence in buying.
Uncle Sam is today the Quarternnas-