Grants Pass daily courier. (Grants Pass, Or.) 1919-1931, 1919-09-30
keep CLOSER TAB
ON LIVE STOCK
Government to Change System
Of Estimates.
WILL Be MORE THOROUGH
Instead Of One Estimate 4 Year for
the 4s States There VIII Be 12
Covering the 5000 Agricultural
Counties In the United states---eta-
tistIeS VIII Show Age and Sex cIas-
sIheatlons az Well as Quality.


sIHeatlons as Well as Quality.
prepared by the United States Depart
ment OF ARricuiture)
Up 10 this, time the United States
department Of agriculture has issued
single estimate. In January OF each
year, showing how many head Of the
various kinds Of live stock there are
In the United States, and one estimate
year showing losses by disease. Now
,hc whole system is TO be changed. AS
soon as the r chinery can be got in
operation by Inc bureau OF crop estl-
mates. there will be II livestock esti-
mates year instead Of one Instead
Qf being made for the 4S states they
will he made for the 5000 agricultural
counties In the United States. Instead
Of showing merely that there are so
many horses, NO many cattle, so many
sheep. and so on, they viii be made by
age and sex classIfications. That is.
they win show what proportion n
breeding stock, what proportion grow
ing stock. and what proportion "mar-
ketabie stuff" They will show quail
ity as well as numbers--the proper
iions Of purebred animals. of grade
animals, and Of scrubs.
A great deal more than that, even,
II to be done under the new system.
These surveys will show. besides
actual livestock figures. a great many
things pertaining TO and affecting the
livestock industry. They will show
how many sllos there are and what
they contain. how much feed Is on
hand and In prospect available for
feeding 10 live stock; and the condI-
tion OF pastures and ranges through
ont the United States. This showing
will be made every month in the year.
Pasture knowledge Vital.
The aforementioned item. that Of the
condition Of. pastures and ranges, is
Of much greater Importance than
might appear nj first blush. Leaving
all OF the others ont Of account for
the moment, II should result in consid-
cradle increase of livestock produc-
tion as well as increased profits to Il
great many livestock men. II will
make possible quick shifts of live
stock from sections where, for some
reason, the pastures are short to
other sections where for the time be
Ing the supply of pasturage is much
greater than required by the live stock
on hand.
Almost every year somewhere In the
United States great numbers of cattle
and sheep suffer for lack of pasture,
fan TO put on weight, and, If they do
not die. are finally sold AT a consider
able loss 10 their owners. AT the
same time that this Is going on. n,sltl-
piled millions of dollars worth of
grass goes 10 waste In various other
sections of the United States, be-
cause the supply OF live stock on hand
is not sufficient TO eat 1t.
The average farmer who makes live
stock a side line. or even one of his
main lines. plays safe in the matter
of pasture The number of head of
live stock he carries is the number
he knows he can carry safely If con-
ditions should happen to be such as
to cut his pastures short. Very rarely
does he carry the maximum number
that would be possible with his pas.
lures at their best or even at normal.
II happens, therefore, when his pas.
lures are exceptionally good and even
when they are normally good, he has
considerably more grass than Is need
ed by his live stock.
With reliable monthly reports from
the government each month, showing
just the condition of pastures every
: where, the feeder or range owner who
finds himself short Of grass should
have little difficulty in distributing his
cattle where there is abundance of
grass, keeping his young and poor
stuff from going to the slaughter pen
before they are ready and generally
making his business more profitable
and more satisfactory.
More Important Work Planned.
All of the other items in the new
program of the bureau Of crop esti-
mates are equally important, and some
of them are vastly more so. The pub
licatlon monthly of reliable figures
showing the livestock situation the
country over should result practically
In putting the livestock business of
the farmer on more secure basis.
The livestock dealer always has the
means Of getting, on his own respon-
sibility, pretty accurate survey of
the situation. but the farmer has no
access to those sources OF information.
When the government gives him the
figures that are promised he will be on
an equal footing with the buyer.
If there were ever ,Ay doubt as to
the ability of the der rtment OF agri-
! culture to obtain quickly and accu-
rately countrywide information on
present and prospective food supplies.
the doubt has been dlspelled. The war
emergency demonstrated the matter
very clearly. During the two years,