Catoctin clarion. [volume] (Mechanicstown, Md.) 1871-1940, 1919-10-23
keep CLOSER TAB
ON live STOCK
Government to Change System
Of Estimates.
Will Be MORE THOROUGH

Instead Of One Estimate Year for
the 90 States There VIII Be II
Covering tho 5000 Agricultural
Counties In the United states--Sta
tistIcs VIII Show Age and Sex cias
sIfieations az Well as Quality.
prepared by the United States Depart
ment of Agriculture.)
Up to this time the United States
department Of agriculture has issued q
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
d year showing losses by disease. Now
the whole system Is to be changed. As
soon as the machinery can be got 10
operation by the bureau of crop esii,
mates, there will be IL livestock esti'
mates O year instead Of one. Instead
of being made for the 49 states they
will be made for the 5000 agricultural
counties In the United States Instead
If showing merely that there are 30
many horses, so many cattle, 30 many
,heep, and so on, they will be made by
ge and sex elassifications. That Is,
ley will show what proportion is
Feeding stock, what proportion grow.
rg stock. and what proportion "mar.
stable stuff" They will show quail.
V as we'll az nulnbers-the proper.
US of purebred animals, of grade
finals, and of scrubs.
A great deal more than that even,
s to be done under the new system.
These surveys will show, besides
ictual livestock figures, great many
things pertaining to and affecting the
livestock industry. They VIII. show
how many silos there are and what
LEY contain, how much feed is on
haId and in prospect available for
.ccding to live stock; and the cQndi-
lion Of pastures and ranges through
ut the United States, This showing
.ill be made every month in the year,
Pasture knowledge Vital,
The aforementioned item, that of the
condition of pastures and ranges, Is
If much greater Importance than
night appear at first blush. Leaving
II Of the others out Of account for
he moment, 1t should result In consid-
nrable increase Of livestock produc-
ion as well as increased profits to
rat many livestock men. 1t will
make possible quick shifts Of live
~'""k from sections where, for some
rason. the pastures are short to
'r.r sections where for the time be-
~ the supply Of pasturage Is much
T.. ,ter than required by the live stock
u hand
Almost every year somewhere In the
Jrited States great numbers of cattle
d acep suffer for lack of pasture.
Il 10 put on weight, and, II they do
..nt die, are finally sold at consider
ALE loss to their owners At the
ne time that this is going on, -multi-
..ed millions of dollars worth Of
,rhss goes to waste In various other
ections 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.
It 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
stu! .om going to the slaughter pen
before they are ready and generally
making his business more profitable
and more satisfactory.
More Important Work Planned.
Ar of the other items in the new
program of the bureau of crop esti-
mates arc equally important, and some
of them are vastly more so. ThSpub
lication nr,nthly of reliable figures
showing tn. livestock situation the
country over shoulG result practically
In putting the livestock business Of
the farmer on a more secure basis
The livestock dealer always has the
means of getting, on his own respon-
sibilty, pretty accurate survey of
the situation, but the farmer has no
access to those sources of information.
When Tie government gives him the
fgrrcs that are prom sed he will be on
an equal footing with the buyer.
If there were ever fAy doubt as to
the ability of the dep rrtment of agri'
culture to obtain quickly and accu-
rately countrywide information on
present and prospective food supplies,
the doubt mas been dispelled. The.war
emergency demonstrated the matter
very clearly. During the two years,
1917 and 1918, the department esti.
mated in advance of the planting sea-
son tie acreage that farmers intended
to plant to food crops. In both year:
ihese preplanting estimates came with.
In 3 per cent Of the final figures. In
sod