The Coconino sun., 1920-04-02
The Outlook for Beef Cattle.

These are uphill days for the cat tie feeder in Arizona. High priced feed and low priced beef just now confront the man who thought he would make a good thing of feeding this winter.
 Dr. R. H. Williams, animal husband man of the college of agriculture sums up the situation as follows:
 According to the latest figures available as published by the monthly crop reporter there was total of A. 399,000 beef cattle in the United States on January 1st, 1919. This is an increase of about Az million cat tie since 1916 and an increase of about 9 million beef cattle and million dairy cattle since 1914. Recently in discussing the matter with member of the U s. department of agriculture, I said that l did not think the number of cattle had increased in this country as rapidly as the monthly crop report CT indicated. He stated that these fig ures were secured from about 3O,OOO reporters and they were the most reli- able that can be found anywhere.
 "As the United States census will be taken during the present year it will be interesting to compare the number of cattle estimated the year before the census with the number counted in the census. In 1909 the estimates were for 49,000,000 cattle and the census returns indicated that there were S,250,000 fewer cattle in the country than the estimates made the previous year. The opposite con- ditions occurred in the census taken in 1900 for that year there were 50,500,- 900 cattle and the preceding year the estimate amounted to only 2S,000,000 or little discrepancy of 12,000O00 of cattle between what was actually counted in the census and the esti- mate taken the previous year. There was not a very great difference be- tween the estimate taken the preced- ing year and the number secured through the census reports for 1870, 1880 and 1890.
 'T am fully convinced that the United States has fewer cattle today than in 1915. Since that time the southwest has had three years of drought which affected southern Cal ifornia, Arizona, New Mexico and Texas. Last year the northwest had drought and preceding that extreme ly cold winters. No doubt the west ern ranges are at least more lightly stocked than in 1915 or 1916. It is be- lieved that the south, eastern Texas and eastern Colorado have more cattle now than four years ago, while the other parts of the country have prob ably maintained about the same num- Der.
 "UnlesS I have sized up the situa- ton wrongly, there will be an acute shortage of cattle during the next year, Certainly the southwest and the northwest will aim to keep most of their females to stock up their rangeU. The supply going east will also be less than formerly, for there will be ten dency to keep steers one year longer to utilize the ranges that are under stocked. This country cannot expect the export trade in beef will be less than before the war. As I see the problem in the future the price of cat tie will be higher, for there will be greater demand for stock cattle and for beef, and this should indicate that prices will increase. There has been a distinct tendency for prices to increase in the southwest and cattlemen are not throwing their animals on bargain counters.