Arizona republican., 1922-04-13
SAYS OUTLOOK FOR
CATTLE INDUSTRY
IS VERY PROMISING

In an address before cattlemen at
the semi annual convention OF the
Graham Cochlse county Cattle Grow
ers association which was held in
DDouglas on Monday. Ed w. Ste
phens, secretary of the state live
stock sanitary board. declared that
the spring market for cattle in Ari-
zona. presented a very encouraging
outlook. While thousands of head of
cattle Fin the state have been con-
tracted for sprin gdelivery at fairly
good prices, Mr.. Stephens said, as yet
the buyers from the northwestern
states have not entered in this field in
quest of cattle.
These buyers have not been in po-
Sition to buy because of their inabil-
ity to finance themselves earlier
through delays in obtaining loans
from the war finance corporation.
This has been accomplished now, Mr..
Stephens said, and these buyers are
expected in the Arizona markets in a
short time. Mr.. Stephens discussed
the work of the livestock sanitary
board and gave resume of the gen
eral range conditions of the state.
Mr.. Stephens has been closely iden-
titled with the cattle industry in the
state all his life and in his address
he ably compared the present situa-
ton with the past years OF the in
dustry. The cattle business in the
state during the past yeaEs, he said,
has been like the pillows of the sea
in its rises and falls, on account of
drouth conditions. the war. etc.
Mr.. Stephens took issue to the
statement OF DR.. Williams of the de-
partment OF animal huSbandry of the
state university who declared that
the stockmen should dispose of their
COWS after they became years of
age Mr. Stephens declared that from
his experiences on the range, the
most profitable period in the age of
a COW was between Z and IL years OF
age. for thei rearlier years of rus
ting on the range had wised them
up. These cows, he said. make ideal
mothers because they have learned
how to take care Of themselves on the
range. The heaviest loss during the
hard years on the range, Mr.. Ste
phens added, was among the two and
three year old heifers.
In closing, Mr. Stephens requested
the cattIemen who had cattle for sale
to.send him q list of their stock so
that 1t would be available for any
prospective buyer who came into the
state looking for cattle. In this way.
he said. the buyer would be saved
the expense and delay of looking up
the stock for sale.
Other speakers at the meeting were
DDr.lR. J. Hight, state veterinarians;
Henry G. Boice.. president of the Ar
iona Cattle Growers association: and
IT. L. Johnson of Wilcox. A num-
ber of resolutions were adopted by
the cattlemen at the convention. One
of the resolutions requested that the
assessment valuation on cattle for
taxation purposes be changed from
$3.50 a head to $50 a. head
Another resolution was to the war
finance corporation asking that the
period for the making of applica-
tions for loans be extended another
year from July l. 1922. A resolution
was also passed asking for a general
reduction on freight rates on cattle,
and another asking that the year
long grazing season for the national
forest reserves be changed from the
present tern which begins April /
and ends March 81, to the term Mo-
vember / and ending October 81. A
resolution was passed endorsing the
plan of the secretary of agriculture
to begin July l to collect statistics
on the cattle and sheep industry
through the bureau of crop industry.
Another commended the work of the
u. S. biological survey in its efforts
to externninate predatory animals and
rodent pests in the state.
Prior to the adjournment of the
meeting, j. G. Page of Wilcox was
elected president OF the association
and Wellington Johnson of Wilcox
was chosen secretary treasurer. The
next meeting of the association viii be
held in Wilcox this fall