The Sauk Centre herald., 1926-09-30
THE FEED SITUATION

The feeding of farm livestock has
been and always will be the source of
greatest profits from agriculture.
And the combination of animals that
has proved most profitable on the av-
erage American farm is the cow, the
sow and ~the hen. The feed require
ments, and the labor requiremnts too,
of this combination fit admirably in
to well rounded program of econom-
ica farm production which depends
largely on the most complete uti1iza-
tion of feeds. Such combination
also assures conservation and building
OF soil fertility for the most profitable
growing of foliage and grain crops.
As the matter of feed supplies and
prices constitutes the first and most
Important step in the most profitable
production of livestock, cream, eggs
and field crops in such well balanced
system of farming, careful study
should be made of economic conditions
as they affect the feeding operations
of farmers so that they may deter
mine intelligently the program they
will follow in the feeding of their
: livestock most economically. With
this end in mind, the Blue Valley
Creamery Institute has just COM
pleted an exhaustive survey of the
feed situation throughout the United
States.
L.
1926 Feed Crops Smaller
Feed supplies in the next twelve
months will not be so abundant or
cheap as in the past year. The yields
of corn, oats and hay promise to be
10 per cent less than in 1925, and
farm pastures in late summer were
the poorest in Is years. Since nature
has been less lavish in filling the I've
stock larder, the advantage of follow
ing efficient feeding practices in con-
vertting feeds into butterfat, pork,
and poultry products will be increas-
ed.
Based on the August crop fore
casts, production of concentrate
feeds, including corn, oats, barley,
grain sorghums, cotton seed and flax
seed, and wheat by-products, will be
about ia million tons. This COM
pares with 125 million tons in 1925,
as shown by the final estimates of
yields. In 1924, however, only 108
million tons were harvested. The av-
erage from 1921 to 1925 was 119
million tons.
The tame hay crop forecast is 7s
million tons compared with 81 mil
lion tons last year, SO million tons
in 1924, and a fve-year average
crop of 901a million tons. Only
about 10 million tons of wild hay will
be harvested this year compared with
13 million in 1925 and an average
crop of Is million tons. The COM
bined tame and wild hay crop fore
cast is IL million tons less than in
1925, 25 million tons less than in
1924, and 17h million tons under
the five-year average.
The August condition of pastures
and ranges was only 69.9 per cent
of normal compared with 69.5 a
80.3. 1t has been shown that our
live stock population depends on pas
ture and range for about half of its
annual feed requirements. Poor pas
lures mean increased dependence on
harvested crops which furnish the
other so per cent.
Corn Crop Affects Concentrates
The dominating factor in the con-
centrate situation always is the size
of the corn crop in relation to the
number of hogs to be finished. Of
the indicated production of LA mil
lion bons of concentrates this year,
corn makes up " million tons, or
nearly two-thirds. Last year, corn
production was 81 million tons and
the five year average is 80 million
tons.
Prices May Strengthen Some
The situation does not suggest any
such runaway market as occurred in
the fall of 1924. Production of con-
centrates is larger than in that year,
as already indicated, and livestock
operations are on smaller scale. In
particular, the corn crop promises to
be considerably larger than two years
+. .