Plentywood herald. [volume] (Plentywood, Mont.) 1908-current, 1931-07-23
CATTLE BUYERS WOULD TAKE
EVERY HEAD

Inc Cdltlc DuyCio Tx u IA
county, and are eager to get every head.
They just dom want to buy the surplus but
want every animal the farmer has.
1t is only a short time ago since over
200 farmers obtained Millet seed and seeded
same so they could get feed to carry their
stock through the next winter. Before the
seed was in the ground along came the cat
tie buyers to clean out our herds. They tell
the story they are losing on every purchase
made. Who will be gullible enough to swal-
low this story? When We say there are lots
of them that do, you will be surprised, but
this is nevertheless a fact.
Our editorial last week causd a tight
ening up and the farmers are now demand
ing more for their stock than the previous
offer and if they will only hold on they can
get a good price.
Every farmer who disposes of all his
cattle is practically ready to leave the coun-
try. Livestock is the backbone of this coun-
try, without it to fall back on, the farmers
will have no incentive for remaining here.
Where will they go to find a better stock
country3 1t is dry and depressing here now,
it is true, but such conditions cannot last.
he llOC VIII III dIlO lllOoC VIII AloNC AoAlAA
in this county and keep at least part of their
stock so as to enable them to build up ano-
Their herd, will be the ones to profit and
prosper.
If these cattle buyers did not see a big
profit for those whom they represent, they
would not scour this county from farm to
farm wheedling and using hard luck stories
to make the farmer see the dark side of the
picture, until finally, in despair, he sells his
entire herd.
One of these would-be ~potentates call
ed at the office on Monday and highly in
dignant demanded to know whom we refer
red to in our editorial last week. We had ref
erence to every like" that attempts to talk
our farmers out of their livestock. Every
time this actually happens that farmer and
his family is ready to leave the county. There
are thousands of cattle left in this county,
and this angry cattle buyer said hat he was
going to bring in four more buyers and they
were here to get all of the stock they could
possibly obtain, and that SO far he had al
ready shipped out 500 head.
If this comes to pass what good will be
the efforts Of our county officials to buy for
age seed for the farmers? What good will
this forage crop be without any cattle to eat
it?
There are tens of thousands of acres OF
grain that will be cut for hay this year. Of
what value will it be if these cattle buyers
are going to come in here and take away the
stock?
During the dry years of 1921 there
were many people here who put up Russian
thistle FOR feed for their stock. Others WI
did not have this foresight sold their cattle
and when they were gone, there was moth
ing left to hold them on the farms and they
moved away. Hundreds Of farms were des-
erted through the lack of cattle.
In past years many people with visions
have purchased the best cattle obtainable
for our p%rairies, and now that feed is becom-
ing short they may be talked into selling out
again.
1t has taken ten years to build up our
herds to what they are today after the last
drought period. If our cattle are sold it will
take another ten years to again bring our
stock back to what it is today. l94l is a long
ways off.
Those who must sell should hold out
for good prices-those who can possibly
hold their herd or at least part of it, and the
majority can do so, should hold on and not
let it go. Those cattle mean the future Of
this county, and our farmers must be care
full not to be stampeded into selling before
every other means for keeping the cattle
over the coming winter is resorted to.