Milford chronicle., 1934-11-09
Why Delaware Farmers
Produce Dairy Cattle
Instead OF Beef Cattle
By R. o. BAusMAN

stated that the majority of the beef
cattle and hogs which his company
slaughtered were shipped in from
the Middle West. He said that he be-
lieved Delaware farmers were pass
ing-up an opportunity to supply a
good home market.
Less than half century ago Del
aware produced large numbers of
beef cattle, hogs, and sheep for
commercial markets. Recently on
visiting a farm in northern New
Castle County an old brick building
which was fast falling to ruin was
visible in the background. The Ow-
ner of the farm said that this build
ing was formerly slaughter house.
Some half century ago large num-
bers of hogs were produced and
slaughtered on this farm. Today
beef cattle and sheep, other than
scattered small fiocks. are a rarity
on Delaware farms and hogs are
produced largely for consumption
on the farm.
In Bulletin 100 entitled "Econom-
ic Readjustments in the Dairy In
dustry in Delaware" published by
the Delaware Agricultural Expert
ment Station. it has been shown why
the beef cattle, sheep. and hog in
dustries i'm Delaware have been
largely supplanted by the dairy in
dustry.
Due to freight costs and other
handling charges from the Middle
West to the Eastern markets the
1f In, hA
mally is about Is to 16 cents per
bushel lower than in Delaware. This
makes it difficult for the Delaware
farmer normally to compete with
the Corn Belt farmer in the produc-
tion of pork for commercial purpOs-
es. This statement was made short |
time ago before a group of farmers
from Sussex county. One farmer re- |
piled that he could produce hogs OH
Gull sweet potatoes as well as any |
body. This doubtless is true so long |
as his Gull sweet potatoes last. So |
can he produce pork on garbage so
long as the garbage lasts. However.
to produce pork on a large scale II
takes corn. This is the reason why
the bulk of the hogs in Delaware are
produced on waste products and are
produced only in such numbers as
are necessary for farm use.
The reader may say that the Corn
Belt farmer produces hogs at a low
cost but he is at a large expense in
shipping hogs to the Eastern mar
kets, whereas the Delaware farmer
is within trucking distance of the
markets. Because of this high cost
of shipping live hogs from a dis
tance, few hogs are shipped ION the
hoof." The bulk of hogs are slaugh-
tered and processed in Chicago and
other central points and the dressed
meats and lard are shipped East.
That is, the relatively bulky live
hog is processed into concentrated
form on which the transportation
cost is relatively small The ecOno-
my of this process--.m maybe illHs--
trated in the case of a carload of
paper where the transportation cost
from northern Wisconsin to New
York City would he relatively
small part of the value of the paper, '
whereas the transportation cost be- s
tween the same points of the pulp
logs from which this paper is made I
woul be so great as to make the {
transaction practically prohibitive.
With the opening-up of the Middle q
West, then, the commercial hog in |
dustry gradually moved from the s
East to the Corn Belt.
1t hes been said repeatedly that {
Delaware farmers would do well to {
utilize their waste land by growing
beef cattle. If space would permit
figures could be presented which q
would show that even if no charge [
were made for the use of the pas S
ture land still Delaware farmers I
a loss. With the Opening-up of the
Corn Belt with its cheap feed the /
beef cattle industry gradually NOV d
ed from the East 10 the West. y
Beef cattle now for the most part h
are raised on the cheap range land {
IN the far West. shipped to the Corn e
Belt to be corn fattened. shipped to II
Chicago for slaughter, and the dres- a
;ed meats shipped to the Eastern d
markets. The writer readily recalls s
n his boyhood il was common cX- Il
Derience to go to Chicago with his n
ather. buy two to three carloads of Ii
western range steers. take them to a
he home farm in central Indiana b
or period of six to ten months of ci
,orn fattening. and reship them to
chicago for slaughter. d
AS the hog. beef cattle, and sheep al
Industries moved out of Delaware oi
he dairy industry moved in. II is G,
commonly said that the dogs drove Ii,
he sheep industry out of Delaware. in
{ is more accurate to say the dairy n,
ow drove the sheep industry out of dr
Delaware. AT first the dairy product on
ras sold as butter However. il was
ot long until Delaware farmers M
egan to find that Michigan. Wis TT
onsin. and neighbOring states were Ial
hipping butter to Eastern markets re
prices with which il was difficult in
Or Delaware farmers to compete II I'M
as found that Wisconsin dairymen tb
ere able to do this because of m,
heap feed and the fact that butter ma
as concentrated product and ma
lirly non-perishable which made il oiI
Ossible to ship it long distances at IS,
low cost.
Shortly after the beginning of the arr
resent century the influence of the fri
rowing demand for fluid milk in Inl
sar-by cities began to make its in Oh
Ience felt in Delaware Delaware ve,
rmers soon realized that 1t paid oh.