Browning chief. [volume] (Browning, Mont.) 1941-1953, 1946-07-12
Warn Farmers Against
Price Optimism and
Rising Mortgage Debts


Price Optimism and
Rising Mortgage Debts
While sawfly eggs terminated
moisture reserves against the hot
days of late July and August, farm
ers looked hopefully for something
good to show at the North Montana
fair at Great Falls and the Marias
fair at Shelby. This week they
could expect some help.
County Agent Larry Flesch had
already gathered some samples of
forage from various points in the
county. This week Oscar Nelson,
who filed last month for the repub-
lican nomination for county asses
sor, began devoting full time to col
Letting exhibits for the two fairs.
Nelson was recommended for the
job in view of his wide acquaint-
ance with farmers in the county,
having dealt with them extensive
ly in the local grain marketing.
Beef Prices
While preparations for the fair
moved along, farmers looked at a
confusing array of factors now at
work on the prices they will get
for what they are producing. Most
puzZling was the livestock situation
where the talk had prices going up,
and the facts seemed to indicate
they couldn't 60 very far in any di-
rection but down.
Ralph STICKY, Montana extension
economist at Bozeman, got out a
sheet titled Looking Ahead With
Montana Farmers and Ranchers."
Sticky pointed out that the aver
age price of beef cattle in 1945 was
the highest on record and cattle
numbers for Montana on January J.,
1916, were the highest in the his
tory of the state. Inventory was
$3.50 million compared with $50 mil
lion in 1910.
Prices of both feeder and fat cat
tie in Montana are still high. And
Sticky says grass fat cattle prices
should maintain we'll throughout
the year because of the continued
strong demand for higher grades of
beef and because feed lots held II
per cent fewer cattle on April /,
1916, than a year earlier.
From there on the ifs tell the
story of the coming prices on beef.
County Agent Flesch could find lit
tie to comfort the Glacier county
rancher in the recent rush of beef
on the market. He pointed to
Stucky's chart of the beef situation
since 1910. Prices have gone down
each time the cattle numbers went
up. Heavy marketing would help to
bring it on.
Feed Is Tight
Drought in eastern Montana can
force thin cattle on the market, and
feed is tight. Sticky advises oper-
ators who are carrying large inven-
tories to consider cutting down to
at least a safe balance between
livestock numbers and feed supply.
Local beef growers engaged in
extensive contracting in June at
1874 cents to 14A cents for fall
deliveries, but with the present
price confusion Glacier county
ranchers have stopped dickering
and are hiding their time.
Prices received by Montana farm
erS and ranchers reached a new
high in May. the highest since 1920.
High domestic employment and
high exports result in strong conf
petition for agricultural products.
This means strong markets and high
farm prices as long as this situation
continues.
Montana land prices are twice as
high as they were from 1885 to 1910.
The index of Montana land prices
rose Is per cent during the year
ending in March with a rise of 10
per cent between November and
March.
Avoid Overborrowing
STICKY asks Montana farmers
and ranchers to remember the
boom and collapse following World
War l. Overborrowing, he says, is
the thing to avoid. Montana farm
mortgage debt reached a peak in
1923 at least 10 times the debt out
standing in 1910. From 1921 to 1925
two-fifths of the farms and ranches
in the state were lost through mort
gage foreclosures. Four-fifths of the
between 1910 and 1887
were on loans made in the six-year
period from 1915 to 1920.
Montana farm mortgage debt was
$31.5 million on January l, 1916,
between one-fifth and one-sixth of
the 1923 peak. But the average |
mortgage on current sales is higher
than a year ago. Heavy debts are
being built in some instances as a
result of recent sales. In some cases