OCR Text |
Show to 50 percent of fhe original cost. This is an Important consideration and is bound to affect the number of cattle placed on feed, particularly in the western states, this season. Some western cowiueu who for years have found it more economical to buy their feeder stock rather than carry a breeding herd themselves are going back into the cow and calf game, finish feeding and calves and yearlings themselves. This seems like a practical proposition In cases where land and improvements are such as to permit carrying a breeding breed-ing herd. The generous rainfall which has brought out feed an'd provided water for stock all through the Southwestern Southwest-ern range country may tend to cut down the number of calves and yearlings year-lings available to feeder buyers, as many cowmen report that feed Is so good that many ranchers will be able to sell their young stock for beef rather than- as feeders. The situation on the whole is. favorable fav-orable to the breeder and producer, yet there is so much underlying strength in the entire cattle industry today that there "will undoubtedly be sufficient demand to take care of the reduced crop of stockers and feeders. factory return on his investment in breeding stock, land, feed, labor and money. On the other hand, the margin between be-tween the prevailing cost of feeder cattle and the present selling price of fat stock is a'dmittedly narrow. In fact, many students of the market are Inclined to believe that the probable prob-able increase in value after feeding out these calves and yearlings is likely to be so narrow as to border on the danger point. It is true that fat cattle are selling at unusually high prices, but it is true also that the cost of feeding the critter is relative ly high. Add this to the high-priced thin stock and the margin may be pretty narrow. Those who make a practice of loaning money to cattle feeders are not willing to take the risk that seem to be involved and therefore the man who feeds cattle must have a larger amount of his own money invested in the stock before he can ordinarily hope to borrow money on the balance. A few years ago, cattle loan companies were loaning as high as 75 to 90 percent of the cost of the thin animal. Now there are few concerns con-cerns which will loan more than 40 There are two classes of cattlemen. cattle-men. One man is the breeder or producer, pro-ducer, who raises cattle to be sold both as fat stock and as stockers and feeders. The other class is made up of 'those who specialize on feeding cattle, buying thin stock from the breeder. Just at this time, the breeder seems to be holding the whip hand, due principally to the generally admitted shortage of breeding cattle. Stocker and feeder cattle are selling at the highest prices ever known durning peace times. The Southwestern range man is getting from $40 to $55 for his spring calves, and from $55 to $65 a head for nis yearlings. If he is producing anything like a fair calf crop that is, if 75 per cent of his cows are dropping arid raising calves the breeder is getting a very satis- |