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Show ,sSituationJ Many well informed people believe - that the cattle industry is permanently perman-ently on a higher plane and good business methods are necessary to successful operations and to keep the business of beef production in the place it should occupy as one of our . important means of subsistence. There are many problems confronting confront-ing the industry but one of the most important is that of an increased calf , crop, or what will the harvest be? It should be borne in mind that we are dealing with a commodity that ' calls for different methods of hand ling and treatment in order to produce pro-duce the best product in the most economical ec-onomical manner. Taxes, labor and practically everything connected with ranching have increased; consequently, consequent-ly, the cost of production has increased increas-ed and that gain of a few head of calves in the herd will go a long ways in determining profit or loss in ranch operations. Vhen cattle were on the lower levels like in 1908, it took a pretty good steer to bring 4c per pound and cows were around 2 l-2c per pound, the percentage of calf yield wasn't looked upon in the same way that it must be today because the matured animals hardly paid the cost of raising. Many things enter into the transaction trans-action uch as sires of low vitality due to lack of proper care or insufficient in-sufficient feed after the calf is born to sustain the cow and calf. Some of the Southwestern and Inter-mountain states have shown substantial gains in herd production in recent years but the results are still regarded regard-ed as far short of what they should be. A glance at the following figures which show the percentage of the calf crop for several states by years would seem interesting at this time: State 1925 1926 1927 Arizona 45 pet. 52 pet. 66 pet. Utah 56 pet. 61 pet. 66 pet, Idaho 65 pet. 67 pet. 61 pet. Nevada 48 pet. 59 pet. 59 pet. Calif 66 pet. 65 pet Texas 65 pet. 65 pet. N. Mexico 61 pet. 60 pet. ( 1925 figures are not available) Climatic conditions. favor the Southwest South-west states and with proper methods employed, substantial increases should be had. Viewing the situation as a plant operation as the public generally construes that term, even a 75 per cent production is not regarded re-garded as indicating high efficiency and we know that in cases of close breeding and the confinement of the cows in small areas, calf crops have exceeded 90 per cent. Closer breeding is an important factor in increasing our calf production. The big range presents a situation in itself and naturally the calf crop will not be as great as with smaller areas, but fencing fenc-ing and cross fencing will help. There are but two ways in which a cow is an asset; calf production and value as beef. If the calf is lost, the cow is a 'boarder' and an expense until it produces another calf or goes to the butcher. This is one of the problems prob-lems that is receiving serious thought and will continue to do so with every prospect of beneficial results and it is a problem that will have to be solved solv-ed individually because of the different differ-ent conditions that exist in different sections and with the different ranches so 'a word to the wise is sufficient.' |