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Show fSr-ffi Livestock! .LJSituatiOiiJ Eradication of tuberculosis from the dairy herds in the West is not only a public health problem but it is one of the most important economic problems prob-lems before the live stock industry today. There is a sentiment among both the live stock interests and others looking towards the cleaning up of the tuberculous herds. It seems to be generally agreed that a tuberculous cow will eat as much or more feed than the healthy animal but will not produce as much milk. The cow is merely a machine through which the dairyman converts his grain and pasture into a marketable market-able product. If that machine is impaired im-paired through disease, and if the life of the machine is shortened from the same cause, there seems to be no sound economic reason why that machine ma-chine should not be discarded in favor of one in perfect condition. This is just what the dairymen of the Southwest as well as in most other parts of the United States, are doing. In some instances the elimination elimin-ation of the tuberculous cow is being forced through state or county law with the cooperation of the Federal government. Such a program is be- mg seriously consiuereu in vauiui mci, i not so much from the standpoint of public health, because that feature , is supervised by an army of public j health officers, but for purely economic. econ-omic. reasons for the benefit of the dairy industry. ! There is a very decided sentiment on the part of milk distributors that tuberculosis should be radicated from dairy herds. This feeling has developed develop-ed to such an extent that the man with unhealthy or untested cows does not realize as much for his product as the man with a clean tested herd. This fact is doing more than anything else to eliminate the unclean herds for when the dairyman's pocketbook is directly affected, it is not difficult for him to realize that he cannot afford af-ford to handle other than strictly clean cows. Not only are the dairymen marketing market-ing reactor cows, but they are also culling their herds of animals which are not producing enough milk to represent rep-resent some profit to the owners. The result is that thousands of cuttle of dairy strains are passing into the beef channels to some extent helping the beef supply and their ready use' is made possible through the constantly broadening outlets for all classes of beef animals through the open markets mar-kets at the packing centers throughout through-out the country. The pas: ing of dairy stock into beof animals, as the dairy offerings largely go into trade channels not taken care of by the usual beef supply. It is noticeable that many dairymen dairy-men have taken advantage of the present pres-ent situation to sell off their low producing pro-ducing cows, using the proceeds to make replacements with more productive pro-ductive animals, and in many cases the sale of three poor producers will make posible the purchase of two heavy producers. By working out a process of clean areas we will make a substantial advance ad-vance in swine production and at the same time greatly help the dairymen by furnishing a profitable market for skim milk. The raising of the standards stan-dards of sanitation in dairies throughout through-out the country has made the handling hand-ling of swine in the dairies a most practical operation ana uie utMmuni-ty utMmuni-ty of this is evidenced at many markets mar-kets where premiums are offered foi swine produced in accredited clean areas. There never was a more favorable time, from the standpoint of market values, for the dairyman to sell off his unprofitable cows at the public markets and the general opinion is that cattle price levels will occupy a strong position for some time to come. . |