Show fiRICULTUR STATN = TICS OF UTAffL BY LUTHER FOSTER 1 I I 4 In tables below arc given the acreage production value and home consumption consump-tion of number of staple crops Of Utah for spvcral years past also their yield and value per acre uml the market mar-ket prices of each It Is to be regretted that no bureau of statistics Is provided for by our State laws At present Itls necessary 19 depend upon the Statistician Statisti-cian of the United States Agricultural department for all such Information and since the report giving the crop ami annual statistics for S99 Is not yet printed I the data for the past season are unavoidably omitted from most of the tables presented In this article TABLE A Acreage production valuo and consumption I con-sumption of the principal farm crops I I Pro I Crop ndIAclo1 duc I IConsumcd I year I Ige I ton Value I nt home Icresl Hush I I Bush i Corn s7o I 160 I S 13 l 162 Kt s S75 iSIi3 11931 H3O A 1I 85751 2o2J 1213 1 3k 3 stn 1S103Z4 1 S701 liu570 jgw SwO 2Ii20 ilOS fO f I SJi lG4t11 157 1 1 ai so53 1G1i3 101163i 15202 Wheat I 1 1s 121 2290 17fl0Z7 nl 1S7G1i 3JJoo 15Cr2S 1026731 170Yl 111101 11l250 10C31 7 OtY 110019 1lS2 3 loGr 157970 SIiS SS I 1 110 395i 106S I 213 lcoJ H35t 1J75L 1S7050 t 1081283753 19052 510 1ti17 1IOI310 71 11970 ll 2221518 1ts Oals rS23 51018S I 27d379 1 3U42l l20 331 10590001 f S21771 o S1 l jGJG 120 511G 2S1711 I 33 2 30 7S7 1Ofa2 1821 2CJ S iJ 251 sg 240 0263i7 Z n 1SIt 1 221 9 1 273671 GltiS 17 29 3ij 33G11 Gtli 1S 1 21431 9 Y J1 S21r Average yield per acro for the nnt seven yel Year I cornIhat Oats Barley hay I Bush Bush Bush Bush Tons 113 2 128 2 < 76 172 ThZII 214 20 330 J 30 252 ll i j 23 21 3S 10 2C 323 20 L181 30 21 27 O s17 220 20 3J 310 295 3121 210 20 3 i 3101 3 i25 1899 180 150 356 301 210 Average value per aero for past six years Year I Corn W1ieat Oats Barley Bn 1S 124V c2 S f 1692 8 18111 1115 1166 1122 1518 H01 Jh 995 OS3 01 1170 lUr 39t 12ii 82 I 1 113 laS lW 1210 H2 11 a95 1101 21S 1QJ 512 ed9 l3 1162 Prices Of principal products for the past nine years 1 Year CornlWhcatl Oa3Barley Hay 1221 GO 75 42 S 50 550 S I G 40 52 631 JS3 5 E3 > 51i 11I 63 59 31 t6 5 lS5 49 if t I 3 f2 296 51 G I s 9 42 59 1227 5 6 3 I 45 47 6 GO 51 S 1 16 3811 C 15 40i 6 67 CORN Though tiorn is not one of the principal princi-pal crops of the State the tables show Borne Interesting facts concerning It The annual acreage planted has remained re-mained practically the same for the last seven years but the product has varied more than 50000 bushels and the value more than 30000 Consumed Con-sumed at home has reference to tho county where It was grown little is shown lo have been shipped out of the county and probably none went out of the State The average value and yield per acre for the six years given differ very little from that of wheat but the market plied of corn has been almost as high us that of wheat for the whole period Hieaverage yield per aore Is very much lower than It need be I Where goop f varieties are planted and proper tillage practiced forty to fifty bushels her acre is not an unusual yield Considering the large amount of roughage producer per acre In addition addi-tion to tho grain the acreage of corn increased could in rome localities be profitably WHEAT The statistics of the wheat crop for lie nine years given how a decrease on the acreage from 1801 to ISiiG but In 298 t over BUy j thousand acres more ttrre sown than in 1SDO The average yield for that year and the total product duct are dccluodly the largest of any y ar reported but the low price made the total value of tho crop comparatively compara-tively small The minimum home con bumptlor appeared in 1S93 while the lowest price was not reached until 1S95 The greatest surplus accrued in 1898 when Cache valley alone sent out over arOO cars of small grins nearly all of hlch was wheat Out of the whole period pe-riod there arc only a few years that the wheat crop has paid any actual profit to tho grower OATS The average oat yiellls are in comparison com-parison much lower than the wheat and though the prices range very much better under the conditions reported it cannot be considered an especially pro fitable crop The tolal acreage of oats oat Jiis decreased fully a7 per cent since con n 1 n hd IMIU ana me total production has never been greatly In excess of the quantity quantty consumed within the State The prices have always boon fairly good although there has been considerable varlatlop varlaloJ In them Judging from the figures Kvca and tin constant demand for the oats I believe It to bo one of the best 1 grain crops for the farmer to grow If the methods of Ullagecan InI so Improved Im-proved as lo raise thoZyleld onehalf or to about fifty bushels per acre BARLEY The climatic conditions of Utah arc Tavomble to the production of an excellent ex-cellent quality of barley and the prices bave ranged high during the whole pe jlod of nine years The yields fall but little below those of oats making It tho more profitable crop In value per acre It has given the best returns of any crop reported still the Utah farmer ass as-s a rule loaves It out of his list I Is not na exacting on the soil asa wheat crop and with modern machinery it la not especially disagreeable to handle Under Un-der existing conditions It would seem wl8c to cu down the wheat acreage It d add to that of barley acrearc HAY The annual crop of hay per acre has varied 1 We since 1C92 with the excep tion of 1S9S when It was abnormally high For the past season the yield reached the lowest point since 1S03 auJ the prices are higher than at any time I Klnco 1892 For tho past seven years hay lands have given an annual crop value equal to that of wheat and they arc very auch lea exhaustive to the r nol In fact wherever clover and lu cern aer grown the land Is Improved HOUSES Thcr < j has been a constant but somewhat some-what irregular decrease In the number of homoa during the whole period the minimum being reached In ISOS when the total number was only 75 per cent of that reported in 1S91 Prices decreased de-creased regularly until 1895 since which time they have been gradually Increasing In-creasing until today H good sound a driving or draft hOne will readily sell for 0 Tie home market for grades of any good draft breed or standard bred horses Is noUovcrdone and farm i etI who have good foundation stock 1 may profitably raise horses of this F character The day of the oayuae has 1 Passed MILCH COWS While the number oC mlloh cows has not Increased to exceed lO > per cent In J tu pant eight years their qualltyand productive capacity has blln greatly improved and with the large nuinb of skilrulb managed creameries and rCamres checro factories lhr y arc returning to their owners decidedly better profits I In 1S94 prices were remarkably low I Since that date they have been steadily advancing Choice COW are now worth rO but very few of such are offered for sale In the last four years prices have Increased nearly 100 per cent Tho farmer Is learning that tho dairy cow will make profitable use o all his crops giving him constant empolyment and a regular Income tho year round The movement fn this direction has been a rapid one and the dairy still offers of-fers a good field for future development develop-ment OTHER CATTLE A glance at the first column of figures shows that cattle and I range catlc young stock have been reduced about 20 percent per-cent In numbers since 1891 while a look at the second column indicates dlmuni ton in prices for only a portion of the I period From 1891 to 1S95 prices wen t down 16 per cent when the lowest values val-ues of recent times prevailed Since lmes prevnled that time prices have grown higher I rapidly until today they are nearly 75 per cent above the figures of 1S93 Farmers have already found it necessary neces-sary to reduce their holdings in cattle because of the shortage of range and they are beginning to r ale the fact that the day Is not far distant when the cattle business In Utah will be mainly confined to the farms and jhe ranges to 1 which they hold the title This condi tlpn must lead to greater improvement The total value may not be largely decreased de-creased To malt up for the fewer in number those of better quality must be raised LIVE STOCK I The following table shows the variation varia-tion In the number and average price ot the different kinds of farm animals from year to year since 1S90 TABLE Dumber Number average prlco and total value oC farm animals I I AVgo I No Price I Value r Hor8cs 1 lSl OG S j5 33l15l 1222 Gi91 3121 250S913 f93 G12 21tl 15162 w 1891 1 rW 1518 11211 I 1855 71227 125 0 lW I lS 71i8 1 tun l7UH IS9 G76H 1721 llJ31S1 1893 G2 2 13 5 Much cows I lS1 290 20 SOl 1052 I 1512 5012 IIO 12103 1813 6613 18J 1015i1 I lSf 55700 1 077 5m 1S 57271 1520 0519 516 5668 795 101l72 I 1897 5WI 2395 I 133075S 1898 Other catte 6i7S 2760 159Itll 1811 383553 1371 u25 1 1532 3 19 5SS 305OIG lSJ 35l51 1 1 10782 11 al16 nr 11818 iS9 3G1 16 1253lH 18 3 L3 J3i 431G2 1837 222461 9775 1SJ 32 1m Sheep 331 13 g13 Shecp 2055900 217 5000251 1S n 002 1812 2111577 J22S 5025022 lS 183 1905SIi 1 6 Zr3tSJ 181 2031226 14 29 7395 199S441 1681 3157537 I G i i0241l lr 3OG1 lr7 19 815 2hJ HJs 1838 Swine 2UG9H 213 5159922 1891 4 7U 7j 3G40 81 71 130 8S 41762i tK flsm 1 8G 2S lH 5i143 773 3j2 1895 55il Gt 3G7 1395 53a90 515 213332 3 i r lSJ I 47285 621 29Sl71 1S i8 60f 33269S t P The number of sheep owned In the 1 State has rot varied materially from 2000000 in the eight years The prices In 1891 and 189S are practically the I same The prIces and total valuation show n fall and 1 rise of CO per cent within the reported time While the investment In this branch of the livestock live-stock business Is no greater than In cattle it Is no doubt today the leading livestock Industry of the State with the best prospects of a future There are opportunities In this line for the farmer to raise highgrade or purebred pure-bred bucks for use on the band of range sheep or to grow early lambs for the home market that few havc taken advantage ad-vantage of HOGS Statistics show that the number of hogs produced in 1897 and laDS Is practically prac-tically the same as In 1891 and 1S92 though the prices ranged about 20 percent per-cent lower During the Intervening I four years the number raised was increased In-creased by several thousand but h prices constantly declined which probably accounts ac-counts for the reduction in the number produced since 1S95 Tho whole number raised In the Stale seems very small in comparison with the number of other livestock but even withthis small product pro-duct the home and neighboring markets are frequently overstocked ala prices In Eastern markets are seldom high enough to warrant shipment there Utah farmers are prepared to raise the highest typo of bacon hogs economi cal and the one thing needed to stimulate I stim-ulate an Increase In thin special part of the livestock Industry isthe establishment estab-lishment of n packinghouse within the State where our supply of hams bacon and lard can be manufacturcd UNBALANCED CONDITION Farm productions must change with the conditions and demands of the region re-gion where they arc produced especially espe-cially Jl that region Js far removed from the general markets At an earlier ear-lier period In tho settlement of this In tormountain region when there was a home inakqt and consumption oC all ttte farmer could produce he devoted his energies to producing the staple cropsaucji ua wheat oatS and potatoes As tine passed this class of producers Increased and the number of consumers was lessened through the decrease In mining operations but the farmer I failed to adjust his crops accordingly and for a number ofyears ho has been producing more of the bulky staples than could be used at home The distance dis-tance from market is i almost a bar to shipping them elsewhere This unbalanced unbal-anced condition la 1 gradually becoming adjusted through the establishment of the beetsugar factories the gradual expansion of the fruit and dairy industries indus-tries and the greater attention to diversified diver-sified farming I will not belong until all products sent to outside markets will go In concentrated form as bee pork and mutton butter and cheese sugar und fruit With two additional sugar factories one In the Cache valley and the other for Sanpetc and Sevler counties with a alight Increase In the finished meat products that the home and neighboring markets demand and with the better feeding that I bo required by the general l stock Imprdve meat now In progress there will no longer be any need to seek an outside market for lowpriced bulky products A fev more years J10 doubt see I this desired change brought about INCREASED ACTIVITY The past few years have been especially espe-cially noted for the Increased activity la t the cattle and sheep IndustrIes One of the greatest benefits that will como to the Stole from this reign of bettor prices Is the general J Improvement that It will surely bring In all kinds of stocK raised Already many animals of the Improved breeds have been shipped Into different counties and In the course of a tow years the better form and superior su-perior quullty wi be thoroughly fixed in the Utah herd and Hocks CLIMATE AND FOODS Qur climate and foods are especially favorable to the production of vigorous animals praU kinds 1 The moat abun I jdant foods lucern and bran contain an unusually large supply of muaclu and bonoinaklng material just what the growing animal needs and must have for the fullest and development I Is only with the animal Intended for meat that an extra amount of fa is desirable as a finish For this final work Utah is not so well prepared a some of the States farther East where sme corn is the principal crop Simply for fattening or giving the finish that the great markets demand we have no cheap starchy food that will compete with corn Wheat will make an equal lv good finish but a 50cent bushel of I It will go no further than a 15cent I bushel of corn For the past four years the prices of feeders have been so nearly near-ly l equal to those of the finished product pro-duct that the fattening could not be I profitably done even on cheap wheat While the present small margin between be-tween feeders and fat animals continues con-tinues it will be the sphere of the Utah I stockman to produce a good growth steer or lamb and turn him over to the Iowa and Nebraska farmer to finish on cheap corn CONCLUSION The inference that may be drawn from the statistics given and the discussion dis-cussion of the same Is that titah Is reaping the benefit of recent prosperity In all lines excepting that of exclusive COp production where wheat Is thu I chief reliance for an income The remedy rem-edy is readily suggested Diversify I your operations and case to rob the soil of Its fertility by the constant removal re-moval of grain crop without giving an I adequate return in plant food Start a dairy herd and secure a regular income from the factory beside raising the calves Add a small band of sheep to act as scavengers on the farm and to give a double annual income In lambs and wool at times when other salabl products are scarce Then arrange your crops to supply an abundance of proper food for these animals and they wl soon make you comparatively prosperous pros-perous and independent |