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Show j several acres of the fir.cst type of ; beef , po;k and lamb en the hoof, j Then we begin to visualize the real meanir.e and purpose of these pure breds in the '"Big top" and under- stand why these great progenitors : march Wore us in their niabstb I stride find with a just feeling of i pride, at having been responsible for j the great display of fat stuff, with j which to grace our tables during the I time of the year when we all look jforwaid to good things and feel like joining in the great festival that we are wont to hold during the Christ-! Christ-! mas holiday period, j It is well to say at this time that the difference between success and failure in meat food production is clearly emphasized by the difference between the use of good sires and : poor sires. Success in meat food production like in every other important impor-tant activity, lies in supplying what the people want and it is reasonable to assume that that is the best route to fair financial returns. and in many caes transportation. Of course, in tiiese days with the varnished cars ar.d modern transportation transpor-tation means it Lsn't convenient to ijring the- criiters along. Nevertheless, Neverthe-less, it is essential that the meat feed supply should be available to sustain this p-ieat mass of humans cominj west faster and in reater ; numbers than the Argonauts of '-10 ever thought could happen. In the live stock show we get a reflection of what is going on. The baby beef type, well finished with forage and grain, is evidenced all through the show and it is highly high-ly essential to a plenteous supply, that we should go more and more into the fcedlot finishing of younger well-bred animals. Another evidence of tiiis lies in the character of sirens on exhibition at the show. The cowman who has been operating operat-ing on the range wants a sire with a good deal of daylight under him and a good, strong, rugged constitution; consti-tution; but the modern type of the middle-west in evidence at aJl the eastern stock shows and now coming west, is the deep-bodied, short-legged kind, with good hindquarters and back and a good constitution. We will come more to that class as wc get into feedlot,' finishing, because the feedlot solves the problems of going long distances to water holes, rustling over the range and bucking the brush. You don't get the same number of pounds out of these quickly matured, high-bred baby beeves as from the aged steer, but you can mature two baby beeves while you are finishing one of the aged kind, thus adding materially to lour beef production. Barley is the basic food of the west. The Grand Champion steer at the Christmas Live Stock show was California Cal-ifornia bred and born, and fattened on barley and alfalfa. We are beginning be-ginning to appreciate barley as a basic feed and also that it is the best all-around feed. This wonderful wonder-ful steer weighed 900 lbs. and sold at .$1-55 per pound, $1,395.00 in money. Stepping from the '"'Big top" housing the breeding: flocks and herds, into the fat section, we find MSituatioriJ The young men and women enrolled enroll-ed in our vocational instruction institutions in-stitutions throughout the State of California assembled at the Los Angeles An-geles Christmas Live Stock show during dur-ing the week, represent more than 100 schools extending from Siskiyou to San Diego counties and all inter-mcdliilo inter-mcdliilo counties. One judging team and a: captain from each school the greatest ensemble of our future farmers and farmerettes ever attend ing a western show. The banners carried by these young people should cause us to think seriously: ser-iously: "We are the Future Farmers of America Vocational Education, the Real Farm Relief." "We are the Future Farmers of America Earning Earn-ing While Learning Gives Perman ent Farm Relief." From all appearances they have the courage of their convictions and maybe, after all, we must look to this new generation of farmers for anything any-thing like a permanent solution of our agricultural ailments. The railroads rail-roads have cooperated splendidly with the Stock Show management in making mak-ing this great gathering possible. Undoubtedly, the center of our population is shifting westward by leaps and bounds, hence the center of our live stock supplies must form an important part in this movement. move-ment. In the olden days when our forefathers undertook the perilous journey across the continent their flocks and herds were an important part of the caravan, furnishing food |