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Show fDvestoclc t Los Angeles, May 17, 1937 One of the most outstanding develop-' develop-' ments .in the livestock business here on the Pacific coast is the de-i de-i velopment of livestock feeding in connection with irrigated pastures, i This is a subject that is occupying the attention of stockmen who find j in irrigated pastures, an economical economi-cal means of fattening livestock, and insurance against some of the , troubles that come with unfavor-1 able range grass seasons. i Probably the most scientific development de-velopment of irrigated pasture ; j feeding is in the San Joaquin val-1 ; ley. In much of that large area.j j Ladino clover mf xeid with ot1i,er grasses is proving to be, an ideal j J fattener. Hundreds of acres of ; land have been added this spring to the ladino acreage, largely by sheepmen who went through one I of the most serious drouth seasons ; on record in most of the northern half of the state. It is reported that around 500,-000 500,-000 California lambs will be fattened fat-tened on irrigated pastures in California Cali-fornia this season. Sheep shearing is practically completed in California Califor-nia and most of the 1937 clip was contracted before shearing season. Wool prices averaged the highest since 1929 a factor which helps j to offset extremely high operating j costs. The University of California extension ex-tension service is doing immensely important work in the development of facts reuative to irrigated pasture pas-ture feeding and supplemental feeding on the range. One large sheepman, at., a reported cost of only 90 cents per head, carried his flock through the bad drouth season sea-son in northern California wjth less than 4 per cent death loss; a fat lamb crop of around 75 per cent. In the same area, growers who did not carry through the season sea-son under scientific supplemental feeding methods suffered death losses up -to 25 per cent and even more; and their lamb crops were greatly reduced with as little as 10 pel- cent fat lambs. Western stockmen who would like to obtain more complete information on supplemental feeding practices in California would do well to write to the University Extension Service, Ser-vice, Berkeley, California. Detailed De-tailed reports of methods used by flockmasters and cattlemen are being prepared. On Pacific coast livestock markets, mar-kets, fat lamb prices have declined declin-ed sharply since the middle of April, calf prices have suffered sharp declines. Hog prices are tone of the cattle market remains slightly higher and the general quite satisfactory to growers. |