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Show Decrease in Meat Production Is Serious By Herbert W. Mumford Professor of Animal Husbandry, Illinois College of Agriculture . ..t.. ... . ." clearly indicate, by the hltcry of nMllnn?. A mere ronip.insnn of the type.-, of farmers found In Kngland. Scotland. iK-nm.irk Hnd Holl.ind vv tt h the peasant wheat-growers of Ku"la or with th wli'ut and rice farmers of India is sufficient to Illustrate the cloi.e relation between live stock unl actlculttir.il progre.-s. Animal husbandry nccssilatr s rotation of rrps and fri-tic!,t yeeiin down. It requires re-quires activity aixl skillful management the j ear round. It compels the fjrmer to observe, market conditions. It trlngi him n contact with rnn. both as a buyer and ni n seller. It enlarges I. Is heart and broadens hl-i sympathies sym-pathies beyond the routine of sowing, cultivating culti-vating tinl reaplns. Grain farming, on the other hand, leads to continuous cropping without proper rotations. H eliminates meadows and pastures. It Involve In-volve the; strenoui life for a short season of the year, followed by a long rrkKl of Inactivity. In-activity. It creates an itinerant laboring class and stimulates tenantry rather than permanent farm homes. It foHtcra the lrid-robblng lrid-robblng spirit. Corn farmers, wheat fanner., fann-er., cotton fanners, rice farmer", grain farmers farm-ers ns a class are strongly led to overdraw their soil fertility account, for most men engaged en-gaged In cTcIiiHive grain growing manifest ntnnll Interest In a permanent acrlculture. The history of agriculture In tills ond other countries tdiow that the live stork prerducent have taken u leading prt In efforts to maintain main-tain and Increase the fertility of soils, and In my Judgment the live stork producers can now be relied upon more than any other class of farmers to curry forward the gospel and practice of the highest type of permanent agriculture. ag-riculture. While It Is conceded that permanent maintenance main-tenance of soil fertility without live stock Is jiussible. It Is not practicable as a state-wide policy, because It Is not the highest type of agriculture, and because few farmers can bo Induced to comply with nil the conditions necessary to make It eiTe-cllve. While grain farming will ultimately oupplant live stock husbandry where condition make such a sys-tern sys-tern of agriculture practicable. It should be I resorted to only wln-n and wher llvo stock husbandry proves less prolltable. A very considerable extension of live stock farming In Illinois would materially increase the cash output from her farms and at the same tlm save millions to tho future wealth of the state by keeping on the farm a largo percentage of the fertility that Is now- sold off in tho form of corn, oat.s and ha v. THAT there Is n, live stock situation in Illinois, and to a lesser extent throughout through-out the corn belt. Is evident to all who have taken HuM.-lent Interest In the matter to give It serious thought. The vvrlt'T Ima given the subject much consideration nnd tho objeit of this article 1 to set down sonic facts and observations which may a.vk-t In , clearing the vision and pointing the way to : rational Incrcaxcd Interest In animal affairs. af-fairs. A comprehensive inquiry among farmers thrtuigliont the trtato of Illinois ondui:teiJ under the direction of the writer jthows conclusively con-clusively that on the whole there Is a v. Ide-spread Ide-spread tendency to abandon llc sto k production. pro-duction. Erlelly stated, the onuses: which have most largely contributed In bringing about this condition are: 1. Pur brief periods grain farming has been more profitable- than live stock production produc-tion because, temporarily, the price ef feeds uaed largely In the production of live Klock have been relatively higher In price than unlmal products. These relatively higher prices for grain have cau3ed a very material extension of .-rain trowing, especially of tho acreage devoted to corn. To fecure additional addi-tional areas for corn farmers hovo been plowing up old blue grass pasture", elimination elimina-tion of pastures from a bystern of fanning Is ejulckly followed by a very pronounced reduction re-duction In tho number of live stock. 2. The most protitable production of meat animals has hitherto been associated with cheap lands. Tl.e opportunities for stock raffing offered by these cheap lands In various vari-ous sections of the west, southwest and northwest have lured ninny successful stockmen stock-men from the state. The opportunities of these newer sections as compared with Illinois Illi-nois for the exclusive grain Grower have not been equally attractive, henco there has been a tendency or a largo exodus of live stock producers, while the grain growers have more largely remained. 3. The great difficulty of securing tenant who have had a successful experience in llvo stock management tends still further to decrease de-crease the number of live stock kept. This Is on Important consideration, for the Impression Im-pression prevails that there Is a strong tendency tend-ency toward landlordism and tenantry. 4. The extensivo exploitation of a slmplo system of exclusive grain farming that when properly followed looks toward u permanent agriculture, 5. There has been and still Is a very General Gen-eral lack of r.ppreclallon of the value of farm manure produced by live stock on the farm. These nro weighty considerations and. operating together or singly. It Is no wonder that they should have a profound Influence In bringing about radical changes In system of farming. Live slock farming furnishes the opportunity oppor-tunity to many intelligent workmen for continuous con-tinuous remunerative work in tho country, in other words, live stock farming calls for greater Intelligence nnd skill In tho farm laborer, whllo such systems of farming 11 tribute the work to be done more evenly throughout the year. Some systems of llvo stock farming, especially the more intensive inten-sive forms, like dairying, furnish a greater amount of work. Looking at the subject from the standpoint of public pood, therefore. It would seem highly eieslrnble to encourage systems of live stock production, particularly as population increases. I do not wish to be underrtood as pleading . for the extension or even the preservation of particular eyateins of live stork farming that do not fit the times ar.d condition?. Some forms of live steclc production should and will be abandoned; others, noticeably dairying and poultry raising, will be xreatly extended. Contrary to the opinion that has been frequently fre-quently expressed. It Is not true, except In minor Instances, that older agricultural countries coun-tries like German-, Prance, Holland and Denmark Den-mark are abandoning llvo stock production, because of Increase In population In most instances, nn has been shown elsewhere, live stork bears nbout the sam? relation to population pop-ulation that it did several generations ago. Round of Steer Exilo, If'iosc Carcass Was Best of Any International Champion People rlo not realize the value of meat as food until partially deprived of it by scarcity and hirji prices. In meat arc found both carbohydrates, in fats, and protein, pro-tein, in muscle; together, taken in proper proportions, making a balanced ration. Protein assists in rebuilding worn tissues and supplying food tor the delicate parts of the body, like the brain and the nerves. Carbohyd rates furnish heat and energy-making energy-making material. A hard-laboring man needs fat more than lean meat; a growing child the reverse. It Is reasonably certain that it Is not absolutely abso-lutely necessary and that the highest type of agriculture is not possible without l,vc stock. If the highest type of intelligent citi-shlp citi-shlp Is to prevail In this country It will rest largely upon the possibility of developing standards of living among country folk which w ill necessitate systems of agricultural practice prac-tice which constitute the blchest type of agriculture. ag-riculture. In other words, It is possible to build up an enduring civilization around systems sys-tems of farming which do ne,t exclude livo stock and which will not only profitably utilise uti-lise to the fullest extent the agricultural resources re-sources of Illinois, and no one ihould rejoice re-joice In this fact more than the live stock producer. Kxeluslvo grain growing Increases the available aiipply of feeds used In animal production on the one hand and on the other removes Increased competition nnd the probability prob-ability of overproduction t.f livo stock. It should not bo forgotten that live stock husbandry hus-bandry Is the most Important factor In the corn market As nearly as can be estimated SO per cent of the corn produced In tho United , States is fed to live stoek. Then, too, there are large areas where the production of live stock will long prove not only the most profitable prof-itable but also practically the only use which can be made of these lands. This Is a fact which should not be overlooked in any effort looking toward the development of the agricultural ag-ricultural resources of all the Mate. Intelligent Intelli-gent systems of live stock production aro feasible and profitable, not only on lands adapted for grain growing, but upr,n lands especially suited to grain growing. If, therefore, there-fore, un Individual adopts a system of exclusive ex-clusive grain f.irrnlng he does so from choice and not because systems of live stock farming are not profitable. The keeping of more and better live slock on the. farm promotes greater Interest In farm life. The tendency of the boys and girls, the young men and the young women, to early leave the farm Is a tendency which Is universally regretted. I venture to say that no single agricultural reconstruction would inerense this tendency more certainly and tiv.iro rapidly than a general abandonment of live stock husbandly. In other words, eliminate elimi-nate live stock as an important factor In agricultural practice and you remove forever the moct powerful magnet that attracts and holds the brightest and best among our farm-raised farm-raised young men and young women. An agriculture without live stock Is threatened with becoming a business prosecuted by a relatively Ignorant class who are not farmers from choice, but because It furnishes as remunerative re-munerative employment for the laboring man as factory, shop or mine. Do we wish nothing noth-ing better for Illinois and American agriculture? agricul-ture? It advocates of a system of live stock husbandry hus-bandry could put forth no stronger argument than that It encourages nnd, speaking broadly, broad-ly, necessitates the residence of the owner of the farm on the farm. It would Indeed be sufficient. suf-ficient. I take It that we are Interested In tho ultimate status of tho farmer us a class as well as the financial possibilities of land ownership. It Is a deplorable condition In the trend of the agricultural practice of a state when Intelligent and successful fanners forsake their farm homes for town or city, while their farms pass to the control of tenants ten-ants whose chief interest Is in mining the soil and who seldom care for the best development devel-opment of country life. Tim Importance of nnlmal husbandly as a means of malnlaing agricultural prosperity l , Not only so, but the temptation Is strong to abandon stock farming for the (apparently) (apparent-ly) more profitable grain farming, but If sloe k farming Is reduced, the need for groin Is also reduced and the profits of grain farming will decline, as well as the fertility of the land. The production of live stock Is a supplement to grain growing, a further possible, entirely feasible and profitable step, a farm manufacturing manufac-turing process which converts raw material and by-products Into more concentrated, valuable val-uable finished products, which readily command com-mand a cash market. It Is a supplement to and not a substitute for grain growing. It not only Increases the Income but a bo and at the same time lesiens the removal of plant food from the farm. It Is an enterprise which aids materially In tho development of a well-balanced well-balanced agriculture. The interests of all parties, therefore, deinjnd that Instead of allowing al-lowing live stock farming to decline, it Is for the best Interests of all that It should now be I further developed. I The problem of a permanently profitable agriculture that Is worth while Is a problem j of the farmer as well as a problem of the i farm; and no other factor exerts -rub a pro- . found influence upon the development of the farmer as the ownership of live stork. In 1 other words. It should not be lost siht of I that, aside from all elements of profit, the establishment and maintenance of systems of farming Involving the l.irtre use of live stock, means that inevitably fHrin.-- will be coupled by men anil women eif a hlh order e.r Intelligence with a full appreciation of the j best standards of country life. |