OCR Text |
Show tie Inter-Mountain country were poor at tie outset of tie summer pasturing season. The result Is that most of the Intcr-Mouiiuiin calUe failed to fatten as early as normally and advices from that section indicate indi-cate that beef cattle will be later than usual in going to market. However, How-ever, feed conditions are very favorable favor-able at this time and cattle out of that section should he of good quality quali-ty this season. Rains came too late to assure a crop of choice, fat lambs, however. good business but it should be done under the most favorable conditions as to costs and surroundings. Arizona and New Mexico Cattlemen Cattle-men are now restocking their ranges, after a period of several years' of heavy marketing due to scarcity of feed as well as forced liquidation of cattle loans. Southwestern cattle men are now buying cows but due to the shortage of bovine breeding stock it will take several years at best to bring back the cattle population to anything like normal. There will be a disposition this year, however, for Southwestern producers to hold back their heifer calves, which, during the past few years, have been sold along with the steer calves. Arizona, New Mexico, Utah, Idaho and Nevada have had excellent rains this summer, resulting in splendid range feeti conditions. Due to the extremely cold winter and a late spring, feed conditions in fllihstodcc .;SitUiOr)J dXi&k ; : r Several years of 'drouth and re. sultant scarcity of range feed have encouraged tie es'tablisbment of many feedlots during the past season. Those located in the country near a source of economical feed supply and those in the city which permit tie feeding of live stock of by-products of various industrial plants no doubt are founded on sound economic principles. But the feed lots located in or near populous sections which must depend upon both feed and cattle being shipped ship-ped in from country points do not appear to be sound from an econo mic standpoint. It would be far cheaper and better to fatten livestock at the ranch where feed is available and where the critter has natural surroundings, than in the city where things are new and disturbing and where feed Is necessarily high-priced, when you consider that; a bovine animal ani-mal practically eats its own weight every thirty days, it may well be understood un-derstood that it would be cheaper to take the animal to the feed, rather than to haul the feed to the animal- Feed lot fattening as a means of extending the marketing period and getting the bullock in better flesh is |