158 ANNUAL REPORT OF THE Off. Doc. 



perity of the railroads is dependent upon the amount of freight they 

 carry, and this freight consists not only of manufactured articles, 

 but of crops; the more prosperous tlie farmer is, the more crops he 

 will have to be moved. This ma}^ not be a very high motive — it may 

 be a selfish one, but at the same time, it is a business proposition, 

 and we have learned a good many things by coming into contact 

 with the farmer and his problems, and it may be that we, on the 

 other hand, may be able to teach the farmer something, of which you 

 now know nothing. We are always ready to co-operate with you, 

 and to do our best to help you solve some of the problems which 

 confront you. 



BEEF rRODUCTION IN PENNSYLVANIA 



By PROF. W. H. TOMHAVE, State College, Pa. 



Ladies and Gentlemen: I am sorry to be late getting to this 

 meeting, but it is not entirely ray fault. The train was a few min- 

 utes late getting into Rtroudsburg and I also felt that it would be 

 better for me to go to the hotel and get rid of some of the coal dust 

 and cinders which were picked up by me coming through the coal 

 regions during the forenoon. Even though I am late, I see that you 

 have been well cared for so far as material for discussion is con- 

 cerned. 



The subject assigned me for discussion is that of "Beef Produc- 

 tion in Pennsylvania." This is a subject that a few years ago would 

 have received very little consideration at a Pennsylvania meeting. 

 Conditions have changed, however, so that at the present time this 

 subject is given the consideration it deserves. The reason for it no 

 doubt is the present high price of meat, the comparatively high price 

 of finished cattle on the market and the high prices paid for feeders 

 during the past two or three years. These conditions have created 

 considerable interest in beef production, not only from the pro- 

 ducers but from the consumers as well. I believe these conditions 

 make it a worthy subject for consideration in the State of Penn- 

 sylvania. 



The first question that possibly arises is, "Why are we interested 

 in the problem of beef production in Pennsylvania?" I might say 

 that the principle reason for it is that it costs a good deal of money 

 to buy meat; it is expensive to buy feeding cattle and the feeds on 

 our farms such as are consumed by cattle in the feed lot are given 

 a high value. We are also confronted with a shortage of beef cattle 

 such as has never been known in the United States or the meat pro- 

 ducing world. It is going to be difficult and it will take time to 

 overcome this shortage. The reason for the shortage of our beef 

 supply is due, in a large measure, to the fact that the production 

 of beef cattle has materially fallen off during the past five or ten 



