No. 5. DEPARTMENT OF AGRTCULTURE. 159 



years and has not kept pace with the increase in population. This 

 is not only true of the United States, but also of the rest of the meat 

 producing world. We find that during the past ten years the popu- 

 lation of the ten leading meat producing countries in the world has 

 increased 9.9 per cent., while that of the supply of meat animal has 

 increased only 2.18 per cent. This, to my mind, is one of the reasons 

 why beef cattle have ruled high during the past few years and I 

 believe will continue to do so for some years to come. The difference 

 between production and increase in population is much greater iu 

 the United States than any other country in the world. Since 1909 

 the population of the United States has been increased by about 

 2,000,000 while the production of beef cattle has been decreased 

 from about 52,960,000 to 36,060,000, or practically 30 per cent 



One of the questions that confronts us today is, "Why has Penn- 

 sylvania been on the decline as a meat producing state?" One of 

 the first reasons is that the farmers of this State felt that it was 

 impossible for them to compete with other sections of the United 

 States in beef production. This, combined with the increase in the 

 cost of labor, the price of farm lands and grain, made them turn 

 their attention to other lines of farming. We all know tliat a num- 

 ber of years ago Pennsylvania was one of the leading beef pro- 

 ducing states in the Union. This time is possible within the memory 

 of some of the men present today. As the tide of immigration moved 

 westward from this and other Eastern states, it became necessary 

 for the beef cattle industry to move ahead of it. The rapid increase 

 in population in other sections of the United States, and especially 

 that of the Far West, has materially changed conditions so far as 

 beef production is concerned. The cost of producing beef cattle in 

 Central and Far West has reached the point where it again is pos- 

 sible for the Eastern farmer to compete with other sections of 

 the United States. The thousands of acres of cheap grazing lands 

 in the West no longer exist. Many of these regions have been under 

 cultivation and are used for the production of crops of one kind 

 or another. The price of former cheap grazing lands has reached 

 the stage where it can no longer be profitably used as grazing lands. 

 All these changes will make it necessary for the production of more 

 beef cattle on small farms. ' Since these are the conditions which 

 confront us today. I believe it is again possible to produce beef cat- 

 tle in many sections of Pennsylvania and do it at a profit. We should 

 also keep the fact in mind that the State of Pennsylvania has lost 

 none of its natural advantages for the production of beef which it 

 possessed more than a decade ago. 



I stated a few minutes ago that beef production was most profit- 

 able where there is grazing lands; land that cannot, or at least 

 should not, be tilled. The State of Pennsylvania has a great deal of 

 land of this character, possibly half of it. 1 now refer to the rough 

 and hilly sections of the State; and as we travel through Pennsyl- 

 vania from one end to the other we find many places where farmers 

 are trying to cultivate the hillsides which, if devoted to the produc- 

 tion of beef cattle, would yield them better returns with less trouble 

 than they are doing at the present time. 



One of the problems Avhich naturally confronts the Pennsylvania 



farmer, is the price that is to be realized from his cattle, whether the 



price is such as to make it worth his while. I recently reviewed the 



prices paid on the Chicago market and found that they had been 



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