PROCEEDINGS CORN BELT MEAT PRODUCERS' ASSN. 475 



and I would 'like in that connection to emphasize one thing that 

 is of vital importance, and that is better bred live stock on the 

 farm. 



I was talking a few days ago with a man who has been asso- 

 ciated and in close contact with the market business of one of 

 our great market centers for a quarter of a century, and this was 

 his statement, that there had not been a time in all of his experi- 

 ence in connection with the live stock markets when there was 

 such a wide gap between the well-bred and the well-finished stuff 

 and the common run of stuff that was coming to market as there 

 is now; and it is his opinion that we were not making progress 

 in the breeding and the inherent quality of our live stock, and 

 the reason that the second and third-class stock coming to mar- 

 ket was bringing such low prices was because of lack of breed- 

 ing and lack of proper methods in growing and feeding it out. 



I don't think there was ever a time since you men have been 

 engaged in the business that it was so important that you have 

 good, well-bred stock to feed out under these conditions of high- 

 priced labor, and everything entering into the cost of beef pro- 

 duction being on the high level of prices that it is now, that it 

 is so important that you have well-bred stock to put into your 

 feed lots and that you have well-bred stock on your farm. 



The dairy interest has made tremendous strides. While the 

 dairy industry is a legitimate and a sound industry, it is one 

 that has not helped the grade of feeding steers that you people 

 put into your feed lots, if you use the dairy blood. It has its 

 place all right, and it has made great strides in Iowa, and sev- 

 eral million dollars' worth of dairy stock has been brought into 

 this state to be put on the farms. It has been put there because 

 it is sound practice to have good dairy stock, but with the tre- 

 mendous growth of the dairy industry in this country there has 

 been a constantly increasing number of animals going to market 

 for beef purposes that carry dairy blood. And then there is a 

 very large proportion of animals going to market for beef pur- 

 poses that do not carry any good blood. I don't think there was 

 ever a time when it Avas so important that the farmers of this 

 state and other states use good sires as it is today. 



We know that the steers, if they are using good sires, may be 

 fed out profitably; and if they are using dairy sires they recog- 

 nize the importance as they never did before of having superior 

 animals there, and we are becoming dependent to a larger extent 

 each year upon the animals bred on the farms or somewhere else 



