148 IOWA DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 



twenty years ago, but the increase in production is in no way comparable 

 with the increase in the A^alue of land. It is safe to say that the actual cost 

 of producing a pound of beef on pasture, figured on a fair interest rate on 

 land values, is two or three times what it was a generation ago. 



The increase in the cost of feed is another factor which the cattle 

 feeder who relies on buying his corn and hay must give serious a,ttention. 

 With shelled corn costing in the neighborhood of one cent per pound, and 

 clover hay two-thirds of a cent a pound, it takes careful management to 

 make ends meet. By-products from our mills have gone skyward in price, 

 and even straw for bedding purposes sells for almost as much as hay did 

 a few years ago. The present price of hay and straw is largely due to 

 short crops the past two years. But we must admit that hay and straw 

 are acquiring the habit of being high in price. Cheap com and cheap 

 hay outside of a time of panic or industrial depression are largely a thing 

 of the past. 



Add to the above the increased cost of labor, and you have a combina- 

 tion of difficulties that have caused many an experienced cattle feeder to 

 seriously consider getting out of business. That many have so decided is 

 apparent. That many young men are deterred from entering the business 

 for the same reasons is also apparent. 



Beef production in Iowa is going through a transitional stage, due pri- 

 marily to the increase in the price of land and labor. Illinois has had a 

 similar experience, and a great many of the Illinois farmers decided the 

 (luestion by going out of the stock business. Iowa will almost certainly 

 follow in the same course. There is a strong temptation to cash in fifty 

 cent corn at the elevator rather than take chances on converting it into 

 beef. The old saying that a bird in the hand is worth two in the bush 

 appeals very strongly to the average cattle feeder, especially when there 

 is so much uncertainty as to the price he will receive for his product at 

 selling time. 



In addition to the above, many farmers are renting their land and mov- 

 ing to town. The renter prefers grain farming to stock farming. Such are 

 conditions as I have found them. I trust that you will not infer that I am 

 pessimistic concerning the cattl6 feeding situation. On the other hand, it 

 seems to me that the future of beef production in Iowa is particularly 

 bright for those who make a careful study of the business. The fact that 

 many are dropping out makes it all the better for those who remain in. 

 During the past ten years our population has increased twenty-one per 

 cent, while our beef-producing animals have dropped nearly seven per 

 cent. This decrease is further emphasized when we consider that cattle 

 are marketed at a younger age and consequently at a lighter weight than 

 ten years ago. Dairy cattle and hogs have increased to some extent, which 

 offsets in a measure the decrease in beef cattle. However, figuring any 

 way we like, we find our population rapidly increasing and meat-produc- 

 ing animals increasing very little, if not actually decreasing. The Ameri- 

 can people will have to reduce their meat diet considerably, and they will 

 also be obliged to pay higher prices for it. The era of cheap meat is past. 



So long as the American people continue to eat beef, Iowa will be the 

 center of the most extensive beef-producing section in the United States, 



