648 IOWA DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 



beef business is of special interest just now, for we are entering a period 

 that will be known as the period of restoration of beef production; and 

 I think most farmers now see that we must restore beef cattle on our 

 farms. It is all important that in this work of restoration of beef, we 

 adopt the best and most economical methods, so that in years to come, 

 we may not again find ourselves engaged in an unprofitable business. 

 The silo has come to stay and the time will come when silos are as 

 common as corn cribs on our Iowa farms. It is only by the use of silos 

 and better and more permanent blue grass pastures that beef production 

 on Iowa farms will be a profitable business; and then I would advise 

 only the production of the best class of beef. I would not advise anybody 

 attempting anything short of it on our high priced lands. It is not a 

 ((uestion of fattening cattle but the growing of beef that we are most 

 especially interested in. Corn belt farmers must awaken to the fact that 

 if they expect to handle cattle, they must breed them. The Pacific Coast 

 will grab the major portion of our range-bred cattle from now on and 

 they must and will have them — hence if we wish to produce beef we 

 must raise our own feeders. 



THE BEEF CATTLE SITUATION AND ITS SOLUTION. 



BY \V. J. KEXx\EDY. 



Director Extension Department, Iowa State College, Ames, Iowa. 



Why are beefsteaks and beef cattle so high as compared with six, ten 

 or fifteen years ago? Will twenty-five cent oats and thirty-five cent corn 

 bring the price of beef down to its former level? These are some of the 

 questions which people in every walk of life are asking at the present 

 time. 



In a measure, at least, this question can be answered by the application 

 of the law of supply and demand. During the last twelve years our 

 population has increased 25 per cent while our supply of beef cattle has 

 decreased over 30 per cent. These figures would not indicate any very 

 immediate relief to the consumer. The end is not yet. Next year and 

 each succeeding year for at least three years will see a much shorter 

 supply of beef cattle than at the present time. This will be due to the 

 fact that the present high prices for beef cattle are causing thousands 

 upon thousands of cows and heifers to be sent to the slaughter house, 

 which under ordinary circumstances would and should be retained for 

 breeding purposes. It is a case of killing the goose that lays the golden 

 egg. 



The ranges of the AVest, the Northwest and the Southwest, which in 

 the past constituted the greatest feeder cattle producing territory in the 

 world, have seen their best days. They are carrying today just about 

 one-half the number of cattle they did five years ago. Irrigation, "dry 

 farming," and the more general introduction of sheep have driven a large 

 number of the range cattle men out of the business. Even the corn belt 

 states have fallen off from 25 to 50 per cent in beef cattle during the 

 last ten years. 



