36 LIVESTOCK ON THE FARM 



year. This cost is very small indeed compared with the 

 annual cost of plowing, pulverizing, seed, seeding, harvesting, 

 threshing, etc., which are necessary in grain farming. 



THE ECONOMY OF LIVESTOCK 



In the first part of this chapter it was mentioned incident- 

 ally that it takes 5 pounds or more of feed to obtain 1 pound of 

 gain in the live weight of a farm animal. Sometimes, however, 

 gains may be made on less. But from a financial standpoint, 

 is a gain of 1 pound at a cost of 5 pounds of feed a loss or a 

 gain? How much do the farm animals pay for the feed that 

 is fed them under proper conditions? 



People who have made a business of feeding animals say that 

 livestock pays from $1 to $1.50 for every bushel of corn fed and 

 for other feeds in proportion (not war prices) . From another 

 standpoint, the market price of feeds obtained by the farmer, 

 such as hay, oats, corn, barley, etc., ranges from % to 1% cents 

 a pound. How much does the farmer get for his farm animals 

 when he sells them? Hogs, cattle and sheep sold for slaughter 

 bring from 5 to 10 cents a pound live weight. Horses bring 

 from 10 to 30 cents a pound when sold for work purposes. 

 When any of these animals sell as pure-bred animals for breed- 

 ing purposes they may bring very much higher prices than 

 these. It is clear, then, that livestock offers the farmer a 

 better market for his feeds than do the feed markets. 



But why should the animal require 5 or more pounds of 

 feed to make 1 pound of gain in live weight? Why ask this 

 question? Is it not enough if the animal pays a good price 

 for all it eats? No! The important thing is not how much 

 one can get out of his business but what he can do to surpass 

 his neighbor, the grain farmer, and at the same time to 

 better the world, leaving his farm to his successor in a better 

 state of fertility than when he obtained it. 



The interesting part of all this, however, is that these 

 animals on the farm pay a good price for all they eat and then 

 turn right around and give a large part of it back in the form 

 of manure. This enables one to grow more grain and hay, to 

 feed more livestock, to buy more land, to grow more feed, to 

 feed more livestock, etc. 



