836 SHEEP INDUSTRY OF THE UNITED STATES 



The South Omaha market is a Nebraska institution of which the 

 State may well feel proud, as it gives the stock-raisers a home market 

 and has developed into one of the leading Western markets since its 

 establishment eight years ago. The following from Drovers' Journal 

 of August 25, 1891 , is a just tribute to this newly opened market for 

 the live stock of the West : 



From what was little more than a railroad feed yard on the main line of the Union 

 Pacific Railroad in 1885, has sprung, in the short space of six years, this vast busi- 

 ness with its four immense packing plants, which have a combined capacity of trans- 

 forming daily 2,000 cattle, 9,000 hogs, and 1,000 sheep into a meat product^ which the 

 twelve great trunk lines now centering here convey to all parts of the country north, 

 south, east, and west. And these same twelve railroads, which run through the 

 greatest corn and grazing lands of the world, afford unexcelled facilities for the 

 marketing of live stock at this point as well as for the distribution of cattle known 

 as stockers and feeders to any part of the four great corn States west of the Miss- 

 issippi, Nebraska, Iowa, Missouri, and Kansas. 



In a discussion of the sheep Industry before the Nebraska Improved 

 Stock Breeders' Association, Col. Savage, of the State Agricultural 

 College, in the course of his remarks, stated the following facts: 



I will say that I am acquainted with pretty nearly every stock-producer in the 

 State of Nebraska, both of cattle, hogs, and sheep, and I can say without fear of 

 contradiction that within the past five years those who have handled sheep have 

 made money, and good money ; and I can cite many instances of my own personal 

 knowledge where they have made in that time a clear profit of $10, 000 to $50, 000, and 

 I don't know of one cattle-feeder that has made one-half of the smallest amount I 

 have mentioned, while I can mention you the names of more men, good men, honest, 

 hard working men, that have been in the cattle business that have actually failed, 

 absolutely lost not only their profits, but all the money they had when they went 

 into the business, than there are men in this room; and I will venture further, that 

 there is not a gentleman that will mention the name of one man that has handled 

 sheep, and handled them reasonably well, within the same length of time that has 

 not made money on them. The time was in olden times when circumstances were 

 different from what they are now, when the law of supply and demand had some- 

 thing to do with our meat product when things were different * * * and they 

 did this or did that that would cause a very great fluctuation in the value of sheep. 

 But it is a fact that the man who has gone into sheep and staid with them year in 

 and year out, up and down, that man has been more successful, made more money, 

 and made it more easily than the cattlemen have. I have had some little experience 

 with sheep years ago, and with cattle all the time, and 1 contend that it requires 

 more patience, more practice, more experience, more ability, more brain power to take 

 care of a flock of sheep than it does to take care of a herd of cattle. It is more of a 

 study, and when the flock of sheep gets that attention there is 110 class or kind of 

 stock on the face of the globe that will pay greater returns year in and year out. 



In the following pages is given a brief review of the sheep industry 

 as it exists at the present time, together with the essential facts per- 

 taining to Nebraska sheep husbandry. The leading feature of the in- 

 dustry in this State is sheep-feeding, which has been investigated by 

 H. E. Heath, editor of the Nebraska Farmer, and his report is given 

 herewith. 



