16 OREGON FARMER 



and south central portions; in other words, they are most abundant 

 in the range districts. In the south central portion, beef cattle is 

 very decidedly the dominant industry. Harney county, for example, 

 has 4000 people and 100,000 cattle or 25 cattle per capita. Wisconsin 

 claims to be a great dairy state and has recently been featuring the 

 fact that she has one cow for every two inhabitants. 



The cattle industry in Oregon may be divided into four divisions; 

 the range cattle industry; the raising of cattle on the grain and hay 

 farms; the fattening of beef on alfalfa; and the raising of pure bred 

 cattle. 



Of these industries the range industry is by far the most important. 

 The bulk of the cattle in Oregon are run on the Government ranges 

 in much the same manner as the sheep. In the winter they are 

 brought down on the low land to graze the grass which has been 

 left from summer and in addition are given some hay. The range 

 men are quite uniform in stating that it takes just about one ton 

 of hay to winter a beef cow or steer. In summer these cattle are 

 allowed to run out on the open ranges. In some cases they run on 

 the lower and dryer hills which are not suitable for sheep raising. 

 Many, however, are run on the forest reserves in the Blue Mountains. 

 The cattle men own some land which they use for headquarters 

 and where they raise hay and feed for winter. Many of them also 

 own considerable areas of range land, especially for winter use. 

 Very few own any considerable portion of the land which they use 

 in the summer time. The size of the cattle men's holdings varies 

 from thousands of acres of land and thousands of cattle down to 

 the little ranch and a few cows. The great majority, however, of 

 the smaller class own perhaps a few hundred acres of land, only a 

 small portion of which is tillable and of any particular value, and 

 from 100 to 400 head of cattle. The Blue Mountain district is 

 particularly the home of the small cattle man. As with sheep it 

 requires rather more capital to start up in the cattle business than 

 on a small general farm, yet $10,000 makes a good start. 



The grain and hay farmers in the irrigated valleys in Eastern 

 Oregon, particularly in the Blue Mountain section very commonly 

 raise a few cattle as a side issue. They will have on these farms 

 from 25 to 100 head which they will winter on the meadows, stubble 

 fields, and straw stacks, supplemented with a little alfalfa or clover 

 hay. In the summer time these cattle are put out on the hills, on 

 the ranges, or on privately owned pastures. They are then given 

 little attention through the summer; the owner in the meantime 

 devoting his time to the raising of grain and hay. In the fall they 

 are brought down again and wintered as has been outlined. This 

 method of handling is not adaptable to large numbers but is quite 

 profitable as a side issue to general farming. 



The fattening of beef cattle in the winter time is confined entirely 

 to the irrigated alfalfa districts. The practice in these localities 

 is very uniform and the process quite simple. The steers are brought 

 in in the fall, generally at weights from 1000 to 1100 pounds and put 



