CHAPTER XXII 

 PRODUCTION OF BEEF CATTLE 



FACTORS that must be considered in deciding whether or 

 not beef cattle should be produced on a particular farm are 

 the prospects for a continued favorable market, sufficient 

 capital, and the character of the farm itself. 



Market demands. There are several reasons for the 

 belief that the demand for beef cattle will continue to be as 

 great as, or even greater than, at the outbreak of the Great 

 War. The outlook, as it appeared in 1914, has been summed 

 up by Professors Mumford and Hall, of the University of 

 Illinois, as follows: "The undeveloped state of cattle pro- 

 duction in proportion to the population and the area of the 

 United States, as compared with the condition of the indus- 

 try in older countries, justifies the expectation of an ultimate 

 extension and development of cattle raising in this country. 

 The rapid increase of population and the slower rate of in- 

 crease in number of cattle have rendered the export trade a 

 relatively insignificant factor; but with a large domestic 

 demand in proportion to the supply and limited competition 

 from abroad, the industry should be practically independent 

 of foreign trade. General market conditions are now and 

 promise to remain favorable to the producer, for he has a 

 domestic market as a regular outlet and a foreign market as 

 an influential regulator of prices and as an elastic consumer 

 of surplus." 



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