might be classified as condensers of grains that man could 

 eat. Chickens are numerically the most important, but from 

 the standpoint of feed consumption and pounds of food pro- 

 duced, hogs are the most important. 



TABLE 3. NUMBERS OF LIVESTOCK 

 January 1, 1943 



* There is, of course, some overlapping. The dairy cows consume some grain. The hogs 

 eat some grass and grain by-products. The hens consume some ground alfalfa hay, meat scrap, 

 and grain by-products. 



The "condensers" or heavy grain-consumers, turn out 

 about 80 pounds of dry matter per year for each man, woman, 

 and child in the United States. The cattle and the sheep, the 

 "refiners," produce about 150 pounds of dry matter per 

 capita. 



Livestock Lags behind Crop Production 



A severe curtailment in crop production is followed by a 

 decline in the current production * of all livestock. The first 

 effect is always on the livestock for which the least feed re- 

 serves exist, beef cattle on the range. Hog production, of 

 course, is just a reflection of the reduction of the corn crop. 



1 Meat "production" as reported by the United States Department of 

 Agriculture includes all animals killed. To the layman, this is erroneously 

 assumed to be that produced for the year or its equivalent. When farmers are 

 liquidating their animals, this so-called production is greater than the actual 

 "current" production. Conversely, when farmers are holding back animals 

 to build up their herds, so-called production is less than the actual "current" 

 production. 



