THE OUTLOOK FOR LIVE STOCK IN ILLINOIS 



H. W. MUM FORD, Professor of Animal Husbandry, and 

 Director of Live Stock Marketing, Illinois Agricultural Association 



N THE agricultural development of the corn belt of the 

 United States, Illinois early occupied a prominent place. 

 In this development, live-stock production played an im- 

 portant part. 



It is not my province to deal with the historical 

 phases of live-stock production in the state; but for the 

 purpose of obtaining a proper perspective of the outlook for the 

 industry in Illinois it may be pointed out very properly that Illinois 

 breeders and feeders have occupied for many years an important place 

 in live-stock affairs. In 1860 Illinois ranked third among the states 

 of the Union in the value of her live stock, in 1870 second, in 1880 

 first, and in 1900 dropped back to third place which position has 

 been maintained. 



The importance of live stock to the agriculture of a state, how- 

 ever, is not to be measured in numbers or even in value but rather 

 by the contribution that live stock has made to its agricultural 

 development. In the development of agricultural policies in the past 

 too little consideration has been given to the various factors which 

 have a direct bearing upon the development of particular phases of 

 agricultural production, such as suitability of soil and climate, avail- 

 able markets, labor supply, likes and dislikes of farmers themselves, 

 and in some instances, as in meat and milk production, the inter- 

 dependence upon other phases of agricultural production. 



Perhaps the most significant and encouraging sign in connection 

 with live-stock production in the state of Illinois is the tendency to 

 consider it in its national and even international aspects and to rec- 

 ognize it in its relation to the farm business as a whole and not as a 

 more or less separate and independent unit of the farm business. 

 The more persistently these considerations are kept in mind, the 

 more wisely and more permanently will the animal industry of the 

 state be developed and guided into the most logical and profitable 

 direction. 



FACTORS AFFECTING THE FUTURE OF LIVE-STOCK PRODUCTION 

 IN ILLINOIS 



Most of the conditions that led to the prominence of live-stock 

 production in Illinois in the past will continue to be determining 



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