22 



cost $41.00 per head. This includes $35.00 for the original cost and 

 $6.00 for grazing. Thus it will be seen that they could be sold at 

 $4.10 per hundred or 90 cents per hundred cheaper in the fall than 

 in the spring without profit or loss. 



During nearly every summer there is a drought in some large 

 section of the country where the chief source of revenue is from 

 cattle which are carried to utilize grass. When such a drought oc- 

 curs over a large area of land, there is a shortage of feed so that 

 cattle which would otherwise have been carried through, are rushed 

 into market, making an over supply or glut which necessarily re- 

 duces the price of feeders. In other years there may be an abund- 

 ance of grass throughout the season which holds back the cattle 

 that would have come on the market regularly during the summer, 

 until late in the fall. 



The supply and price of corn in the fall of the year 



Supply and largely determine the price of feeders. In other words 



Price of Corn. a large crop of corn selling from 30 to 40 cents per 



bushel, necessarily means increased prices for feed- 

 ers, due to a strong demand. If the supply of corn is so short that 

 the price is advanced materially, there is a corresponding decrease 

 in the demand for feeders. At the same time there will be many 

 who had intended to feed their cattle that will ship them to market to 

 avoid the necessity of feeding high priced corn. This causes an abnor- 

 mal supply, which, taken with the decreased'demand, insures a large 

 supply at a low cost. When there is a large corn crop selling at 

 low figures, the small feeder who handled from one to two car loads 

 of cattle, is much more apt to venture into the cattle business than 

 he would with corn at 50 cents per bushel. When the corn crop is 

 not in marketable condition, there is a further incentive to feed 

 cattle in order to convert it into beef and pork. This may in some 

 instances cause so great a demand for feeding cattle as to over- 

 balance the depressing influence of high priced corn. It may be 

 generally stated that exceptionally high priced corn, in good mar- 

 ketable condition, causes a weak market, while a larger crop, or one 

 not in marketable condition, causes a strong market for feeders. 



The supply of roughage is another determining factor 



The Supply i n t he price of feeders. There is a demand for fleshy 



of steers suitable to go on full feed of corn quickly, in 



Roughage, seasons such as the past two years (1906-07) when 



clover has been a failure and a comparatively small 

 amount of rough feeds is available. This in a measure, causes the 

 thinner sorts of cattle to be discriminated against. If, on the other 

 hand, there is a large crop of clover and other roughage with a 

 small supply of grain, there is as great a demand for stockers as for 

 feeders. When the supply of both grain and roughage is abundant, 



