15 



passed largely from the hands of general farmers to the large 

 feeders, but has also been abandoned to a considerable extent by 

 the latter. This tendency may be assigned to several causes: 

 (1) Prices of grain have been relatively higher than those of 

 cattle, and inducements to sell corn for cash at the elevator in- 

 stead of feeding have therefore been strong. (2) Land has 

 increased rapidly in value, and it is a prevalent idea that high- 

 priced land prohibits profitable cattle feeding. As a matter of 

 fact, the actual influence of this factor is usually insignificant as 

 compared with prices of corn and cattle in determining the profit 

 in feeding cattle. Increased value of farm lands has made it pos- 

 sible for many cattlemen to retire or to relinquish active manage- 

 ment of their farms to others less competent to engage profitably 

 in the business. (3) Opportunities for cattle feeding in vari- 

 ous portions of the West have attracted many successful cattle 

 feeders from the older sections of the corn belt. The opportun- 

 ities for exclusive grain growing in these newer regions have not 

 been equally attractive; hence there has been a tendency for a 

 large exodus of live-stock producers, while the grain growers 

 more generally have remained. (4) The farms in many of the 

 older, more prosperous communities have become occupied 

 largely by tenants. The prevailing system of short-term leases 

 and a lack of experience in feeding cattle on the part of tenants 

 have resulted in a marked decrease not only in cattle feeding but 

 in the production of live stock of all kinds. (5) The apparent 

 continuation of satisfactory crop yields in a large part of the 

 corn belt has resulted in a failure to appreciate the value and 

 necessity of manure. This fact has blinded most farmers to an 

 important factor in cattle feeding. (6) The fact that cattle, 

 ready for the feed lot, could be produced cheaper in the West 

 than in the corn -belt has caused the general farmer, who pro- 

 duced his own feeders and did not use enough cattle to pay to buy 

 them from the western country, to go out of the live-stock busi- 

 ness. That is, at the prevailing prices he could not compete in 

 the production of beef with the "big feeder," who was able to 

 place his cattle in the feed lot at a lower cost than they could be 

 produced in the corn belt. 



THE OUTLOOK 



In the light of conditions set forth in this and foregoing cir- 

 culars, a few general deductions may safely be drawn relative to 



