May, 1925] 



FARM PRODUCTION IN CHESHIRE COUNTY 



47 



Table XVI. — Average pnccs receiped by farmers for Iwestock during year ending 



September 30, 1924- 



Beef cattle 



Dairy cows 



Dairy heifers .... 

 Other dairy cattle 



Veal 



Sows 



Fall pigs 



Spring pigs 



Other hogs 



Lambs 



Ewes 



Rams 



Production. 



The production of meat animals is not an important farm enterprise, as 

 shown in Table XXI. Dairy cattle are the principal livestock kept. Those 

 classed as beef cattle are in most cases dual-purpose cows that are not 

 l)eing milked; a few of them are beef animals. The sheep replace cattle 

 in the use of pasture and often utilize otherwise waste land. Hogs are 

 kept to consume waste feed and provide meat for home use. The farmers 

 realize that they cannot compete with the West in the production of meat 

 animals on marketable feeds. They must, therefore, produce meat as a 

 side-line on a waste-feed and home-consumption basis. 



An inventory taken October 1, 1923 and 1924, shows a decrease in all 

 kinds of livestock. The slight increase in beef cattle, shown in the fol- 

 lowing figures, is in all probability merely a shifting in classification from 

 dairy cattle to beef. The total number of cattle declined. 



October 1, 1923. October 1, 1924- 



Dairy cattle, number 14,026 13,790 



Beef cattle, number 531 542 



Hogs, number 2,118 1,806 



Sheep, number 2,350 2,012 



On most farms in the county, the dairy cow is the best market for the 

 hay and roughage grown and for the utilization of the pasture. Under 

 some circumstances, however, it is advisable to keep other livestock. 



The beef animal is mainly a by-product of the dairy industry and need 

 not be considered separately. When prices of dairy products are low, 

 some of the animals are fattened and sold as beef. 



Sheep are kept on a few farms in the county in flocks of from 1 to 300. 

 They require very little care except at lambing time, and make better use 

 of poor pastures than do cattle. Many acres of rough pasture land are 

 now lying idle in the county, because too poor for cattle, which would 

 make suitable pasture for sheep. 



The farmer, however, who spends his full time working on the place 

 cannot afford to make sheep his main form of livestock. Sheep are 

 adapted to an extensive sj^stem of farming, and most of the farms in this 



