THE IRRIGATION AGE. 



121 



LIVE STOCK IN AGRICULTURE 



Reasons Why Animal Husbandry Is Essential in All Sound Systems of Farming. 



Seven reasons why the keeping of live stock is 

 essential to sound agriculture are set forth in an 

 article by George M. Rommel in the 1916 Yearbook 

 of the U. S. Department of Agriculture. Briefly, 

 Mr. Rommel's seven reasons are the maintenance of 

 soil fertility, the utilization of raw material, the 

 need of motive power on the farm, cash income, 

 the added attractiveness of a farm on which there 

 is .live stock, the training in business sense obtained 

 by keeping animals, and better and more economi- 

 cal living for the farm family. 



To maintain soil fertility, says Mr. Rommel, 

 humus is necessary. This can be obtained from two 

 sources green crops plowed under, or barnyard 

 manure. When green crops are plowed under, how- 

 ever, there is no direct revenue from them. By 

 feeding these crops to live stock, valuable products 

 that can be exchanged for cash are obtained. At 

 the same time the manure produced by the animals 

 retains a very large percentage of the fertilizing 

 value of the feed. For this reason it is more eco- 

 nomical to feed than to plow under without feeding, 

 and the most practical source of humus is stable 

 manure. 



The farmer with live stock is from one point 

 of view a manufacturer. He takes lean, unfinished 

 animals and grain or forage as his raw materials 

 and by combining them produces beef, mutton, pork, 

 and dairy products. Like all manufacturing, this 

 process must be conducted with skill and intelli- 

 gence if it is to pay, but if the farmer possesses 

 these qualities he derives a larger profit than he 

 could obtain through the sale of crops and animals 

 in the raw state. Furthermore there are many 

 products on the farm which bring little or nothing 

 on the market. They can, however, by skillful 

 management be made to assist in the production of 

 meat. The thrifty farmer makes use in this way 

 of all roughage on his farm that would otherwise 

 be unsalable. The cornstalks go into the silo or 

 into the shock as cut fodder. The straw and coarse 

 hay are utilized to the last unit of energy value. 

 Land that cannot produce marketable crops is made 

 to yield a certain amount of sustenance for hogs 

 and sheep. 



While in cities and factories, mechanical power 

 is coming into more and more general use, on the 



farms of the country the horse and the mule are 

 still the chief reliance. The proper breeding, main- 

 tenance, and employment of these animal engines 

 is a problem of the greatest importance to the 

 farmer. 



As a source of cash income, the keeping of live 

 stock in many sections is what is known as a spe- 

 cialty business. In dairy districts it is the main 

 activity, and every phase of farm management is 

 determined by its interests. Where the principal 

 purpose of live stock feeding, however, is to main- 

 tain soil fertility, farms which rely on live stock 

 for the main source of their income will tend to 

 become breeding centers for purebred animals- to 

 be distributed through the surrounding country for 

 breeding purposes on those farms on which only a 

 limited amount of live stock is kept. The production 

 of purebred animals is a highly specialized business, 

 and only the most skilled animal husbandmen can 

 make a success of it. 



The fifth function which Mr. Rommel ascribes 

 to live stock on the farm is not so directly connected 

 with problems of income but it is nevertheless of 

 vital importance. Experience has shown that noth- 

 ing tends more strongly to create and maintain an 

 interest in farm life among boys and girls than the 

 care of animals. It is essential to the continued 

 prosperity of this country that young people should 

 be encouraged to make farming their vocation in 

 life. Those who have devoted themselves to this 

 work have found that among their most effective 

 aids are the poultry, calf and pig clubs. 



To the grown farmer the keeping of live stock 

 is indirectly of value because its successful produc- 

 tion requires the adoption of systematic, business- 

 like and sanitary methods. No kind of farming, 

 says the author, calls for more business sense than 

 live stock farming. 



That the neglect of live stock results in increas- 

 ing the cost of living on the farm and in lowering 

 the standard of that living is a fact well known to 

 all agricultural authorities. For example, the an- 

 nual meat bill of farmers for some states is enor- 

 mous. The meat purchases are made largely on 

 credit, and the proceeds of the year's crop are mostly 

 consumed in meeting debts incurred during its pro- 

 duction. This practice is obviously antagonistic 

 to thrift and proper prosperity. 



ARE PRICES HIGH? 



Collin Campbell, Director Editorial Bureau, Portland Cement Association 



Everybody should buy a Liberty bond. 



Was there ever a more favorable time to build 

 a silo, to buy a tractor, to build permanent high- 

 ways? 



Now is the time to exchange your farm produce 

 for these necessities. 



By doing this, capital will be created and placed 

 in circulation. Prosperity will be stimulated, labor 

 kept employed at good wages. The dollar will be 

 kept rolling and more of our citizens enabled to 

 perform their patriotic duty to BUY LIBERTY 

 BONDS. 



Let us keep on making, selling, transporting 

 and building. 



At prices of a year ago, it would have taken 50 

 bushels of wheat to buy a Liberty bond ; today, one 

 can be bought for 25 bushels. 



Last year, a farmer could build a silo for the 

 price of 800 bushels of corn ; today he can build 

 the same one for the price of 400 bushels. 



Last year it cost a community the price of 

 16,000 bushels of wheat to build a mile of permanent 

 highway ; today a mile can be built for 8,000 bushels. 



