It was thought by many that our soils were becoming depleted of fer- 

 tility, that they had reached their maximum ability to produce and 

 henceforth the yield would be a little less each year until the final deple- 

 tion would seal the fate of the nation. Teaching better farming 

 methods did not fall on deaf ears. The farmer was ready to embrace 

 all practical suggestions which would increase his harvest. Barnyard 

 manures were utilized to a greater extent during the past year than 

 ever before. The value of clover was recognized, the benefits of rota- 

 tion were seen, deep plowing and more intensive tillage methods made 

 available dormant plant food; all combining to make the 1912 crop 

 the greatest in the history of this nation. In consequence thereof, 

 the price of the principal crops has very materially decreased, simply 

 in obedience to the law of supply and demand. The supply of corn 

 is nearly three-quarters of a billion bushels greater than it was in 1911, 

 and the price is practically one-half of what it was then. 



A\Tiat is the solution? What can be done to give the farmer a fair 

 return on his investment and for his labor regardless of how much he 

 may produce? There is but one answer; create a greater market, and 

 the farmer is the master of that proposition. The price of meat has 

 been increasing since the day the homeseeker began to encroach upon 

 the western range. The corn and grain farmers east of the plains 

 have not made up the deficit in stock caused by the restriction of those 

 vast and once free pastures. When our exports of meat dwindled, 

 Europe turned to South America for her supply of meat and for a time 

 the supply met the demand, but their free pastures like ours, are being 

 pre-empted by the new farmers. In view of the shortage of beef cattle 

 in the United States, which amounts to approximately fourteen million 

 head since 1907, and the growing scarcity in South America and the 

 constantly increasing demand for meat, the prospect for cheap meat is 

 very remote. It seems, therefore, that the demand will continue to 

 increase not only at home, but abroad ; hence it should require no argu- 

 ment to convince every farmer that it is to his interest to create a mar- 

 ket for his corn and other products by raising enough live-stock to 

 consume them, for by so doing he will surely be able to obtain a very 

 attractive price for his corn and other rough feeds, if scientific prin- 

 ciples and good judgment are observed in selecting breeds, giving the 

 animals proper care, and feeds that will make the best gains. 



Relation of Stock to Fertility 



To those who are not in sympathy with the stock-raising feature of 

 farming and are advocating that permanent fertility can be maintained 

 only by adopting other means, we will ask them to explain how it is 

 that the soils of many countries have been made rich and more pro- 

 ductive with each passing century by the use of organic matters as fer- 

 tilizers and by pursuing intensive farming methods. We admit that 



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