SHEEP 



Wartime demands for meat have provided means for an orderly decline 

 in sheep numbers from the 1942 all-time peak of nearly 57 million head. 

 On January 1, 1944, there were not quite 52 million head of sheep in the 

 United States — about 5 percent fewer than at the beginning of 1941. 

 The January 1, 1945, number of 48 million sheep indicates that a reduc- 

 tion of 8 percent occurred during 1944. 



It may be noted that while the total number of sheep has declined 

 steadily during war years, the number of sheep and lambs in feed lots 

 January 1, 1945, was slightly above 1944. 



HORSES AND MULES 



Official records show that the number of horses and mules in the 

 United States reached its peak of 26,723,000 head in 1918. Since then, 

 their numbers have declined gradually. By 1941 there were only 

 14,136,000 head in the country, and the number has continued to fall at 

 the rate of about 3 percent a year. During the war, the greatest decrease 

 has been in the North Central Region. The shift from horses and mules 

 to mechanical power has made more feed available for milk, egg, and 

 meat production. 



FEED-GRAIN PRODUCTION 



Feed grain production during the first 3 years of the war failed to keep 

 pace with increased livestock and poultry production. While the number 

 of grain-consuming animal units on American farms in 1943-44 was 

 23 percent greater than in 1940-41, the production of feed grains in 1943 

 was only 15 percent above the 1940 production. 



Areas normally classed as feed-deficit areas increased livestock and 

 poultry production sharply, but grew only slightly more feed grain than 

 before the war. 



The Northeast Region, which normally imports 40 percent of its feed 

 grains from the Corn Belt, produced only 8.5 percent more feed grains 

 in 1942 than in 1940. In 1943, its feed grain production was actually 20 

 percent less than in 1940. Yet in 1943 this region's broiler production 

 was 53 percent and its pig crop was 68 percent greater than in 1941. The 

 over-all number of grain-consuming animal units in this region was 14 

 percent greater in the 1942-43 feeding year than in 1940-41. 



Similar comparisons could be made for other regions. In the East 

 Central Region, where livestock and poultry production was about 24 

 percent greater in the 1942-43 feeding year than in 1940-41, feed grain 

 production was up only about 12.5 percent. The Southern Region, with 

 about 20 percent more livestock and poultry, produced 5 percent less 

 feed grains. 



The 1942 production of feed grains in the North Central Region, on the 

 other hand, was 28 percent larger than in 1940. This compares with a 

 25 percent increase in livestock and poultry. The expansion in feed grain 

 production in the Western Region was considerably larger than that 

 region's increased requirements for livestock and poultry. 



In 1943-44, the North Central Region produced 68.3 percent of the 

 Nation's feed grain and 52.3 percent of the grain-consuming livestock and 

 poultry. The Southern Region produced 11.4 percent of the feed grain 

 and 17.5 percent of the animal units. The Western Region produced 

 11 percent of the feed grain and 14.7 percent of the total animal units. 

 Owing to the large amount of livestock on ranges of the Western Region, 

 their feed-grain-consuming animal units are considerably less than the 

 total animal units produced in this region. The East Central Region. 



