American Agriculturist 
THE FARM PAPER THAT PRINTS THE FARM NEWS 
“Agriculture is the Most Healthful, Most Useful and Most Noble Employment of Man .”—Washington 
Reg. U. S. Pat. Off. 
Established 1842 
Volume 114 
For the Week Ending September 13, 1924 
Number 11 
The Outlook for Purebred Live Stock 
Facts Indicate that Present is the Time to Lay Foundations 
T HE present situation in the purebred live 
stock industry is mixed. Producers of 
purebred hogs, beef cattle and draft 
horses, on the one hand, have . had an 
unsatisfactory market for their surplus breeding 
stock for the last two or three years. Business 
with breeders of purebred dairy cattle, on the 
other hand, is good enough to make them quite 
cheerful, while rank optimism rules among most 
of the purebred flock masters. 
These diverse conditions are due to the fact 
that periods of adversity and prosperity in pure- 
breds tend to parallel the broad 
ups and downs of market prices 
for the corresponding kinds of 
live stock, but with a lag of 
several months to a year or 
more. 
First, take the case of hogs. 
Prices of market hogs have been 
low compared with feed costs for 
the last year and a half. The 
incentive to produce better market 
hogs by increasing the tincture of 
improved blood in commercial 
herds has been lacking. Farmers 
have been curtailing production 
so that the number of purebred 
males wanted by them has been 
below normal and they have not 
been willing to pay good prices. 
Because of the temporary lack of 
profit in the purebred hog busi¬ 
ness, there have been few begin¬ 
ners added to the list of breeders. 
The established herds have not 
had the benefit of demand from 
such beginners for foundation 
stock. 
Under such conditions, bargain 
days in purebred hogs have been 
inevitable. Sale prices covering 
the five principal breeds compiled 
by the United States Department 
of Agriculture show a reduction in 1923 compared brood sow sales of next spring and, if 1925 returns 
By GILBERT GUSLER have prevailed among beef cattlemen in the 
corn belt and elsewhere. Farmers have not had 
periods in the purebred industry, is decidedly the funds to invest in purebred beef bulls for 
limited at the present time. improving commercial herds and also the number 
How rapidly such a change will take place no ~~ef beginners in the business of producing purebred 
one can say. Unfortunately, the poor corn crop beef cattle has been very small, 
in prospect which is prolonging the period of an Because of the slow demand, average prices 
unfavorable feeding ratio compared with hogs, have been at only a small premium and sometimes 
will also delay the time when growers will desire at no premium at all over market prices so that 
to expand production and the return of a broader a great number of purebred males, and some 
demand for purebred hogs. It seems probable females, have reached the open market as fat 
that enough change will take place to help the steers and heifers. 
The turn in the road seems to 
In this excellent article on “The Outlook for Purebred Live Stock,” Mr. Gusler 
might well have added that much of the future success of the business depends 
upon the interest taken by the younger generation. The boys’ and girls’ pure¬ 
bred calf clubs are doing much for the industry. In the picture above, Peggy 
Keith, a calf club girl, of Warrenton, Va., is shown with her sisters Julie, 
Betsy and Helen, and their foundation herd of young Guernseys. Peggy, at 
the extreme right, is holding Golden Rose of Dunnottar, whose dam is a grand¬ 
daughter of Murne Cowan, the world’s champion milk producer of the Guern¬ 
sey breed, the kind of purebred stock to start with. 
with 1922 of from 13 to 40 per cent, depending 
upon the age and sex. 
As adversity in the purebred hog business in 
the past has always been followed eventually by 
prosperity, it is logical to expect a similar sequence 
at present. Already, market prices for hogs have 
a normal corn crop, purebred hog sales next 
summer should be much more remunerative to 
the breeder than those held this summer. 
Good Time to Invest 
From the standpoint of the investor in pure- 
turned for the better as receipts have begun to bred hogs, it is doubtful if there will be another 
reflect the curtailment that has taken place in opportunity for _ several years to buy at such 
production of commercial hogs. There is every extremely low prices as those now prevailing, 
reason to believe that values will average The beef cattle business in the western and 
much higher in the next two years than in the southwestern range states, which are the great 
last two. breeding ground of commercial cattle, has been 
in the throes of liquidation since 1919. Each 
Good Prospects for Purebred Hogs year many cattlemen have been forced to close 
When higher prices for hogs begin to stimulate out their herds To pay overdue bank debts and 
increased production again, the demand for others have been able to survive only by dint of 
improved blood to use in commercial herds will the strictest economy. Such cases are showing 
increase and purebred values are bound to up this year, although the number of outfits that 
advance. Breeders probably will have marketed will have to be closed out promises to be smaller 
their surplus closely so that a moderate shortage than last year if market prices hold up. Under 
of breeding stock may appear. As hog growers such conditions of financial distress, the replace- 
get into easier financial circumstances, new ment of bulls has been neglected from necessity, 
breeders will come forward, men who desire to Where purchases have been made, a lower grade 
launch into the production of purebred hogs on of sires has been used than cattlemen would have 
their own account. Demand from this source, taken if their finances permitted, 
which is an important factor in all prosperity Similar conditions, although much less intense. 
have been reached, however. The 
range industry has passed the 
worst stage of readjustment and 
the status of the corn belt farmer 
has improved enough to increase 
his interest. Letters just re¬ 
ceived from the secretaries of 
the registry associations of the 
beef breeds indicate that the 
demand for bulls has increased. 
The fact that breeders have sold 
so closely via the steer market 
route has resulted in some strength¬ 
ening of prices. One secretary 
expresses a belief that this will 
be followed by a better demand * 
for females next year. Prices of 
both males and females are proba¬ 
bly at the lowest point they will 
reach in a long time. 
Some Hope for Horsemen 
The cycle of market prices in 
horses is longer than in other 
classes of live stock. The trend 
in this division has been down for 
practically a decade and prices of 
purebred draft horses have been 
unsatisfactory most of the time 
for several years. Competition 
from truck, tractor, and auto has 
been a new factor in the horse situation so 
that the depression has been unusually severe 
and prolonged. This competition will continue 
and will take the place of some of the power 
lost as horse production is curtailed. In con¬ 
sequence, such positive statements as in the 
case of beef cattle and hogs do not seem to be 
justified. But, there can be little doubt that a 
turning point for moderate improvement in pure¬ 
bred draft horses will be reached ultimately. 
Dairy Cattle in Favored Position 
Turning to the silvery side of the present 
purebred picture, the favorable markets for dairy 
productions, especially in comparison with many 
other farm commodities, have strengthened the 
interest in pure bred dairy cattle. The situation 
is most clearly shown by contrast with beef 
cattle. Prices of dairy purebreds in 1923, as 
compiled by the United States Department of 
Agriculture, averaged from 50 to 125 per cent 
higher than purebred beef cattle of the same age 
groups. 
Furthermore, the purebred dairy cattle busi¬ 
ness is still gathering steam. One dairy breed 
registry association writes that its business was 
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