Average 5-year cost and profits in finishing a steer in four corn-belt States, 1912-1917.-Allowance made for pork produced in connection with steers.

Cost of producting baby beef on 67 farms in Illinois, Iowa, Missouri, Nebraska,

Dr. SPILLMAN. Referring again to the western ranches: There were four ranches that bought steers and fed them, two in Oklahoma and two in Texas. The first of these (No. 3) paid $42.17 apiece for its steers and it cost $26.33 a head to keep them a year. Of that cost, $12.18 was for feed. They lost $2.64 a head on their steers.

Another Oklahoma ranch (No. 4) produces figures about the same; the loss on this ranch was $7 per steer. These are 5-year averages.

At a ranch in central Texas (No. 11) the figures are slightly different. They paid $40 for their steers and they spent only $16 in keeping them a year. The feed cost was only $2.76 a year, because they are farther south and they run their cattle on the range nearly the year around. They lost about $8 a head on the average for the 5-year period.

Ranch No. 10 is a very interesting case. If we could get all of our beef from ranches like this, we could have cheap beef. This ranch is located at the southern border of Texas. The owner buys Mexican cattle for a song, and frequently the Mexican plays the song on his mandolin. Then he pastures these cattle in southern Texas, where his total yearly expense for feed was $1.39 per head. He buys his steers at $30.22. This is a 5-year average. His total expense of keeping a steer is $9.62 a year, of which feed is $1.39. He made an average profit of $13.87 a head.

The CHAIRMAN. That must be the beef which the Willard uses. [Laughter.]

Dr. SPILLMAN. I could not tell you who eats that beef, Senator. I have other figures here, but the tenor is the same.

The CHAIRMAN. Any of those figures that you think are material and shed additional light on the subject you may add to your state

ment.

Dr. SPILLMAN. I will do that, Senator.

(The statements refered to by Dr. Spillman during his statement above have been inserted at appropriate places in the foregoing text.) The CHAIRMAN. If that is all upon the subjects in hand, the committee will now consider other matters before it.

(The committee thereupon proceeded to the consideration of other business.)

HEARING

BEFORE THE

COMMITTEE ON AGRICULTURE AND FORESTRY UNITED STATES SENATE

SIXTY-FIFTH CONGRESS

SECOND SESSION

ON

WHEAT AND BEEF CATTLE

THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 5, 1918

Printed for the use of the Committee on Agriculture and Forestry

PART 3

WASHINGTON
GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE

FOOD PRODUCTION ACT, 1919.

THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 5, 1918.

UNITED STATES SENATE,

SUBCOMMITTEE ON AGRICULTURE AND FORESTRY,

Washington, D. C.

The subcommittee met, pursuant to call, at 11 o'clock a. m., in the committee room, 326 Senate Office Building, Senator Thomas P. Gore presiding.

Present: Senators Gore (chairman), Norris, and France.

The CHAIRMAN. I have requested some gentlemen to come over from the Department of Agriculture to make statements on the subject of wheat and the cost of producing wheat. They have been kind enough to respond and are present, so we will proceed now to hear them. I want to make their statements a matter of record for use in the future, first hearing Mr. E. H. Thomson.

STATEMENT OF MR. E. H. THOMSON, ACTING CHIEF, OFFICE OF FARM MANAGEMENT, DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE.

The CHAIRMAN. Mr. Thomson, the members of the committee are very anxious to arrive, if they can, at some basis for determining the cost of producing wheat in the different sections of the country. We had Dr. Spillman here some days ago, and I have been gathering data from independent sources. I have been told that your department has made some study of the subject, and I was wondering if you could not shed a little light on it. It is a matter of general interest, and we want all the information we can get.

Mr. THOMSON. I have just this morning had an opportunity, Mr. Chairman, to look over Prof. Spillman's statement which was made before the committee last week and find that he covered the method of gathering the data. I take it you would like to have me explain as to the details of the data.

The CHAIRMAN. If you have looked over his statementMr. THOMSON. I just looked it over hurriedly this morning. The CHAIRMAN. I would be glad to have you supplement that in any way that you find yourself in a position to do; and if you confirm or challenge his method of arriving at his conclusions, or his conclusions, I shall be very glad to have you state your position.

Mr. THOMSON. I will say first that the determination of cost of production is very difficult; in fact, there is no absolute cost of production of any farm crop. When we make the statement that it costs, let us say, $1.75 to produce a bushel of wheat, we mean the cost for the majority of farmers; that is, near that figure.