HEPPNEH GAZETTE-TIMES. Thundery. MoT 1. 1969
Research Results Reported
At Beef Cattle Field Day
Ranee and cropland Improve
ments, plus Improved livestock
management can add up to
three times the beef output on
a given land area, an Oregon
State University researcher re
vealed recently.
W. A. Sawyer, superintendent
of the Squaw Butte Experiment
Station, reported to more than
200 ranchers and beef cattle in
dustry personnel attending; the
stations annual field day.
"Such practice as seeding
range to crested wheatgrass,
spraving to control sagebrush,
use of feed supplements, and
fertilizing to boost meadow hay
yields have more than tripled
saleable beef production on the
Station during the past 15 years
with no Increase in land area,"
Sawyer said.
R. J. Raleigh. OSU animal nu
trltionlst, reported that supple
menting cattle on the range can
provide ranchers a good return.
"Our studies," he said, "show
that with supplemental feeding
of barley and cottonseed meal,
yearling steers can be brought
to acceptable slaughter grade
right on the range for total feed
costs of less than 9c per pound."
Results of a fall calving pro
gram, now being studied at the
Station, were discussed by H. A.
Turner, assistant animal scien
tist. "Fall calving," he said,
"looks extremely promising for
ranchers. Half of the station
herd is now on this program,
and we have found that the
higher weaning weights of fall
calves more than pay for the
extra feed required."
Raleigh also discussed the
relative merits of alfalfa and
meadow hay, and indicated that
alfalfa hay appears to have
some advantages particularly
with animals under production
pressure.
"However," he noted, "alfalfa
can cause severe bloat problems.
And although a sure way to pre
vent bloating has not yet been
developed, we have found that
It helps greatly to make sure
that animals have a good sup
ply of feed available at all
times."
During the field day, ranch
ers also toured Section 5, win
tering quarters for the Station's
experimental beef herd. Among
the topics discussed by OSU re
searchers during the tour were:
creep feed for fall calves; pro
tein and energy requirements
for fall-calving cows; the rela
tive value of grain and hay in
relation to size of animal; the
results of several digestibility
studies; and the use of biuret
and urea to replace protein in
the growing ration.
Ranchers can obtain a detail
ed report on much of the re
search now in progress at the
Squaw Butte Station from the
Station headquarters in Burns.
Forest Service
Prepares to Sell
Additional Timber
Pacific Northwest Region Na
tional Forests will sell an ad
ditional 410 million board feet
of timber in the next 14 months,
if Coneress approves money for
expanded timber harvest on fed
eral lands.
Regional Forester Charles A.
Connaughton said the expand
ed program will be launched
as soon as there Is reasonable
indication Congress will approve
supplemental funds to process
and administer timber sales
over and above regular pro
grams.
The White House has an
nounced that President Nixon Is
asking Congress for sufficient
money to cut an additional 1.1
billion board feet of timber irom
federal lands during the sext 15
months in a move to increase
timber supplies and ease rising
lumber prices. Agriculture Sec
retary Clifford Hardin said the
bulk of 910 million board feet
additional cut assigned to the
Forest Service would come from
the Pacific Northwest and Rocky
Mountain Regions.
National Forests In Oregon
and Washington would be called
upon to sell an additional 64
million board feet by the end
of Fiscal Year 1969 (June 30),
nd an additional 346 million
board feet in Fiscal Year 1970,
Regional Forester Connaughton
reported. Additional sales would
largely Involve salvage and
thinning volumes, he indicated.
The expanded sale program
would affect all National For
ests in the Region, except the
Siuslaw National Forest, where
the regular timber sale program
already includes salvage and
thinning sales.
Quotas are being assigned to
the National Forests, with the
reservation that necessary ad
ditional money and manpower
will be forthcoming, Connaugh
ton said. Quota for the Umatil
la National Forest for the bal
ance of 1969 is 5,800,000 board
feet, and for 1970, 26,000,000
board feet.
in
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GAZETTE-TIMES OFFICE
BOX 337 HEPPNER
Higher Meat Price,
Stabilized Wheat
Seen This Year
Higher meat prices and stab
ilized prices for wheat products
can be expected this year, says
S. C. Marks, Oregon State Uni
versity Extension economist.
In general, Marks says, cattle
ranchers will continue to get
better prices than they did lust
year and meat will be costlier
for both the processor and the
housewife.
But he expects the lower
wheat prices will help stabilize
the cost of bread.
He savs that meat animals
will continue to trade well be
cause of the strong demand for
meat at the supermarket. And
there Is only a slight possibility
of some respite from the higher
meat prices later this spring as
farmers market seasonally more
cattle but fewer hogs.
Beef Demand Off
Beef steaks and roasts are
short of the strong demand even
though the nation's farmers
have more beef cattle than ev
er before. But Oregon Is produc
ing less beef, due to last years
severe drought, he noted. Ore-
gons cattle population dropped
slightly last year after holding
stable duing the preceding two
years. The state's cattle popula
tion was estimated at 1,577,000
head. There was a one per cent
decrease in beef cattle and a
three per cent drop in dairy cattle.
Sheep and lambs are scarce
Oregon this year, Marks
points out in the circular be
cause their number has been de
clining steadily during the past
years. Lambs are so scarce
that prices of Oregon slaughter
and feeder lambs now are high
er than at any time since 1951.
The local market situation
was aggravated in Oregon by
the heavy losses of lambs dur
ing January's heavy snowfall
Nearly 38,000 sheep and lambs
died from exposure and starva
tion, it is estimated. Stock sheep
now number only 483,000 head
This is a 99-year low and 3 per
cent less than a year ago. Stock
sheep in the United States are
more scarce now than at any
previous time since records were
started 102 years ago.
Pork to be Plentiful
Hog prices usually decline
from late winter to mid-spring,
Marks said, but this year at last
appears to be an exception, des
pite the fact farmers are send
ing 4 to 5 per cent more hogs
to packing plants this year.
However, if farmers continue to
increase hog production as they
have each year since 1965 pork
will become increasingly more
plentiful this fall.
If this happens and hog-feed
price ratios become less favor
able, there may be only a small
Increase in the market supply of
hogs a year from now.
Wheat surpluses are building
up again, Marks says, thanks to
the three consecutive record
world bread grain crops. The in
creased production exceeds ef
fective demand and exporting
countries have engaged in an
other wheat price war. Current
cash wheat prices are 4 to 5
cents below the minimum spec
ified in the International Grains
Arrangement that went into ef
fect last July.
Northwest growers will har
vest less wheat acreage this
year, Marks said, following the
national trend. But this will not
solve the wheat export problem
unless foreign wheat output is
brought into balance with ef
fective demand.
Copies of the Outlook circular
are available at County Exten
sion offices.
Equation Predicts Beef Cutability Near Actual Yield
A new, more precise equation
for predicting the "cutability" of
beet carcasses has been worked
out bv researchers at the Ore
gon State University meat scl
ence laboratory.
W. II. Kennick reports that
the equation will predict with
In only 2.3 per cent the actual
yield of trimmed retail cuts
from 95 out of 100 beef carcass
es. Prediction methods presently
In use come within about 5 per
cent of actual v eld.
Among other things, the new
equation will help the beef cat
tie industry produce animals
with carcasses of superior cut
ability.
'This Is beneficial all the way
rrom the cattle ranch to the din
ing table," Kennick points out.
"It not only costs more to pro
duce and market a "wastey' an
imal. It also costs more to pur
chase the retail cuts such an
animal yields."
In most cases, the beef car
casses used to develop present
prediction methods were quite
variable in weight and finish.
"However," Kennick notes, "it
seemed likely that the Influ
ence of various carcass charac
teristics upon cutability would
be different with more uniform
croups of cattle, such as are
being marketed today."
To work out the new eo.ua
tlon, the OSU researchers used
4J highly uniform steers that
had been finished out to an
average slaughter weight of
1.050 pounds. Following slaugh
ter and proper aging, the left
side of each carcass was cut in
to trimmed retail cuts.
Kennick explains. "The Infor
mation obtained on 18 major
variables of each steer for In
stance cold carcass weight, fat
thickness and rib-eye area
was then fed Into a computer,
Next, what is known as a step
wise multiple linear regression
analysis was run on all this
information."
In this type of analysis, the
computer chooses the variable
with the greatest amount of in
fluence on what Is to be pre
dicted and develops an equa
tion based on that variable.
Then. In succession, each pro
gressively less influential vari
able Is considered, until all the
variables are accounted for.
"Without the computer." Ken
nick notes. "It would have been
virtually impossible to make the
many millions of calculations
involved In developing the
equation."
After studying the results of
this analysis, the osu researcn
era chose six variables which
would be the easiest and most
practical to obtain In a typical
carcass evaluation.
These Included cold carcass
weleht. conformation score, rib
eve area, fat thickness, round
weight and flank weight. From
a further computer analysis of
these variables, the new cuta
bility equation was achieved.
Prices of Cattle
Moving Upward
At the beginning of 1969. It
was predicted that prices of cat
tle would continue about the
same as the year previous. What
this prediction meant to the pro
ducer was again, another year
of little or no profit However,
the "prophets of no profit" were,
thank goodness, in error. Prices
of cattle in Oregon and through
out the nation continued to
move upward starting in Feb
ruary and as of April 7, Chicago
steer price was topping out at
$35, the highest price in the
cattle business since the early
1950's.
Commenting on the current
market trend, Denny Jones, Ore
gon Cattlemen's Association
president, "Today's cattle price
is very heartening to many pro
ducers who have been losing
money on their operation for
well over a decade. The consu
mer should understand that to
day's beef prices are not high.
They reflect a proper and well
adjusted profit range for the
cattle producer and feeder. It's
about time that those of us in
the cattle business start realiz
ing a fair profit margin for a
commodity so essential and so
much in demand for the con
suming public, as is beef."
The OCA indicated that one
of the reasons the market is
being pushed upward is the
growing scarcity of replace
ments and the realization that
the recent hard winter has re
sulted in a high feedlot death
loss as well as losses in cattle
weights, which will be hard to
regain. However, all indications
are that the beef boom, in cur
rent high prices and consumer
demand, will continue.
Light Wheat Crop
Forecast in Valley,
May Cut State Yield
An Oregon winter wheat crop
of 25,542,000 bushels is forecast
as of April 1, according to the
Oregon Crop and Livestock Re-
porting Service. A crop this size
compar.-s with 28,706,000 bush
els of winter wheat produced in
1967. Acreage seeded last fall
was 21 percent below a year
earlier.
Moisture conditions are good
throughout the state. Winter loss
has been at a minimum in east
ern areas, However stands are
onlv fair in many Willamette
Valley areas, due in part to ex
cess winter moisture. Some re
seeding in this section has been
necessary, ueveiopmeni was re
tarded earlier, but recent warm
temperatures have stimulated
growth.
This April 1 forecast is based
on grower reports on the condit
ion of the crop as of that date.
Condition was reported at 91, 4
points above April 1 last year.
The highest condition was report
ed from eastern Oregon counties
and the lowest from Willamette
Valley areas.
The winter wheat crop in the
Pacific Northwest (Oregon,
Washington and Idaho) is fore
cast at 158,558,000 bushels, com
pared with 180,446,000 bushels
in 1968.
The U. S. winter wreat crop
is forecast at 1,139,825,000 bush
els, down 7 percent from the
1228.638.000 produced in 1968.
Kansas, with an increase of 28,
375,000 bushels over 1968, is the
only "major" wheat state with
an increase in production fore
cast this year.
CROP-WEATHER
SUMMARY
Morrow County
(For week ending April 25, 1969)
Soli moisture supply ade
quate. Plowing for summer
fallow 50 completed. Spotty
growth in grain in tome areas
but outlook generally faror
able. Calving and lambing
nearly completed. Most live
stock turned out Some annu
al grasses heading. Perennial
grasses progressing. Stock
water excellent
Jack Melland traveled to La
Grande early this week for
meetings on Monday and Tues
day with the Oregon State Game
Commission.
Meeting Slated
By Recovery, Inc.
The public is invited to at
tend a Recovery, Inc., Demon
stration Panel on Saturday, May
3, at 7 p.rru, to be held in the
parish hall of St Mary's Church,
800 S. E. Court. Pendleton.
Recovery, Inc., is a non-profit
organization which offers a pro
ven system of self-help after
care to prevent cnronicny in
nervous patients and relapses in
former mental patients.
The national organization of
Recovery. Inc.. is In Its Sina
year and, at present, there are
17 groups throughout the state
of Oregon.
The Pendleton group was
formed in January of this year
and meets each Tuesday at the
Pendleton Neighborhood Center
at S. W. 5th & Dorion. For more
information write Recovery, Inc.,
316 N. W. 7th, Pendleton, or call
Joan Pfaff 276 0829.
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PENDLETON
Packwood Sponsors
Irrigation Bill
Senator Bob Packwood has an
nounced co-sponsorship of a bill
which will change a 67-year-old
law "that is out of step with
the times."
The bill, Packwood said,
would Increase from 160 to 640,
the number of acres ior which
a farmer may obtain irrigation
water under a reclamation law
passed in 1902.
"The 160-acre limitation is
unrealistic, uneconomic, unjust
and obsolete today," Packwood
said. "The original 160-acre lim
itation was enacted 67 years ago
in an apparent effort to follow
the philosophy of the Homestead
Act. That Act was designed to
encourage family settlement on
public lands.
"But times have changed dra
matically since then. In fact,
the acreace limitation which
was intended to provide certain
benefits for the so-called fam
ily size farm is now having just
the opposite effect in many
cases. Today it forces individu
al farmers to engage in limited
operations which, in the world
of today's modern agriculture
are inefficient and uneconomic,
perpetuate 'subsistence farm
ing.' and Impede businesslike
growth.
"Because of the heavy need
for capital investment for cost
ly machinery and the Increased
costs of farm labor, the cost per
acre of operating a farm unit
of 160 acres is much higher than
for larger units.
"The result is that the costs
to the small farmer are higher,
and he, in turn must pass along
these increases to the consumer."
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