MEDFORD (OREGON) MAIL TRIBUNE THREE
Livestock, Poyfay Met
Moflfoim Dim
Friday. April 19, 1957
Aire
Enterprizes Bring
In 30 Per Cent of
Agricultural Income
(Editor's note: How is agriculture doing in Jackson
county? What is its future? How does it stack up as com
pared to the past? What are the major items of income?
(The following is one of a series of six articles, prepared
Ly the Mail Tribune in cooperation with the county agricul
tural extension office and others, in an attempt to answer
these questions'.)
Between 30 and 35 per cent
of the annual agricultural in
come in Jackson county comes
from livestock and poultry en
. terprises.
Last year. Income from these
totaled $5,901,010. Of this, $2,
651,000 came from dairy enter
prises: $2,042,050 from beef cat
. tie; $268,260 from sheep, $76,
A600 from swine; $101,400 from
miscellaneous livestock (includ
ing rabbits, goats and bees);
and $727,700 from poultry.
In the last 35 years, the local
livestock and poultry picture has
experienced as much overall
change as most phases of agri
culture, and more than some,
Marbpet variations and improved
management have , been instru
mental in bringing about these
changes.' This can be well illus
trated by the case of the dairy
Industry.
First Purebred' Cattle
The late W. C. Myer. whose
greaVgrandson, John Billings,
now resides in Ashland, drove
the lirst purebred cattle, a herd
of Jerseys, to Jackson countv in
the 1860's. He imported the ani
mals from Jersey island, off the
coast of England, and from the
east coast of the United States.
By 1920, there were about 3,765
producing cows here.
Until about 15 years ago,
Jerseys and Guernseys were the
dominant breeds of dairy cat
tle. Milk from these cows was
high in butterfat content. But
terfat was in great demand for
such products as butter, ice
cream and cheese. Cheese fac
tories were in full operation at
Eagle Point, Central Point, Med
ford and Ashland, and some but
terfat was shipped to California
markets.
Then, with the advent of but
ter substitutes and popularity
of low-fat foods, consumer de--mand
for butterfat products de
' creased. Several local cream
eries closed down completely.
Dairymen shifted their atten
tion, to Holsteins, which produce
more fluid milk and less butter
fat. Holsteins are still the dominant-
breed here
Strong Market
The market for Jackson coun
ty milk is considered strong,
especially in Eugene and Rose
burg, where about 120,000
pounds are being shipped daily.
Ten years ago, no milk was be
inz shipped out of the county.
..This might seem strange in view'
of the fact that there are now
about 9,500 producing cows
here, as compared with about
13,000 in 1946 and 18,586 in
1935.
Although there are fewer
cows now, individual production
is higher. Earle Jossy, county
agriculture agent, lists the fol
lowing reasons for the current
production increase:
1. Dairymen are using feed
ing methods designed to obtain
higher milk production.
2. The Dairy Herd Improve
ment association has helped de
termine which cows are not pro
ducing profitably and should be
culled from the herd by the
owner.
Production Records
3. Dairymen are making use
of cost and production records
in a more efficient manner than
ever before.
4. Artificial breeding is being
used to good advantage to pro
duce high quality cattle.
Beef cattle, totaling about
19,000, far outnumber dairy
cattle here. Yet, gross returns
from beef cattle are lower than
returns from the same number
of dairy cattle. This is because
the dairyman sells much more
labor with his products.
Farms which will support
less than 100 cattle will come
nearer supporting a family if
dairy cattle are kept. Farms
with room for 100 or more cat
tle will make satisfactory re
turns with beef.
One-year-old calves represent
most of the beef sales in this
area. Cattlemen have found sell
ing young animals is more econ
omical than paying long-term
feed costs.
Shift in 10 Years
Jossy pointed out there has
been a shift in the last 10 years
in methods of selling beef ani
mals- Local cattlemen previous
ly sold many of their animals
to representatives of large com
panies who would travel to in
dividual cattle ranches. In the
last 10 years, however, they
have made more use of cattle
auctions in Medford and Phoe
nix. Most cattle shipped from Jack
son county are transported by
truck, though a few are shipped
by rail. Rail shipments of cattle
have significantly decreased in
the last 25 years. Jossy says this
is because trucking is more con
venient and rates are lower in
many cases. When cattle are
shipped by rail, they must be
transported by truck from the
tram to their destination. Truck
shipments from the point of ori
gin to the destination cuts out
this need for additional handling.
Marketing Is considered the
number one problem facing the
beef industry today. The retail
value of meat consumed nation
ally showed a decrease in 1955
and 1956, and bears a lower re
lation to consumer's income than
it did several years ago. Thus,
the beef cattle sub-committee of
the county agricultural council
(as well as the beef industry
throughout the nation) is en
couraging stronger advertising
and promotion campaigns in
order to increase consumer pur
chases of beef.
Cross-B reeding
Most of the beef cattle here
were developed by cross-breed
ing short horn dairy cows with
Herefords. Eventually, this re
sulted in development of good
Hereford cattle. Jossy says Jack
son county 4-H club members
have done much to improve beef
steer quality in the last 15 years
through effects of county and
state fair competition.
In 1920, there were an esti
mated 10,278 beef cattle in the
county. In 1946, there were an
estimated 10,000. During the
last 10 years, this figure has al
most doubled.
Sheep came to western Ore
gon in the last 30 years and this
enterprise locally has shown
somewhat of a decline recently.
In 1920, there were an. estimat
ed 20,267 sheep; in 1946, there
were about 9,000; and in 1956,
there were about 7,000-
Sheep are grown here mostly
for meat and Jossy says wool
sales are regarded as a bonus.
Small farm flocks are recom
mended now, largely because
they are able to utilize feed
which might otherwise be wast
ed or marketed inefficiently.
Producers of sheep list their
major problems as marketing,
parasites and disease, and pred
ators and dogs. Residents of
Jackson county eat comparative
ly little lamb. This necessitates
shipment of lambs to San Fran
cisco or other markets. High
freight rates make shipment of
less than a truckload of lambs
unprofitable.
Stomach worms, liver fluke
and white muscle are regarded
as the most serious sheep dis-'
eases, although growers who fol
low recommended disease con
trol .procedures have not suf
fered great losses. Sheep grow
ers are not alone in seeking bet
ter dog and predatory animal
control. They are now urging
higher bounties or hiring of ad
ditional professional trappers to
control the coyotes.
Swine Growing
Jackson county has never
been a major swine growing
area, according to Jossy. "Swine
rank first in market instabil
ity," Jossy said, "And the swine
market is subject to sudden,
drastic changes."
In 1920. there were 11,827
swine being raised here; in 1946
there were 5,300; and by 1956,
there were only about 2,700
Swine need lots of grain or
similar feed, Jossy said. Pro
duction of grain is currently lim
ited here and growers must im
port it. Consequently, high ship
ping costs make swine growing
impractical unless waste pro
ducts can be used for feed.
Miscellaneous livestock are re
garded as relatively unimport
ant in this area, Jossy comment
ed. There are about 5,000 rab
bits in the county now- Rabbit
production was conducted on a
larger scale at one time, but
they require expensive feed and
returns are not sufficient to war
rant expanded production.
The future in goat raising also
seems limited. There are about
1,100 goats here now, compared
with about 2,000 in 1946 and
none in 1920. The goat commit
tee of the county agricultural
council stated "The market for
goat milk is not good in Jack
son county. Growing angoras for
production of mohair has not
proved to be very successful.
Therefore, the committee recom
mends growing of goats be con
fined for the most part to use
in clearing brush or furnishing
milk for the family on small
farms."
Bee Production
Bee production is a small but
fairly important industry, Jossy
noted. There is a large number
of beekeepers in the county, in
cluding about five or six major
ones, who rent their bees for
pollinization purposes to farm
ers here and in various other
areas. Records since 1920 indi
cate beekeeping is on an up
swing. In 1920, there were about
1,168 hives, in 1946 there were
3,700 and in 1956 there were
6,000. Bees are raised here both
as pollinizers and honey pro
ducers.
The poultry picture in Jack
son county is not a bright one.
Present markets are poor for
eggs, broilers and hatching
flocks. The poultry committee
of the agricultural council said,
The one bright spot in local
poultry conditions exists in the
expansion of turkey breeder
hens. How long this condition
will exist is doubtful . . . Tur
keys raised for market locally
are in competition with birds
shipped in to the state and only
a slight market drop can prove
disasterous as the profit' margin
per pound is slight."
There were about 220,000 lay
ing hens and broilers in the
county last year, compared with
160,000 in 1946; 123,964 in.1925;
and 72,232 in 1920- There were
23,000 turkeys here in 1956,
compared with 42,817 in 1930;
PERSISTENT
Boston (U.R) Thrice in six
weeks State Trooper James L.
Killoran arrested the same mo
torist for driving after revoca
tion of his licenses. The third of
fense resulted in a four-month
jail term and a $125 fine.
and 60,000 in 1920.
Jossy says outstanding needs
of the livestock and poultry in
dustries include more irrigated
land and more cultivated land,
greater efficiency in manage
ment, greater use of records, and
selection of fast growing animals
which make efficient use of
feed.
Another problem facing live
stock and poultry growers, as
well as other farmers, is that of
obtaining a block of land large
enough to maintain an efficient
operation. Jossy noted that so
much land has been divided and
sub-divided in recent years that
there is relatively little left m
large enough farms for good
use.
Not the least of problems fac
ing livestock growers is that of
disease. Agricultural council
committees have made this ob
servation of the situation:
"With cattle being transport
ed longer distances and living
becoming more complex, it is
becoming increasingly difficult
to keep cattle isolated from
varying and sometimes disaster
ous bovine ailments . . . Among
the controls now used, testing
and vaccination are among the
most important."
Some of the common animal
diseases local ranchers are
troubled with are brucellosis, edema and redwater. Vaccina
leptrospirosa, anaplasmosis, ship- tion or spray programs can eon
ping fever, blackleg, malignant trol most of these diseases
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