If the Middle West farmer should go into cattle-raising, his position would be almost identical with that of the cattle grower of the Far West, as his pasturage would be exhausted in October, and it would be necessary to feed the cattle until May; otherwise, his loss would be tremendous through partial starvation and exposure to inclement weather, and he could not count upon the survival of more than 75 per cent of his herd from one pasturing season to the next.
The farmer of the Middle West has six months of open weather, which must be devoted exclusively to planting, cultivating and harvesting his corn crop, and this crop takes up his land, leaving no acreage available for summer pasturage.
He produces corn in the summer, and begins feeding in the fall. According to the quality of cattle received from the Far West, he feeds 60, 90, and up to 120 days, when they are ready for market, and, according to the old saying, are "corn sold on the hoof."
Even the adoption of intensive methods does not enable the Northern grower to successfully compete with the Southern grower, because production in the North is limited to one-half the year, and the other half is wholly unproductive, during which period his stores are being consumed, without any returns whatever.
To house cattle during the winter is scarcely better than to leave them exposed to the rigors of climate, as confinement brings the scourge of tuberculosis; whereas in the South, and wherever life is spent in the open, cattle enjoy immunity from this plague.
Furthermore, the year-round supply of green food in the South is naturally conducive to the health and well-being of all animals, whereas in the North, for several months in the year, only concentrated food is available.
"The South, with her short, mild winters, and her abundance of grasses, can grow young cattle cheaper than the North."—W. J. Spillman, Chief of the Bureau of Farm Management, United States Department of Agriculture.
A mild climate, luxuriant pastures, a great variety of forage crops, a year-round supply of green food, and living outdoors all the year, are the factors that make Southern Louisiana the ideal cattle-raising section of the United States.
James Wilson, former Secretary of the United States Department of Agriculture, at the National Live Stock Show held in New Orleans in 1916, said:
"You have as fine domestic animals in the State of Louisiana today as you will find anywhere; the finest breeds of cattle—Holstein and others, as well as American breeds of Herefords, which are an improvement over the English Hereford."