Texas Almanac, 1952-1953 Page: 205
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LIVESTOCK. 205
crop growing. The retreat of the farmer from
much marginal cropland has been one reason.
Improved breeding and feeding, together with
the rapid urbanization of the population of
Texas and the United States, has been the
principal cause. The Texas farmer and cattle-
man have found ways to produce more and
better meat for a better market.
The 1951 beef-cattle population of the state
was widely distributed including a rapidly
increasingbeef-cattle-raising industry through-
out East Texas.
Cattle Breeding.
The progress of cattle raising in Texas has
been measured by improvement of breed, not
by increase in number, since the number to-.
day is approximately what it was at the be-
ginning of the century. The Hereford, or
Whiteface, was introduced by W. S. Ikard in
1876. In 1885 he established the first regis-
tered, immunized breeding herd of Herefords
in Texas. Today about three fourths of Texas
beef cattle are of this breed. The Brahman
(or Brahma) breed and cross breeds rank
second in number, and have become dominant
in coastal area. Seeking a cow better adapted
to South Texas weather conditions, the King
Ranch over a period of years experimented
with both the Afrikander and the Brahman
breeds. Principal result has been the Santa
Gertrudis breed, produced from crossing the
Brahman and the Shorthorn, the only success-
ful breed of beef cow ever produced in
America. The Brahman cattle have increased
rapidly and are now found on some farms
and ranches throughout East and Central
Texas. There has also been an increase in
Angus cattle in recent years. This breed and
the Shorthorn rank third and fourth in num-
ber among Texas beef cattle.
Progress has also been made in recent years
in scientific feeding and grading. Much prog-
ress was made during 1945-1951 by the Texas
Agricultural Experiment Station and the
Texas Agricultural Extension Service in these
fields. Through bulletins and clinics the ex-
tension service has carried on an educational
campaign in feeding, disease control and
knowledge of grading. Noteworthy during
recent years has been the work of the boys'
4-H clubs under supervision of county agri-
cultural agents, resulting in the winning of
grand champion prizes at a number of the
nation's outstanding livestock expositions.
Number and value of Texas beef cattle for
selected years:
Year- Number. Value.
1920 ........... ...... 6,870,000 $277,320,000
1930 ...... ... .. .. 5,298,000 176,438,000
1940 ................... 5,254;000 144,948,000
1945 ......... ......... 6,259,000 282,767,000
L949 .................. 6,952,000 675,000,000
1950 ............... 7,291,000 713,359,000
*1951 ................. 7,951,000 1,077,991,000
*Preliminary.
DAIRYING
The number of milk cattle in Texas on
Jan. 1, 1951, was 1,309,000, valued at $236,-
929,000, according to estimate of the U.S.
Department of Agriculture. This was the first
upturn after several years of decline follow-
ing a peak of 1,641,000 in 1945. 'The decline
of recent years has been due partly to the
high price of beef which has caused some
dairy farmers to divert to beef-cattle raising
and feeding, and partly due to the scarcity
and high price of feedstuffs.
Dairying has made progress in Texas in
recent years, but not as much as beef-cattle
raising, and some other diversified farm in-
dustries that developed with the decline in
cotton acreage. Authorities give several rea-
sons. For one thing, Texans who have been
in the livestock-raising business are beef-
cattle minded. For another, there is about as
great a difference between the techniques
and methods of cotton growing and dairying
as between any two agricultural industries.As a result farmers have been slow in turn-
ing to dairying, and the breeding up of dairy
cattle has not equaled that of beef cattle.
The census of 1945 showed that cows were
milked on 321,223 out of the total of 384,997
farms and ranches. Total milk production of
Texas in 1950 was about four billion pounds,
according to the Texas Extension Service of
the A&M College, but this volume averaged
only about 3,100 pounds of milk and 135
pounds of butterfat per cow, whereas it is
estimated that an average of 200 pounds of
butterfat should be maintained for profitable
dairy operation. Furthermore, the small aver-
age size of the Texas dairy herd discourages
breeding up of stock.
Dairy Products.
In its report on manufactured dairy prod-
ucts in Texas during 1950, the Bureau of
Business Research of the University of Texas
gives the total milk equivalent as 746,728,000
pounds, as against 754,058,000 in 1949 and
1,012,169,000 for the 1935-1939 average. Produc-
tion of manufactured dairy products in 1950
was as follows: Creamery butter, 13,335,000
pounds; ice cream, 23,532,000 gallons; Ameri-
can cheese, 5,642,000 pounds; cottage cheese,
8,999,000 pounds; other, 41,450,000 pounds.
The rapid urbanization of Texas, the build-
ing of farm-to-market roads and other factors
are conducive to eventual development of a
much larger dairying industry. Over a con-
siderable period, progress has been made.
Prior to the middle 1920's all dairying in
Texas was on a purely local basis. At that
time the first of several nationally operating
concerns established milk-processing plants in
the state.-. The 'census of 1947 showed that
there were 110 dairying products manufac-
turing plants having total output, as meas-
ured in value added by manufacture, of
$10,982,000.
About three fourths of the milk cattle of
Texas are of Jersey ilood. Other breeds are
the Holstein Guernsey, Milking Shorthorn,
Ayrshire and Brown 'Swiss. In Texas are
some of'the finest Jersey herds in the United
States, but the average of breed is low.
Progress was reported by the A&M Exten-
sion Service during 1950. Dairymen are fol-
lowing a more definite breeding program, it
stated, and herds are becoming more stable
in ownership and size, while the number of
farmers entering and retiring from the busi-
ness does not fluctuate as greatly as formerly.
It 'also reported twenty-eight Dairy Herd
Improvement Associations in operation at the
end of 1950 with 14,376 cows. It also reported
seventy-three junior dairy clubs with, a mem-
bership of 2,800 boys and girls, owning 4,330
dairy animals. This is an outgrowth of the
general 4-H club program.
The Extension Service reported twenty-nine
artificial breeding associations at the end of
the year. About 21,000 cows were bred by this
method during 1950. One deterrent to dairy-
ing in most of Texas has been the irregu-
larity of its rainfall causing wide fluctuation
of the feed-crop output. The general intro-
duction of the silo has done much to offset
this. Both the trench silo and the above-
ground silo are used. The A&M Extension
Service reported that, during 1950, 3,629 silos
were filled, located in 206 counties.
. Cash receipts to farms for all dairy products
was $120,564,000 in 1950 and $117,252,000 in
1949, according to the U.S. Department of
Agriculture. Data on number and value of
milk cows for selected years:
Year- Number. Value.
1920 .................. 930,000 $65,100,000
1930 ............... .1,202,000 67,312,000
1940 ................... 1,443,000 54,834,000
1945 ....................1,641,000 106,665,000
1949 ................... 1,283,000 173,205,000
1950 ... ... ... ... 1,283,000 178,337,000
1951 ..................1,309,000 236,929,000
(Continued on page 207.)LIVESTOCK.
205
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Texas Almanac, 1952-1953, book, 1951; Dallas, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth117137/m1/207/: accessed April 28, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Texas State Historical Association.