—Lanfiaster Farming, Saturday,-Dec.
52
Beef industry
(Conti'iued from Page 50]
chohlis cited Ralston
furina research figures
which point to the end of the
cheap grain era. “It is in
deed over,” the speaker
emphasized. But in spite of
all this, the beef industry has
tremendous potential and a
bright future.
“The Midwest farm belt
has the potential to maintain
a beef herd by simply har
vesting and preserving the
corn land roughage that now
goes to waste,” Chohlis
announced. Research has
shown that these now wasted
feedstuffs can be fed with
very good results and
Chohlis predicts that
economic pressures will
force the industry into
making use of these
resources.
Under semi-confinement,
a farmer can raise a beef
animal at a cost of $l4O if
com stalks are used in a
properly supplemented
ration.
“The ‘Roughage
Revolution’ will gain the
upper hand,” announced the
grain marketer in a
triumphant and confident
tone.
In discussing American
agriculture further, Chohlis
praised the “productive
superiority of the U.S. far
mer, pointing out that it
takes the Yankee fanner
five minutes to produce 100
pounds of grain, compared to
five days for the average of
the rest of the world. Fur
thermore, U.S. farmers
export enough of their goods
to pay for 80 per cent of the
oil imported into this
country.
Chohlis also said tnat
there is no food shortage in
the world - just a situation
wherein not everyone has
enough money to buy it.
Still considered to be the
dominant form of
agriculture in the United
States is the family farm
which many people fear is
being threatened. Chohlis
disagrees, claiming that
large corporation farms are
losing money and that the
efficiency of individual
family farms and ranches
“can beat the pants off of
large corporations.”
But these family farms
which Chohlis speaks of
aren’t necessarily what we
think of today. “The farms of
today will become bigger
because they have to,”
stated Chohlis.
Some predictions he had
along this line include: a
minimum cow-calf operation
of 600 head; a minimum
dairy herd size of 300 head; a
minimum feeder operation
of 3000 head; and a crop
farm of no fewer than 1000
acres. Chohlis envisions such
farms by 1980 - just three
years into the future.,
Genetic engineering is a
tool which will come into
even stronger focus in years
to come, the Purina
marketing director af
firmed. “We’re going to be
seeing more changes in the
next ten years than we’ve
seen in the past 100,” he
promised.
Another portion of the
livestock business which is
going to see significant
changes is nutrition. The
‘Roughage Revolution’ is one
example. More precise
feeding programs is another.
“If we feed ‘em as well as we
breed ‘em, we’d really have
something,” Chohlis an
nounced.
Concluding his remarks,
Chohlis said his firm is so
convinced these changes and
trends are in the cattleman’s
future that substantial
programs geared to these
concepts have already been
launched at Purina.
Higher yielding alfalfa being studied
HOUSTON, Tex. - Alfalfa
plants differ widely in their
ability to produce high yields
and tolerate frequent har
vests, according to scientists
with USDA’s Agricultural
Research Service (ARS).
This discovery could lead to
the development of more
productive, vigorous alfalfa
varieties.
Tests conducted at ARS’s
Beltsville Agricultural
Research Center, Beltsville,
New tax law explained
WASHINGTON, D.C. -
Easier transfer of farms
between generations is one
important result of the Tax
Reform Act of 1976, ac
cording "to USDA. This and
many other provisions af
fecting farmers are ex
plained in a report released
-recently by the U.S.
Department of Agriculture’s
Economic Research Service
(ERS).
In addition to major
revisions in estate taxation,
other changes affecting
individuals that are im
portant to farmers include:
Capital gains and losses -
long term gains and losses
are affected by a longer
qualifying holding period
and an increased limit on
deductible losses. Income
tax reduction - a tax credit
and other means will reduce
the tax bill of many farm
families. Tax shelter
Md., by plant physiologists
Dr. N. Jerry Chatterton and
Dr. Gerald E. Carlson, show
that differences in yield and
stand survival can be
genetically controlled in
dependently of one another.
This factor makes it possible
for a plant breeder to
combine both high yield and
stand vigor in a single
variety. Current alfalfa
varieties do not fully com
bine both traits.
provisions - new restrictions
will affect those seeking to
shelter taxable income
through “tax-loss’ farming.
As business managers,
farmers will be affected in
many other ways. Important
changes will affect:
Drought-induced livestock
sales - in eligible areas, cash
basis fanners may defer tax
liabilities on income
received from livestock sold
because of drought. Disaster
payments - cash-basis
farmers can report disaster
payments as income
received during the year in
which the crop would have
been harvested. Tax credit -
the 10-percent investment
tax credit was extended
through 1980. Family" cor
porations - after five years,
“subchapter S” corporations
may be expanded to include
up to 15 stockholders.
A copy of “Provisions of
The scientists were able to
trace the higher yields and
frequent-harvest tolerance
to certain internal plant
mechanisms which produce
higher concentrations of
carbohydrates, phosphorus,
and nitrogen in the superior
plants.
“We discovered that there
are great differences in the
physiological and
biochemical characteristics
Importance to Agriculture in
the Tax Reform Act of 1976,”
ERS-645, is available free on
postcard request (please
include your zipcode) from
Publications Services,
Economic Research Service,
U.S. Department of
Agriculture, Room 0054-
South Building, Washington,
D.C. 20250, or by telephone
request (202-447-7255).
among the various alfalfa
genotypes,” Dr. Chatterton
said.
High-yielding plants in
effect have a longer growing
season because the
photosynthetic processes
which convert light, carbon
dioxide, and water into dry
plant matter continue later
in the year. Greater starch
accumulation in the crowns
and roots of the harvest
tolerant alfalfa during this
period may provide a
reserve for early spring
regrowth.
“It is dear that many
plants within current alfalfa
varieties have a relatively
low yield and are reducing
crop yields through inef
ficient use of natural
resources. By selecting only
the higher yielding plants
which make the best use of
light and nutrients, we
should be able to bring about
a significant increase in
alfalfa yield,” Dr. Chat
terton said.
Alfalfa is a major forage
crop in the United States.
Approximately one-tenth of
all U.S. farmland is used to
produce it.
Dr. Chatterton presented
these findings at the annual
meeting of the American
Society of Agronomy on
December 1.