We thought this would be our 100th volume of Western Livestock Journal this week. However, we found a problem. The first issue of WLJ published was Dec. 7, 1922. Stop the presses! We did some extensive research and realized that someone skipped a volume in the 1970s. We had been planning to share some ancient history in each edition of WLJ this coming year. We may do less of that since we’ll only be in our 99.02 volume.
The year 1947 was the 25th anniversary of the Western Livestock Journal. My grandpa, Nelson Crow, was the original publisher and he wrote his columns every week for the paper just like my dad, Dick Crow, and I have done. We considered ourselves to be students of the livestock industry.
Much of what was written then is written about today. Forest Service grazing fees were 13 cents a month back then, and today the base price is $1.35 per animal unit month. Good Choice slaughter steers were worth $32/cwt on the hoof. Today its $105/cwt.
Cattlemen in those days didn’t bash packers near as much as they do today. The big four packers of the day processed only 41 percent of the cattle slaughter. The business was more regional, and meat was sold through butcher shops. The segment of the business they did complain about was the rise of the great grocery store chains, which they thought had too much buying power, enabling the chains to pressure cattle prices.
Nelson had an interesting way with words. He wrote in 1947, “High prices for livestock bring problems, as well as profits. No single factor is to blame, or deserves credit, whichever way you look at it, for prevailing livestock prices. The meat animal industry needs improved public relations, which means that the facts about prices and the factors which create prices, should be fully explained to the public. Threats of the federal administration to prosecute those responsible for any manipulation in creating high prices has the appearance of pure political propaganda. Everyone understands pretty well the policies of the government itself are mainly responsible for present peak prices. These policies may or may not be best for this country, but if our government is committed to sending a flood of food to Europe, that policy will serve to feed the forces of inflation.”
A look back
“It’s amazing to look backwards over the past quarter century, to realize that the oldest and most substantial of all the Western industries has made the most improvement in breeding and production practices that we have brought about,” Nelson wrote. “We asked our readers what they considered the most important development in the livestock business over the past 25 years. Their answers in this issue are interesting. My own opinion is that nothing has been more important than the attention given to pastures. Grass is the most economical feed in the world, whether it is on the range or in the form of irrigated pasture. Natural range pastures go hand in hand; one supplements the other. The increased recognition of the value of using good, registered sires has added tremendously to the earning power of Western ranges and pastures. In no other section of America has there been greater improvement in the quality of livestock than that which has taken place here on the Pacific slope over the past 25 years. The events of the past quarter century have been interesting. The next 25 years promise to bring even greater developments.
“We on the staff of the Western Livestock Journal look keenly forward to recording the history of the livestock business in the future for there are interesting days ahead.”
Back then, Grandpa, Dad and their colleagues asked many of their prominent readers what they thought the industry accomplishments were. It was unanimous that these men all thought the purebred business in the West and their improvement of the Western cattle herds was paramount.
Other items were the introduction of DDT, the insecticide, which was later banned. Animal health was also a bid deal. They didn’t have that many pharmaceuticals for livestock in those days. One gentleman back then was promoting veterinary medicine and proposing more students go to vet school. In those days, 25 percent of calves born never made it to market.
If these same folks could look ahead 75 years, they would be overwhelmed with the quality and growth of today’s cattle. The words “genetic technology” didn’t even exist in 1947. Advances like embryo transfer and artificial insemination or DNA analysis would blow their minds. Stay tuned to learn more about the last 99 years of the WLJ. — PETE CROW
