CIRCULAR 77 JUNE 1937 Purchases of Feeds and Grains in Alabama 1935 A PROGRESS REPORT By BUIS T. INMAN AGRICULTURAL EXPERIMENT STATION OF THE ALABAMA POLYTECHNIC INSTITUTE M. J. FUNCHESS, Director AUBURN Table of Contents Page INTRODUCTION METHOD--- COMMERCIAL FEEDS OATS - --- ---- -4-------- CORN---- COTTONSEED HULLS HAY -- - -- 8 ALL FEEDS AND GRAINS DISTRIBUTION OF FEED EXPENDITURES SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS - _- 11 Purchases of Feeds and Grains in Alabama, 1935 A PROGRESS REPORT By BUIS T. INMAN ALABAMA, with a type of farming that depends chiefly upon cotton as the one cash crop, has been extremely lacking in the production of food and feed crops sufficient for her own needs. Because of this type of farming the State has had to spend a large part of its annual cash income for foods and feeds that might have been produced in the State with a diversified type of farming. The shortage in production of food and feed products in the State has been modified to a small extent in recent years by farmers' shifting a part of their cropland from cotton to grain and hay production. For instance, corn harvested for grain increased from 35,683,874 bushels on 2,591,322 acres in 1929 to 44,343,543 bushels on 3,629,604 acres in 1934. Hay production also increased from 364,853 tons on 464,696 acres in 1929 to 657,603 tons on 906,286 acres in 1934. The decrease in area in cotton was 1,436,436 acres from 1929 to 1934. In all probability this shift was influenced in part by the Federal programs. Although there has been this change from cotton to food and feed crops, a large part of the cash income is still expended for these latter products. This study, which is a phase of a general investigation of the balance in Alabama's production and consumption of farm products, was made in order to arrive at reliable data regarding the amounts and kinds of feeds and grains purchased for use in Alabama. No consideration is given here of inter-farm movements of feeds. METHOD Several sources were used in obtaining data for the study. The records of the Alabama Department of Agriculture and Industries showed that stamps were sold for use on 218,327 tons of commercial feeds* during the calendar year 1935. As the law requires that all commercial feeds sold in the State shall be stamped, the sale of stamps was considered an accurate measure of the tons of feed handled. In order to determine the kinds of commercial feeds represented in this tonnage, personal reports were obtained from 75 feed dealers in 20 cities of the State. These reports comprised approximately 25.6 per cent of the com*The term "commercial feeds" shall be held to include all feed stuffs used for feeding domestic and wild animals and domestic and wild birds; except whole seed or grains, the unmixed meals made directly from entire grains of corn, wheat, rye, barley, oats, buck wheat, flaxseed, kaffir and milo when packed for human consumption, whole hays, straws, (Excerpt from Agr. cottonseed hulls and corn stover when unmixed with other materials. Code Ala. 1927). mercial feeds handled. In calculating the total feeds sold in the State it was assumed that these same dealers also handled an equal percentage of non-commercial feeds. Manufacturers of foods and feeds and the State grain inspector's office furnished data on the use of grains in manufactured products. The agricultural censuses were also used in determining the importance of expenditures for feed throughout the State. COMMERCIAL FEEDS Commercial feeds with a total value of $7,581,148 were sold in Alabama during 1935 (Table 1). These feed sales, made almost entirely to farmers, represented an expenditure of $27.72 per census farm, 69 per cent of which was for feeds from outside the State. With the exception of cottonseed meal, most of the ingredients which enter into these feeds are corn and byproducts of milling flour and consequently are generally out-ofState products. Very little Alabama-grown corn is used by feed manufacturers because it is white corn and lacks uniformity. The expenditure for commercial feeds alone was equal to 37 per cent of the cash income from livestock and livestock products in 1935. Cottonseed meal is the only commercial feed material of which Alabama produces a surplus with present feeding standards. In 1935 Alabama mills produced 136,127 tons of meal. Of this meal approximately 20 per cent or 27,225 tons were sold outside the State while 73,511 tons were sold as meal in the State for feed. The remaining 35,391 tons were used in the State in mixed feeds and for fertilizer. In addition to the consumption of Alabama-produced meal 7,005 tons were purchased outside the State for feed. OATS Oats are one of the important feeds purchased in Alabama. Approximately 1,693,180 bushels of this grain valued at $948,181 were purchased for feed in the State in 1935 (Table 2). In addition to the oats purchased for feed, approximately 200,000 bushels valued at $98,000 were purchased by manufacturers for use chiefly in the manufacture of commercial feeds. Practically all of this grain was purchased from outside markets, since approximately only 318,000 bushels were threshed in the State and few of these left the farm where produced. Although a few oats are threshed in Alabama annually, a much greater amount is cut and fed unthreshed. Thus of the 1935 crop estimated at 99,000 acres yielding 1,881,000 bushels only 17 per cent was threshed. The lack of harvesting and threshing machinery is a limiting factor for the production of threshed oats in most parts of the State. TABLE 1.-Quantity and Retail Value of Commercial Feeds Sold in Alabama, 1935 Feed Mixed: Dairy-------------------Poultry: MashScratch ---State-grown products Tons I Value Out-of-State products Tons 32,269 16,147 12,596 18,112 1,432 153 300 166 47 37,070 12 1,375 364 7,005 60 70 88 2,224 1,220 199 676 8 376 50 340 157 2,594 135,110 Value $1,226,222 839,644 566,820 633,920 71,600 10,251 42,000 16,600 2,961 1,223,310 180 49,500 15,288 196,140 2,820 2,800 3,784 93,408 34,160 4,776 29,744 80 15,040 1,500 17,000 5,024 108,948 $5,213,520 Tons 32,838 16,157 12,621 19,095 1,432 153 300 206 47 37,070 345 1,375 364 80,516 3,240 60 70 88 4,892 14 1,385 1,725 686 8 376 13 50 390 60 157 2.594 218,327 Total Value $1,247,844 840,164 567,945 668,325 71,600 10,251 42,000 20,600 2,961 1,223,310 5,175 49,500 15,288 2,2 54,448 97,200 2,820 2,800 3,784 186,788 364 38,780 41,400 30,184 80 15,040 325 1,500 19,500 7,200 5,024 108,948 $7,581,148 Ol1 - - Horse and mule- Hog supplementPigeon-Dog: Canned -Dry----------------Rabbit -------- -- 569 10 25 983 $ 21,622 520 1,125 34,405 4,000 333 73,511 3,240 4,995 2,058,308 97,200 By-products milling wheat Velvet bean feed --Brewers' grainDistillers' grain -Cottonseed meal Peanut meal - -- Linseed meal ____ Soybean meal-- Corn Corn Ground, Corn gluten feed cracked and chopped corn bran feed oats ------------ --- meal ------ Whole -- ear corn ground----- Peanut Ground - - - - - - - - --- 2,668 14 165 1,526 10 13 50 60 93,380 364 4,620 36,624 440 325 2,500 7,200 vine ground ______ Alfalfa meal-------Chopped lespedeza_______ Apple pulp -- - - - - - - Meat and bone meal______ Skimmilk powder ------- Rice Beet bran -- - - - - - - - 'i pulp - - Total -- -- 83,217 $2,367,628 6 CORN Alabama manufacturers use a relatively large amount of corn annually. These manufacturers purchased approximately 700,000 bushels of yellow corn in 1935 for the production of commercial feeds, all of which came from outside the State. Alabama mills also used 1,500,000 bushels of white corn for the manufacture of foods such as grits and corn meal. Only 10 per cent, or 150,000 bushels, of this white corn were produced in the State. Even this small percentage became available as a result of increased production in northern Alabama during recent years. The total expenditure for these milling corns was approximately $2,068,000. Farmers do not purchase any great amount of corn for feed through dealers other than that included in commercial feeds. In 1935 approximately 431,621 bushels of corn were handled by feed dealers, 166,262 bushels of which were purchased from outside the State. Dealers who attempt to handle corn grown and sacked locally often encounter difficulty because the grain has not been graded and the quality cannot be guaranteed. Corn purchases for feeding have been reduced considerably in recent years by greater local production. There are some factors limiting considerably the marketing of local corn to Alabama manufacturers. One of the most important of these factors is the shortage of storage space for bulk corn. The principal market for this corn is in Birmingham where storage space for only 60,000 bushels of grains, or less than half a month's supply, is available. Farmers desire to market their products soon after the harvest season, but are unable to do so with their corn because of the limited storage space. Consequently.only a little Alabama corn, chiefly from northern Alabama at present, is used by manufacturers and that during the A second six months' period from October through March. factor limiting the sale of corn is weevil damage. Weevils have usually damaged the corn of northern Alabama sufficiently by April to make it practically unsalable. In southern Alabama they are usually present earlier than this, often damaging the corn in the field. A third factor is the growing of hybrid varieties of corn that are crosses between white and yellow varieties. Though these hybrid corns may increase yields somewhat they are discriminated against by both the food and feed manufacturers. A fourth factor is the poor quality and lack of grades. The manufacturer does not care particularly for unstandardized or poor-quality corn while the small dealers are practically unable to handle it. As a fifth factor, efficient production needs much consideration, for greater efficiency is necessary in order that Alabama farmers may be able to compete with other areas. Since yield per acre is considered one of the most important factors in efficient corn production for Alabama, it seems that a first requirement is to correct its present downward trend. TABLE 2.-Oats, Corn, and Cottonseed Hulls Handled by Alabama Feed Dealers, 1935. Feed Oats Corn State-grown Amount'- - - Out-of-State Amount* 1,680,680 166,262 Value Amount, 1,693,180 431,621 78,863 Total Value Value -- - - - - - - - - -- - - Cottonseed hulls --__- -- - ---- - Total 12,500 265,359 78,863 i $ 7,000 265,359 1,025,219 $ 941,181 166,262 $ 948,181 431,621 1,025,219 I$1,297,578 $1,107,443 $2,405,021 *Oats and corn in bushels; cottonseed hulls in tons. -- I COTTONSEED HULLS The annual expenditure for cottonseed hulls represents one of the important feed costs for Alabama farmers. Since hulls are not permitted as an ingredient of mixed feeds they are sold unmixed to the consumer for feeding purposes. Of the 83,045 tons produced by Alabama mills in 1935 approximately 78,863 tons valued at $1,025,219 were used for feed, the remaining tonnage being used chiefly as a filler in fertilizers. Practically no hulls were purchased from outside the State for feed. HAY Out-of-State purchases of hay are no longer an important feed expense (Table 3). In 1935 approximately 1,875 tons of alfalfa, 1,188 tons of timothy, and 254 tons of clover, having a total value of $88,400 were purchased outside the State. Feed dealers also handled 15,819 tons of hay grown locally, chiefly Johnson grass from the Black Belt. This grass hay has practically replaced timothy hay on the market as feed for work stock, while the increased production of legume hays such as peanut and soybean has displaced a large tonnage of alfalfa that was previously imported from other states. TABLE 3.-Tons and Value of Hay Handled by Alabama Feed Dealers, 1935. Kind Kind Alfalfa _ Timothy CloverJohnson grass Peanut -- ___ Soybean Mixed Pea vine Crab grass Total State-grown Value Tons 507 195 12,277 1,445 922 324 129 20 15,819 $ 11,154 _ Out-of-State Tons Value 1,875 Total Tons 2,382 449 12,277 1,445 922 324 129 20 19,136 Value $ 67,404 27,324 8,531 159,601 23,120 15,674 5,184 2,580 240 $309,658 1188 3,705 159,601 23,120 15,674 5,184 2,580 240 $221,258 254 .. .... .... .... .. .... 3,317 $88,400 $56,250 27,324 1,188 4,826 ALL FEEDS AND GRAINS Although Alabama farmers have increased their acreage of grains and hays in recent years, feed merchants sold approximately $10,295,827 worth of feeds in Alabama in 1935 (Table 4). Of these sales $6,409,363 were from materials purchased outside the State. Corn and oats valued at approximately $2,025,000 were also purchased outside the State by Alabama mills. These out-of-State expenditures for feed and milling grains amounted to $31 per census farm, most of which represents a potential market for Alabama-grown products. TABLE 4.-Total Value of Feeds Handled by Alabama Feed Dealers, 1935. Kind Commercial feeds ____--- _--Hay ________________________ _ Corn, oats, cottonseed hulls Total State-grown $2,367,628 221,258 1,297,578 $3,886,464 Out-of-State $5,213,520 88,400 1,107,443 $6,409,363 Total $ 7,581,148 309,658 2,405,021 $10,295,827 DISTRIBUTION OF FEED EXPENDITURES Alabama is characterized by areas of high and low expenditures for feed. This is shown very definitely by the 1930 Census of Agriculture which gives the expenditures for feed by counties and types of farms within the counties buying the feed (Figure 1). In 1929 the expenditures, as given by 88,111 farmers reporting feed purchases, were $8,228,525 which include both inter-farm and market purchases of feed (Table 5). Relatively large feed expenditures are associated with certain types of farming while small expenditures are associated with other types. Thus the 1930 Census shows that in 1929 dairy farms had the largest expenditures with $1,739 outlay per farm for feed while poultry farms had the next largest with $779 per farm. Self-sufficing farms had the smallest purchases with $44 per farm. Cotton farms, though having only $57 feed expense per farm, represented 78 per cent of the farms and 47 per cent of the feed expense. Large expenditures for feed were also associated with the larger centers of population and with areas where dairy and poultry farming were important. Thus 40 per cent of the expenditures for feed in the State were made by 10 counties having only 18.5 per cent of the total animal units; 8 of these counties had cities of over 10,000 population. Baldwin county, with no large center of population, had 27 per cent of the poultry farms in the State. Talladega was the only one of the ten counties having large expenditures for feed that had neither large centers of population nor many dairy and poultry farms. In this county the large expenditures were attributed to abnormal type farms. The 10 counties low in feed expenditures, while containing 10.8 per cent of the total animal units of the State, had only 5 per cent of the total expenditures. Here the majority of feed expenditures were made for cotton and general farms, while dairy and poultry farms were few in number and had a small percentage of the expenditures. Cotton, general, and abnormal type farms incurred a large part of the expenditures for feed in all counties; however, in the counties with high feed expenditures these types of farms purchased a proportionally smaller percentage of the total feeds than they did in counties of low expenditures. The counties below the Black Belt were characterized by low feed expenditures, Mobile and Baldwin excepted. 10 Cities over 10,000 Over 1.5 per 'cent 1.0 to 1.5 per cent Under 1.0 per cent FIGURE 1.-Location of Cities with over 10,000 Population, and Per Cent of Total State Feed Expenditures by Counties, Alabama, 1929. 11 TABLE 5.-Number of Farms Reporting, Total Feed Expenditures, and Feed Expenditures per Farm, by Type of Farm, Alabama, 19291. Type of farm2 Number of farms reporting $ Feed expenditures Total 538,129 3,897,460 67,274 113,585 2,091,569 194,717 476,925 221,036 627,830 Per farm $ 87 57 80 128 1,739 367 779 44 155 93 General 6,191 Cotton ____________________ -68,766 Crop-specialty and cash-grain __ 840 Fruit and truck _____________ 887 Dairy ______________________ 1,203 Animal-specialty and stock-ranch 531 Poultry ____________________12 6 5,040 Self-sufficing Abnormal and unclassified 4,041 Total _--------------1 88,111 $8,228,525 $ Census, 1930. 2Basis of classification: General-less than 40 per cent of total value of all products from one source. Self-sufficing-50 per cent or more of value of all farm products used in the home. Abnormal-institutions and county estates, part-time farms, and those where 50 per cent or more of receipts come from boarding and lodging, forest products, or horse sales. Unclassified-not operated in 1929 or incomplete report. Other types-40 per cent or more of total value of products from that particular source. SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS (1) Feed dealers sold $10,295,827 worth of feeds in Alabama in 1935, $6,409,363 of which were for feeds not grown in the State. (2) The chief shortage of feed materials in Alabama is in those materials with medium and low protein content, particularly grains. The present production of such high protein feeds as cottonseed meal and peanut meal are in excess of needs with present feeding standards. (3) The shortage of grains for food and feed materials could be modified very much by the increased production of corn and oats. (4) Corn and oats for both the food and feed markets can be supplied in the State if certain improvements are brought about such as: (a) adequate storage space, (b) weevil control, (c) better standardization of corn varieties, (d) improved quality of corn, and (e) lower production costs. (5) Dairy, poultry, and animal-specialty and stock-ranch farms had high expenditures for feed per farm while cotton and self-sufficing farms had low expenditures. (6) Areas of high expenditures for feed were associated with the larger centers of population and where dairy and poultry farming were important.