The Great Potato Feeding Experiment
Agricultural researchers in the late 1890s tested whether potatoes, mangels, or sugar beets were the most profitable feed for range-raised lambs.
This experiment relates to the feeding of lambs bought upon the Montana ranges. Chief among the objects sought were to ascertain the value of potatoes, mangels, and sugar beets as food factors in fattening lambs, and to see the outcome of 'high pressure' feeding on ordinary range lambs. Potatoes are largely grown in our state, and in some seasons, the price falls so low that marketing them is of doubtful advantage. These conditions have begotten a desire on the part of farmers to know their precise value in feeding. The lambs were divided into three lots of 12. Lot 1 was fed potatoes, Lot 2 mangels, and Lot 3 sugar beets. The grain portion consisted of corn, barley, and oil cake. The experiment covered 117 days. The total average profit made by one lamb in each lot was: Lot 1 (potatoes), 86 cents; Lot 2 (mangels), $1.05; and Lot 3 (sugar beets), $1.24. A profit of $25.61 was made on the 36 lambs total. One lamb died in the mangel-fed lot, though the cause was unclear.
“Happy is the country that can furnish foods so cheaply as to make any profit possible on the increase weight made during the fattening period.”
This report highlights the historical volatility of Washington's agricultural markets, where farmers often had to find creative ways to use surplus crops like potatoes when market prices crashed. Today, Yakima remains a central hub for agricultural innovation, though the focus has shifted toward high-tech irrigation and sustainable yield management rather than experimental livestock diets.
From readers
No comments yet. If you know something about this story — a correction, a family memory, a source — it belongs here.