20

to live beef cattle shipments, a difficulty is the long period that elapses between
the time that the stock leave the local shipping point and their arrival at a city
market. The resulting shrinkage is often a serious reduction in the returns.
Nevertheless, live cattle are one of the most suitable products for export and
considerable numbers are shipped out in carload lots, especially in the fall of
the year. At the same time a large amount of meat is imported into the area
because of lack of local packing facilities.

The products most successfully shipped from the area to compete on outside
markets are the various grass seeds. ‘Timothy seed is produced in the western
portion of the area and alsike seed does well in the Prince George district. There
also seems to be conditions favourable for the growing of vegetable seeds and
some of the less common fescues. The market for these, though, is by no means
assured.

FARM OPERATORS

More than one-half of the farm operators had resided in British Columbia
immediately prior to the time that they took up their present farms. About one-
quarter came from the Prairie Provinces, nine per cent from Europe and a few
directly from the British Isles or the United States. Their previous occupations
had varied somewhat but 59 per cent of them had either farmed or had left the
home farm when they acquired their present holdings. Twenty-five per cent had
been labourers doing other than farm labour; seven per cent had been tradesmen;
the remaining nine per cent had pursued various occupations.

They expressed a variety of reasons for having come to settle in the area.
Thirty-one per cent said that they had come because they had read about the
area or that it had been ‘“‘reeommended”’ to them. Of these some who came from
the Prairies had assumed that more favourable moisture conditions would ensure
success and others from established farming areas had liked the prospect of
free or cheap land. Many now thought that they had been misled with regard
to the agricultural possibilities of the area. Many too had expected to find a
more moderate coastal climate. Eighteen per cent were there because they had
been raised in the area. Only 12 per cent had come in for mining, logging or
railway and telegraph building and had stayed to farm. Thirteen per cent came
because they had relatives or friends in the area. The outstanding character-
istic of the reasons was that they were not predicated on a knowledge of the agri—
cultural potentialities of the area, particularly regarding markets and costs of
land development.

Fifty per cent of the operators were of British descent; the remainder were
of various European origins including Scandinavian, French, Dutch, and German.
Twenty-eight per cent were single persons. The average age of all settlers was
50 years. The distribution of their ages showed that retirements from active
farming over the next few years may be quite high since 24 per cent were 61
years of age or over and 61 per cent were over 45 years of age (Table 11).

TABLE 11.—AGE OF FARMERS, PRINCE GEORGE-SMITHERS ARBA, 1943-45

Years per cent
Ri )fe) otitis (crea a SABAH AMR OOOO oe AG Ou sone & Caoun Goethe Nona OaHE OE aE aaSHS eee a 8
By TOGA NRA inn nS ana ABNan Heacr Gens aa Aa yaad Sonera Gun SAHA ABR SOU MEENA 31
Plc Raper Uane Ratene ME BtAne The Sri Ene Anta aterm tacdb bce SSG ae Dob don Gua DREAMER Nan 37
Gland OVERS rhe ease se os ome Detae Pe eB EG TATE EE REC REE OME Oe ee ENE ce a ee: 24