120 Missouri Agricultural Report. 



RELATION OF LENGTH OF FEEDING PERIOD TO THE QUALITY OF THE 



CATTLE. 



It is only cattle of good quality that can be profitably made 

 prime. Cattle of inferior grade bring too low a price when fin- 

 ished to justify the expense of making them thick. This arises 

 from the fact that the condition of the animal affects in a pro- 

 found way the cost of gain, and the fatter the animal the slower 

 the gains and the more expensive they become. Necessarily, 

 therefore, the thinner the animal the more rapid and cheap will 

 be the gains. Thus, beginning with a thin steer, other things 

 being equal, the cost increases as the feeding period advances. 

 It does not increase, however, at a uniform rate. The conditions 

 of the weather and the character of the feed remaining unchanged, 

 there is an enormous difference in the cost of the last 100 pounds 

 put up on a steer if it is made fat enough to top the market, as 

 compared with the advance occurring in the earlier parts of the 

 feeding period. 



It is obvious, therefore, that these costly gains at the end 

 would not be justified on a steer that would sell at four and one^ 

 half cents a pound, whereas they might be fully justified in a steer 

 that could be made to sell when fully fat for six and one-half cents. 

 The cost per pound of the gain made in the latter end of the feed- 

 ing period is out of all proportion to the price it will in itself 

 bring when the steer is sold. This additional fat, how^ever, so 

 increases the value of the whole carcass of the steer as to justify 

 the practice and return a profit by making him prime, provided 

 he is good enough. 



In this connection it will be interesting to note the answers 

 to questions 8, 9 and 13 : 



"About what weight at selling time has in your experience 

 returned the most clear profit, and why?" 



A study of the detailed answers to this question will be ex- 

 ceedingly profitable, and the summaries by different states and 

 even by different counties in the State are very signifiicant. Note 

 the unanimity with which these answers fall between 1,200 and 

 1,400 pounds live weight. Occasionally one drops to 1,100 to 

 1,400 pounds, which means that in the judgment of this particular 

 feeder yearlings have been more profitable than older cattle, and 

 occasionally there will be a feeder who still feels that he has made 

 more money out of 1,500 or 1,600-pound steers, which means three- 

 year-olds, than out of lighter weights. 



