Live Stock Breeders' Association. 145 



dred. In the Kansas results the difference was $1.94 per hundred in 

 favor of the younger animal. 



COST OF THE GAIN NOT THE ONLY FACTOR AFFECTING PROFIT. 



The trouble heretofore in discussing the question of baby beef 

 has been a failure, to recognize the fact that the cost of gain is 

 not the only factor affecting the profits of the feeding operation, 

 nor even in most cases the most important one. A small differ- 

 ence in the cost per hundred in buying the steer will easily offset 

 what on the face of it is a large difference in the cost of gain. Or 

 even a smaller difference in the selling price of the steer, due to 

 superior condition, may easily offset what is at first glance a start- 

 ling difference in the cost of making the animal fat. A difference 

 of even $1.00 per hundred in the cost of gain seems so large as to 

 be unsurmountable. At first glance, therefore, a practice carrying 

 this great a difference is to be condemned. 



It should not be forgotten, however, that this difference, even 

 large as it may seem, applies only to a limited number of pounds. 

 For example, a gain of from 375 to 500 pounds in weight will fit the 

 ordinary steer for market, and a difference of $1.00 per hundred 

 on this number of pounds in the cost of fitting the steer would 

 affect the total cost of the animal only from $3.75 to $5.00. This 

 means that on a steer weighing 1,000 pounds at the beginning of 

 the feeding operation, if bought at from 37 V2 to 50c per hundred 

 less on account of his age than another steer, this difference in cost 

 would fully offset the difference required to fit him for the market. 

 Or by feeding the animals of the different ages the same length of 

 time, a difference in the selling price of 25 cents per hundred on a 

 1,400-pound steer would about oft^set the extra cost of gains made 

 in fitting the steer for market. 



The relation of age to the selling price of the feeder has al- 

 ready been discussed at some length, and the student is at this 

 point referred again to that part of the article. 



The question arises: what differences in the buying margin 

 or in the selling price are necessary to fully offset or overcome the 

 increased cost of the gains made in the fattening process by the 

 older animal? Or, in other words, the practical question is: how 

 much cheaper will a man be obliged to buy the older cattle than the 

 calves or yearlings in order to offset the increased cost of gains, 

 or how much more must the older animals sell for per hundred in 

 order to overcome the increased cost of making them fit for 

 market ? 



A— 10 



