No. 7. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 257 



having a demand for the kind of beef most easily produced with the 

 feed at his disposal. 



Your College of Agriculture and Experiment Station has under- 

 taken a study of a few of the factors which have a direct bearing 

 on prolitable methods of fattening steers. For this purpose two 

 carloads of "feeders" were purchases on the Chicago market at $4:. Go 

 per cwt., December 1, 1909. They were shipped to State College 

 and allowed two weeks to overcome soreness from shipping and to 

 become accustomed to new conditions before the Winter's feeding 

 experiment was started. Charging the cattle with commission, yard- 

 age and freight enroute, also for all feeds consumed before the be- 

 ginning of the Experiment, made them cost at that time five (5) dol- 

 lars, per cwt. They averaged eight hundred pounds per head in 

 weight. They were fed in four difiterent lots during a period of five 

 months, at the close of which they were valued by Mr. J. K. Con- 

 rad, of Pittsburg, using the Pittsburg market value as a basis for 

 computing financial results. 



Lot I w^as fed a full feed of grain, with roughage limited to what 

 they would clean up readily. Lot II was fed two-thirds as much 

 grain as Lot I with all the roughage they would consume. It was 

 found from this comparison tiiat the steers fed a full feed of grain 

 made more rapid gains and would have had to sell for |6.68 per cwt., 

 at the close of the experiment to pay for feeds consumed, while their 

 market value at that time was |7.60 per cwt. The profit per steer 

 was 19.96 which made the corn fed bring 97.1 cent per bushel. When 

 a lighter grain ration was used the rate of gain was not quite so 

 great, the cost of gains less and the cattle would have had to sell 

 at 16.23 per cwt., while their actual value w^as $7.35 per cwt. The 

 profit per steer was |11.S0, making the corn fed bring |1.19 per 

 bushel. The heavy feeding of grain during so long a period as five 

 months was not justified by the additional finish carried by the 

 full-fed cattle over those receiving a limited ration as the difterence 

 in cost was thirty-five cents and the ditTerence in value only twenty- 

 five cents per cwt. This experiment clearly demonstrates that the 

 Pennsylvania feeder, using high-jjriced corn, cannot afford to put 

 steers in prime condition, as the local demand is usually for a 

 cheaper grade of beef. 



The second experiment was one to test the influence of shelter for 

 fattening steers which have a roughage ration made up largely of 

 corn silage. The cattle were quite uniform in age, type and condi- 

 tion. One lot Avas fed in an open shed, boarded up tightly on three 

 sides, open to the southeast, tlie other lot in the basement of a bank 

 barn, well lighted and well ventilated. Each lot was given the same 

 amount of concentrates with roughage according to appetite. The 

 results show that the steers fed in an open shed gained 2.36 pounds 

 per head daily as compared with 2.13 pounds by those in the barn. 

 At the close of the experiment the open -shed steers had cost seven- 

 teen cents less per cwt., were valued at fifteen cents per cwt. higher 

 and made a j)rofit of |3.98 per steer, more than those fed inside. 

 The corn fed outside brought fifteen cents more per bushel than 

 that fed inside. This test clearly demonstrates that the feeding of 

 corn silage does not necessitate the use of warm quarters for fatten- 

 ing cattk. It is essential, however, that the steers be well-bedded 

 and protected from wind and rain. 



17—7—1910 



