574 Thirty-second Annual Report 



Week. A creditable showing of University stock was made at 

 the State Fair, and assistance was given in the livestock judging 

 work there. 



Two registered Poland-China gilts were added to the 

 swine herd during the past year. These animals were prize 

 winners at the Arizona State Fair, and were owned by Omer 

 McCullough of Mesa, Arizona. The limited number of ani- 

 mals at the University Farm does not provide a representative 

 selection of each breed, and thereby handicaps the teaching 

 and investigational work. The Hereford breed of cattle and 

 the Rambouillet breed of sheep should be further improved and 

 built up. 



FEEDING COTTON SEED TO RANGE STEERS 



Numerous inquiries from farmers and stockmen through- 

 out the State regarding the feeding value of cotton seed and 

 its products, together with a lack of experimental data on 

 feeding work in Arizona, prompted the department to conduct 

 a steer feeding experiment at the Salt River Valley Farm. 

 The purpose of the test was primarily to ascertain the relative 

 feeding values of cotton seed and cottonseed meal when fed 

 with a basal ration of alfalfa hay and silage. Fifty head of 

 common bred two-year-old range steers were used in the ex- 

 periment. They were divided into six separate lots and fed five 

 different rations for a period of ninety days. The results of 

 this test are specifically set forth in Bulletin 93. The follow- 

 ing is a brief summary of the results: 



Cottonseed meal as compared with cotton seed gave uni- 

 formly better results as was evidenced by the greater gain, 

 smoother finish, and higher dressing percentage of the steers. 



When a basal ration of alfalfa and silage is fed to two- 

 year-old steers, 100 pounds of cottonseed meal are equal to 170 

 pounds of whole cotton seed. Cotton seed at $17 per ton is 

 equal to cottonseed meal at $30 per ton. It was found that the 

 use of cotton seed in a crushed form was not warranted. 



When fed with cottonseed meal, corn silage gave larger 

 and more uniform daily gains than did the ration of cottonseed 

 hulls and cottonseed meal. Cattle fed a ration of cottonseed 

 meal and cottonseed hulls made good daily gains for the first 

 60 to 80 days, after which time the gains began to diminish 

 rapidly. If the roughage is silage instead of hulls, the meal 

 may be fed for a longer period of time without ill effects. 



