Fattening Native Steers for Market: 1920 



By R. IT. Williams 



INTRODUCTION 



Cattle feeding has been an important industry for many years 

 in the irrigated valleys in Arizona. Annually upwards of 30,000 cattle 

 are finished for market in the Salt River Valley alone. Conditions 

 have been especially favorable there for cattle feeding. A diversified 

 system of crop production and rotation is necessary in the irrigated 

 districts. Certain high-priced crops must have other crops rotating 

 with them to maintain fertility and occupy the ground. Cattle offer 

 a special means for marketing home-grown feeds; in this way bulky 

 feeds may be concentrated into gains in weight and the finished ani- 

 mals shipped to market On almost all farms can be found certain 

 by-products, such as cotton stalks, Bermuda grass, Johnson grass, 

 corn stalks, or even silage and winter pasturage, which cannot find 

 a profitable market except through livestock. Barley and other 

 green feeds may be secured at small expense and animals finished for 

 market on these feeds alone. 



Arizona is favorably situated for cattle feeding. The light rain 

 fall and absence of cold stormy weather, combined with bright sunny 

 winters with even temperatures, are favorable for cattle feeding from 

 December to April. Range cattle are grown close to the irrigated 

 farms and may be taken into the valleys after the fall round-ups and 

 fed during the winter months when there is little other work to do. 



Not only the Salt River Valley but the other irrigated districts 

 in Arizona, as well as dry farms, are suited to cattle feeding. The 

 area of irrigated lands will be greatly increased and a large acreage 

 suitable for dry-farming by means of floodwater will be developed. 

 Large quantities of feed will be produced. These home-grown feeds 

 are of a bulky nature so that it is difficult to secure a market for them. 

 There is always a good local demand for home grown beef, and Ari- 

 zona farmers should be able to supply this market rather than have 

 meat shipped in from other states'. 



The cattle-feeding industry is in its infancy in Arizona. There 

 are many new problems to be solved in this phase of the business. 

 A careful investigation is necessary in order to supply feeders with 

 practical information regarding the cattle-feeding industry. 



