374 Bulletin 91 



invested for cattle, and cost of marketing, as well as the rate of gain 

 made by the difTerent lots. A margin between the cost price of feeders 

 and the selling price of the finished steers at the end of 77 days of 

 72 cents per hundred for Lot II, $1.31 for Lot IV and $1 .45 for Lot III 

 would have been necessary to cover the entire expenses in the different 

 lots; 



ALFALFA HAY COMPARED WITH GROUND MILO MAIZE 



AS A SUPPLEMENT TO SILAGE AND 



COTTONSEED MEAL 



Lots IV and V were used for this test. The steers in Lot IV were 

 given all the silage and alfalfa hay they would eat and 2.66 pounds of 

 cottonseed meal per head daily. Each steer in Lot V received 2.66 

 pounds of cottonseed meal, 5.70 pounds of ground milo maize, and 

 all the silage they would eat. The daily consumption of silage in 

 Lot IV was 60.68 pounds per steer, while those in Lot V ate 52.70 

 pounds. Each steer in Lot IV ate 7.98 pounds more silage daily, 

 the same amount of cottonseed meal, and 4.20 pounds of alfalfa hay 

 in place of 5.70 pounds of ground grain consumed in Lot V. Table 

 VIII gives the summary of the results with this test. 



The steers in the two lots weighed an average of 889 pounds at the 

 beginning, but those in Lot IV gained 197 pounds and the steers in 

 Lot V 189 pounds each. At the end of the test the steers in Lot IV 

 had gained an average of 8 pounds more than those in the other lot. 

 Less dry matter, total digestible nutrients, and therms were required 

 to produce 100 pounds of gain in Lot IV than in Lot V. The animals 

 fed more evenly in Lot IV throughout the test and seemed to be more 

 vigorous and to relish their feed better than those in Lot V. Two 

 steers were off feed for a week in Lot V, and three in this lot gained 

 less than 140 pounds each, while the lightest gain in Lot IV was 

 160 pounds. 



Owing to the greater gain made by the steers in L-ot IV and the 

 apparently more effective use of the feed, which was of a bulky nature 

 costing less than the concentrated feed given Lot V, the cost of gains 

 was less in Lot IV than in Lot V. The cost of feed to produce 100 

 pounds of gain in Lot IV was $15.73, and in Lot V it was $19.18. 

 During the feeding period the average steer in Lot IV cost $30.93 

 for feed, and in Lot V, $36.28. In spite of the larger gains made by 



