202 MISSOURI AGRICULTURAL REPORT. 



The table includes, as will be observed, a statement of the kind of 

 grain fed, the age of the cattle, the length of the feeding period and in 

 some cases the kind of roughage fed with the grain. It has been found 

 that all of these factors influence considerably the profit from feeding. 

 A careful study of this table and of other feeding experiments Avill give 

 us some very accurate data of the factors involved in profitable cattle 

 feeding. 



Among the most important factors which determine the profit from 

 cattle feeding are the condition of the animal at the beginning of the 

 feeding period, the age of the animal, the kind of feed fed, the methods 

 of feeding, and the length of the feeding period. It is not proposed now 

 to enter into any discussion of the different phases of this question, such 

 as the cost of the animals at the beginning of the experiment and their 

 value at the end because these vary with every season, but the facts 

 which I wish to present to you are facts which have been determined 

 and will under most circumstances remain more or less constant from 

 year to year. 



CONDITION INFLUENCES ECONOMY OF GAIN. 



Assuming that the animal is in good health we may make the sweep- 

 ing statement that the thinner the animal at the beginning of the feed- 

 ing experiment, the more rapid he will gain and the more gain he will 

 produce from any given quantity of grain. As the animal increases in 

 fatness, the increase in live weight becomes more and more costly, 

 that is, it requires more and more grain for each pound of gain. This 

 is shown in all feeding experiments that have continued for a longer 

 period than four months. 



Table II. Cost of Gain Greater in Long Feeding Periods. 



Feed for 100 pounds gain. I Increase of feed required. 



Up to 56 days steers required 730 lbs. of grain 



Up to 84 days steers required I 807 lbs. of grain I 10 per cent. 



Up to 112 days steers required | 840 lbs. of grain 15 per cent. 



Up to 140 days steers required 901 lbs. of grain | 23 per cent. 



Up to 168 days steers required I 027 lbs. of grain i 27 per cent. 



Up to 182 da'^s steers required I 1,000 lbs. of grain I 37 per cent. 



Table II is taken from Kansas Bulletin 34 and shows firmly that as 

 the animal becomes fatter, the amount of grain required to produce a 

 pound of gain is greater. 



