134 STATE BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. 



Experience lias shown that the Jersey or Holstein steer is not a profit- 

 able feeder. The principal reason for this is, that no matter how they 

 are fed they do not lay on flesh on the parts which are most sought by 

 consumers and for which they are willing to pay an extra price. 



Experiments go to show, too, that the Jersey and Holstein steers 

 dress away more in killing than do specimens of the beef type. 



We do not wish to be misunderstood in regard to the relation of 

 the breeding of a steer and the price he will bring on the market. It 

 is not because he is a Hereford, an Angus or a Shorthorn that he brings 

 the extra price, but it is because he conforms to a certain type which is 

 demanded by the dealer. The dealer demands it because his customers 

 demand it. 



The beef breeds have been developed to meet this demand and They 

 do it admirably. The steer with no good beef blood behind him does 

 not and cannot fill the market requirements. 



To conclude, then, we may say that profit in steer feeding depends 

 upon: 



1. Type and cost of steer selected. 



2. Judicious feeding. 



3. Form and quality of finished product. 



4. The relation between the cost and selling price. 



First, the steer selected should have a form which indicates that, 

 the steer when finished will carry his flesh where it is most valuable 

 to the vender of the dressed carcass. He should have good quality, a 

 loose, pliable and mellow feel, as indicating a good feeder. He should 

 possess a considerable quantity of the blood of some recognized beef 

 breed as a guarantee of his flesh-taking ability. Let us remember that 

 the three prime requisites of the profitable breeding steer, then, are form, 

 quality and breeding, no one of which can be lacking without detracting 

 from his value as a profitable feeding steer. 



When purchasing steers these characteristics must be taken into 

 account. Better pay an advanced price for a steer of the right type 

 than take a poor feeder at a low figure. 



Second, We will leave the subject of judicious feeding to those who 

 follow. 



Third, the form and quality of the finished product will generally 

 take care of itself if the right sort of steers are selected to feed and are 

 judiciously fed. 



Fourth, The relation between the cost and selling price can be regu- 

 lated, first, by intelligent and shrewd buying, and, second, by bringing to 

 the market a finished product. We confidently believe that the markets 

 of the future will be more discriminating than they have been. That is, 

 there will be a greater premium placed upon well finished steers of the 

 right sort, and the half fat steer that carries little flesh on his hones 

 and' much fat in his paunch will be slow sale at any price. 



The farmers who soonest adjust themselves and their feeding opera- 

 tions to conform to the existing and the prospective great cattle markets 

 of the world will soonest make their steer feeding ventures an assured 

 success, while those who are slowest to learn will swing into line just 

 as, in the natural order of events, the most progressive feeders are retir- 

 ing from the business. 



Retiring because they can afford to do so and because the great mass 



