138 STATE BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. 



§7.00 per hundred, age between two and three years. December 20 

 quoted sixty-eight head of Shorthorn steers, fed by R. M. Peet, averag- 

 ing 1,448 pounds, price |7.00 per hundred. Tw^o carloads Shorthorn 

 grades, averaging 1;380 pounds, price ffJ.OO. Seventeen head of grade 

 Herefords, eleven heifers and six steers, averaging 1,282 pounds, "price 

 $6.85. Nineteen yearling Herefords, 1,224 pounds, price |7.25 per hun- 

 dred. Sixteen Angus grade steers, averaging 1,53G pounds, price $8.25 

 per hundred, age two years. Two Angus steers, averaging 1,715 pounds, 

 price 18.50 per hundred, age two years. January 10, bunch of calves 

 and yearlings, averaging 960 pounds, price |G.35. I have quoted at some 

 length to show what has been accomplished and that the pr/)ducers of 

 these cattle made money; also to show that the markets for beef demand 

 finished animals at an early age. As far as I have been able to learn 

 the history of the feeding of these cattle, corn has been the main grain 

 fed. Other grains in minor quantities w^ere given, skillfully mixed by 

 men of thought and intelligence. Every farm, or nearly so, is ca]>able 

 of producing the cattle and the feed necessary to grow and finish the 

 steers if proper means are used. I am well aware that Chicago is an 

 exceptionally good market for stock and that Christmas comes but once 

 in a year, and that most of the prices quoted were for holiday beef; but 

 they show what can be accomplished in the way of rapid growth and 

 early r^aturity of beef-])roducing animals. The highest prices for well 

 finished steers since the holiday trade have been !|6.00 and upward for 

 weights ranging from 1,300 to 1,500 pounds: January 3, |6.45; Janu- 

 ary 10, $6.65; Januarv 17, |6.50; Januarv 24, |6.27V.; Januarv 31, |6.25; 

 February 7, |6.30 ; February 19, |6.10 ; February 21, |6.15. These figures 

 all go to show that where steers have been well bred, well fed and fin- 

 ished at an eary age, they have been money makers. The markets in 

 our own State have not shown such prices, neither have such steers been 

 offered for sale. However, when anything approaching first-class cattle 

 have been offered, prices have materially strengthened. Large quanti- 

 ties of the better qualities of Chicago beef are sold by the side in our 

 midst, having been shipped here by Chicago dealers, showing that people 

 in Michigan desire a better quality of beef than is generally produced by 

 our farmers. Corn in one form or another is the main factor in the 

 grain ration for fattening cattle, sheep and swine. In looking over the 

 statistics on the yield of corn for the last ten j^ears, as furnished by the 

 Agricultural Department in Washington, I find that the average yearly 

 yield is slightly in favor of Michigan as compared with Hlinois, the yield 

 in each State being in excess of thirty bushels per acre. Such being the 

 fact, the Michigan farmer can produce beef as cheaply as the Illinois 

 farmer, other things necessary to beef production being equal. As has 

 been said before, every successful farmer owns cows; he raises his 

 calves; he can raise the corn, oats, hay, stalks, and furnish pasture to 

 grow and fatten them in first-class condition for market, being assured 

 that for such production he will receive remunerative prices. 



The future prospects in beef production as regards prices are good. 

 The percentage in shrinkage of beef cattle for the last ten years has been 

 very marked. The deficiency cannot be filled as quickly as a like shrink- 

 age in swine or even sheep, and as prices depend a good deal upon the 

 supply and demand of any product of consumption, the outlook is very 

 good for the beef producer. While the shrinkage in beef cattle has been 



