582 TWENTY-SECOND ANNUAL YEAR BOOK— PART VII 



all of the silage they would eat. I want that old cow to come 

 through on pretty cheap feed, if she has to, to get that calf below 

 $30. 



Q. How old would he be at weaning time? 



A. I usually have them come along in May — at any time from 

 April to June, but I try to have them all, all of these calves, castrated 

 before hot weather. I don't feed very many heifer calves ; I cut 

 out the steer calves. I replenish my herd with the heifer calves. 



Q. What do you do with the heifer calves? 



A. I keep them for breeding purposes and keep the older ones 

 going to market. 



Q. Out of 100 breeding cows, how many calves can you depend 

 on raising a year? 



A. On an average, my experience has been from 90 to 100 — 

 that is, 90 calves to 100 cows. I have even had 100 per cent, but 

 that was unusual ; two cows had twins, and they ran it up. but I 

 know on one bunch I had 100 per cent, but 90 per cent would be a 

 very good average. 



Q. Have any troubles with contagious abortion ? 



A. No, I never had anything to do with that. 



Q. Steers that you wanted to run on grass next summer with- 

 out corn, you would suggest not feeding them too heavily on silage 

 this winter? 



A. That is my experience — they would not make the gain on 

 the grass. 



Q. If you didn't have the clover, would you feed them some 

 other kind of roughage? 



A. That is my experience ; I would feed them roughage. I have 

 bought bulls where they were kept shut up, and it would take you 

 pretty nearly a year to get those bulls to the point where they will 

 feed in the pasture. 



Q. In raising these calves at $30 at weaning time, what elements 

 have you put in there and what figures of cost? 



A. The price or rental of pasture land, the silage that they eat. 

 I don't count very much for the roughness they eat, because usually 

 my cows are around straw stacks, and if I have clover I thresh out 

 the clover seed and that makes good feed. They are simply scav- 

 engers for the place, and I charge up pasture, and that is quite an 

 expensive affair, so that I have to cheapen it up on the other. You 

 cannot give them three tons of silage and figure that you get them 

 through at $30. 



