142 IOWA DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 



club member, his parents or guardian, fed and cared for by the member, 

 and shown at halter. Each member is required to have his feeding record 

 complete to date of exhibition and judging, and to show their calves at 

 the fair unless excused by reason of sickness or accident. The only 

 financial obligation assumed by the fair association is the premiums 

 offered. Prior to this year our awards were made regardless of breed 

 of the calf, but with the large number in the 1920 club we made separate 

 classes for Shorthorns, Herefords and Angus, offered ten premiums in 

 each breed; also a grand champion and reserve champion, all breeds 

 competing. We also give a small premium to each member who does not 

 secure a place in premiums listed in our book. In addition, we give five 

 premiums ranging from $5.00 down to the boy or girl whose calf shows 

 the best care and grooming and is shown to the best advantage in the 

 judging and sales ring. 



The breeders of the county donate special premiums in the three breeds 

 mentioned, so that it makes it possible tpv a member to receive from 

 $60.00 to $70.00 in premiums at a single county fair. The calves are sold 

 at auction on the last day of the fair. This year Chicago, Sioux City, Cedar 

 Rapids, Ottumwa, and other towns were represented. Competition was 

 keen, resulting in an average price of $18.29 per hundred, live-weight. 

 The average weight of the seventy-seven calves fed last year, at the 

 time feeding commenced, was 406 1/^ pounds; the live selling weight on 

 September 17th was 989 1/^ pounds, showing an average gain of 583 pounds 

 each. We furnish free stalls and an exhibitor's ticket to each boy or 

 girl; they buy their own feed while at the fair. What are some of the 

 benefits to the fair? 



No other department at our fair is as popular as the baby beeves. 

 Swine breeders will go to see the swine; cattle breeders the cattle; poul- 

 try fanciers the poultry, but everybody, farmers, city people, and the 

 children, go to see the baby beeves. The largest crowds we have at the 

 judging ring are when the calves are being judged and sold. We con- 

 sider it the best drawing exhibit at the fair — worth many times its cost, 

 and any fair that does not have a baby beef exhibit is losing a big attrac- 

 tion and the opportunity of promoting one of the leading educational 

 features of its fair. The evening parade of baby beeves past the grand- 

 stand, filled to capacity, was so popular that it was repeated the follow- 

 ing evening amid continuous applause, with a few extras thrown in for 

 the five girls who had fed and exhibited the calves. 



In the past four years, Marshall county has given a practical education 

 to over one hundred boys in stock feeding. Our college at Ames has 

 taught the farmer to grow two bushels of corn where one formerly grew. 

 Now our baby beef clubs are educat ng our boys to produce two pounds 

 of meat on the same amount of feed formerly used to produce one pound. 

 So if any of you are fortunate enough to own any of the so-called high- 

 priced Iowa land, do not be discouraged at the declining prices of live- 

 stock and farm products — just have the boys join a baby beef club and 

 produce four pounds of meat where you formerly produced one, and you 

 have gone a long way toward solving the high cost of living. 



