128 STATE BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. 



edge butter at as low a cost per pound as any I know of, from cows that 

 are the dams of the making of prime steers. What can be done in Living- 

 ston county can be done in Kent county. We must study the wants of 

 our market. In years past he who had three to five year old steers, 

 weighing from 1,600 to 2,000 pounds, was right in line. But today baby 

 beef is on top. And why not? Isn't a tender juicy cut of meat prefer- 

 able to a lump of tallow? 



BREEDING. 



This then necessitates a somewhat changed course of breeding. Low 

 down, compact, early maturing cattle are now at the front; so breed that 

 kind. To me it would seem poor taste to attempt to force the good quali- 

 ties of any one breed on the intelligence of this audience at this time. 

 But, brother farmers, don't attempt to produce first-class beef from 

 second or third-class animals. Better try to lift yourselves by your boot 

 straps. Decide which breed will best suit your requirements, then be 

 content with none but the best of the breed. 



With the best of any breed, full success will only come to those who 

 are not afraid to feed. If it will pay to feed at all, it will pay to feed 

 well. By this I* mean feed all that the animal will assimilate. Profit- 

 able feeding will come along the line of full feeding. The markets of 

 today are bidding top prices for cattle that are ripe at 18 to 26 months 

 of age and weigh 1,100 to 1,400 pounds. How can we produce such cattle 

 at a profit? By using less time and feed. How best to accomplish this is 

 then the question. For the average farmer I would suggest cows that 

 will give 25 to 40 pounds of milk, testing 3 to 5 per cent butter fat. Thi» 

 will pay her way and leave the skim-milk to grow our steers on. By 

 replacing the fat taken from the milk in some way we have a prime food 

 for any growing stock. A good way to replace the fat taken from the 

 milk in skimming is to add ground flax seed, old process oil meal, or 

 other like fatty foods. Give the calf a good start by using plenty of new 

 milk for the first three of four weeks. 



CROWD THE GROWTH. ^ 



Any animal to grow profitably must crowd forward from start to 

 finish. Any careful thinking farmer can produce steers that at 20 to 

 26 months should weigh 1,000 to 1,300 pounds, and worth on today's mar- 

 ket $40 to $55. Quality from now on will have much to do with the 

 price. 



In conclusion, I wish to state that Michigan can and should produce 

 prime beef as cheaply as any state. Have no fear of competition in 

 prime beef from the western ranges, for if the far west wishes to com- 

 pete at the top of the market she must first grade up her stock, then sup- 

 plement the range in part with hay and grain. We are then on equal 

 footing with any country. With the return of general prosperity we may 

 look for six cent cattle. How many farmers are there here that are now- 

 raising calves that can develop into prime steers? In years past it wa& 

 no trouble to find from one to ten really good steers on most every farm 

 in our section, but today it would be impossible to get a car load of 



