372 IOWA DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 



January and February to keep them gaining; then putting them on full feed 

 about March 1st they could be finished to good advantage for the May, June 

 and July market, at which time they will sell within fifteen to twenty-five 

 cents per hundred-weight of heavy steers that cost fifty to seventy-five cents 

 per hundred-weight more to produce. Handled in this way beef can be pro- 

 duced at a reasonable cost, and the feeder escapes a great deal of rough 

 weather feeding during January and February, at which time cattle make 

 little gain, as it takes most of the corn they eat to maintain animal heat. 



Another plan which we think can be followed to good advantage is to 

 buy half-fat heavy steers during September and feed them ninety to one 

 hundred days. Cattle with weight can usually be fed the above length of 

 time to make money. It is very important to buy for this purpose steers 

 weighing one thousand one hundred and fifty to one thousand two hundred 

 and fifty pounds, the heavier the better, as such cattle with one hundred 

 days' feeding can be made heavy enough for export, whereas if a man starts 

 in with steers weighing nine hundred and fifty to one thousand pounds he 

 can only make them suitable for dressed beef purposes. In other words, 

 with the same amount of feed and labor the heavier steers will bring 

 twenty-five to forty cents per hundred-weight more than the light weights, 

 because they will be suitable for the best paying trade. 



By following the above plan a man can make two feeds per year, and 

 utilize a great amount of cheap feed which would otherwise go to waste. 



CATTLE FEEDING. 



C. W. Carlson^ Before Calhoun County Farmers^ Institute. 



Among the dififerent industries of this and other states, there is no one 

 of more importance than the production of meats. The business of feeding 

 and finishing cattle for market has been, and necessarily must be, one of 

 exceptional hazard. The length of time necessary to manufacture the 

 product and place it on the market, gives opportunity for a change in the 

 demand of this product, and relative change of value. It is not pleasant to 

 recall one's experience im the cattle feeding business of the past two or three 

 years. However, in order to fully appreciate the trend of afifairs for any 

 definite period it is necessary in almost every case to go back over a series of 

 years and note the changes, if any, that have been made, and the condition 

 under which such changes were made. 



That great changes have been made in all branches of farm industry is 

 apparent to all who stop a moment and reflect on methods and conditions 

 of fifteen or twenty years ago. The science of irrigation is today changing 

 the western desert into beautiful farms, while drainage laws are opening up 

 many acres of most valuable land here within our own beautiful State. 

 Among all the advancement in agricultural states, there has probably been 

 nothing of more importance in bringing about the changes noted, than the 

 live stock industry. 



If this be true, then it becomes apparent that such an industry must be 

 protected against unjust discrimination that the law of supply and demand 



