112 IOWA DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 



top and two calves out of the top lot had dropped to third place. 

 So that is a common experience. You cannot tell about the de- 

 veloping of young animals, hoM^ they develop. 



Question: Do you expect to turn those young cattle on the 

 grass this summer? 



Mr. Emboden: The calves, generally, I have put on the grass 

 during the season. These I have now, I doubt very much whether 

 I will put them out on grass. There are 30 or 40 yearlings I will 

 probably put on grass. 



I want to say this to feeders putting cattle that are finished 

 on grass : If you have a finished bunch of cattle and desire to hold 

 them longer, I wouldn't turn them on grass; I would hold them 

 in a dry lot. Invariably the cattle that do the best on grass, have 

 had plenty of roughness during the winter. But I do not believe 

 in putting really finished cattle on grass. I would let them stay in 

 the lot. 



Question : These cattle you turn on grass, do you expect to 

 feed oil meal to them? 



Me. Emboden: Yesr sir; I had 60 acres of bluegrass last year, 

 and they were running to a self-feeder, ground corn frequently 

 too. In regard to feeding oil cake, I find I can feed two or three 

 pounds to a bunch of cattle for an indefinite period, and if you 

 will increase this to 6 or 8 pounds, you will have to shorten your 

 feeding period or they will quit you. A few years ^go I was 

 feeding a part of them 3 pounds and a part 6 pounds. I got 

 three large steers from a neighbor getting not quite full feed, 

 I told my sons we would put them on 10 pounds of oil cake per 

 day. We did that, and they stood it just thirty days, and dur- 

 ing that time the steers made an average gain of over 6 pounds a 

 day. These three large steers weighed 1470 pounds when I started 

 them, and they made an average gain of over 6 pounds a day 

 for 30 days, then they quit and didn't practically do anything for 

 the next five weeks. The cattle getting six pounds stood it for 

 76 days and made an average gain of S% pounds a day, and they 

 quit. I weighed those cattle up at the same time I weighed the 

 larger steers, and I weighed them five weeks later when I shipped 

 them, and the results w^ere about the same on each bunch, hardly 

 a pound a day. The other cattle which had been getting three 

 pounds a day for 5 months had made an average gain of 2 % 

 pounds a day for the five months feeding period. So that if you 

 will make up your mind that you want to feed five or six pounds 



