PROGRESSIVE BEEF CATTLE RAISING 



question as to the better time can be settled only by a 

 study of individual farm conditions, taking into con- 

 sideration the equipment, labor, pasture and feed supply. 



Cows raised for the production of 

 The Maintenance calves only, can be fed very cheaply 

 of the during the biggest portion of the year 



Breeding Herd by using silage and dry roughages 

 combined with a small quantity of 

 such feed rich in protein as oilmeal or cottonseed meal. 

 If clover or alfalfa hay is available, these may be omitted 

 except during the periods immediately following calving 

 and for two weeks before breeding. Such cows do not 

 require anything more than open shelter except at calving 

 time, when they must be placed separate from the rest 

 of the herd. If fall calving is practiced little shelter 

 for the cow at parturition is required, but if the calves 

 come in February, March and April, both dam and off- 

 spring must be sheltered from the extremes that some- 

 times occur at that season of the year. The purchase 

 of feeds for breeding cows should not be discouraged 

 when necessary, since a suitable purchase may be more 

 than repaid in the additional growth of the calf. Suc- 

 cessful cattle raisers must grow the necessary roughages 

 however, and for this part of the ration can well adopt 

 the slogan "Grow all you feed and feed all you grow." 

 In the summer the cow herd will be maintained largely on 

 pasture but if the pastures are short supplements must be 

 provided. Silage is the best agent for this but if not 

 available dry roughage such as hay or green forage crops 

 should be provided. After harvest, the cows can be 

 maintained for a time on the stubble and grass growth 

 in the fields, in fact some men plant clover or other crops 

 which will develop after harvest for this very purpose. 

 In the South, velvet beans may be utilized for the pasture 

 of fall and early winter while farther north the stalk fields 

 are available. In the winter hay and silage will provide 

 the main dependence but when protein feeds are nec- 



Page Thirty-six 



