LECTURE XXXIII. 



FEEDING STEERS IN THE DRY LOT. 



While the results of many experiments and the experi- 

 ence of practical feeders conclusively prove that the most 

 profitable gains can be made by feeding steers on grass, 

 there are thousands of feeders who follow dry lot feeding 

 from necessity or choice. There are many others who prac- 

 tice feeding on grass, but who also follow winter feeding, 

 and this is necessarily dry lot feeding. It is, therefore, a 

 matter of prime importance to every feeder to become thor- 

 oughly conversant with those methods which have proved 

 to be of greatest value in producing maximum gains at a 

 minimum cost. 



In feeding steers in the dry lot certain general consid- 

 erations demand attention. These are: size of lot, drainage 

 of same, bedding, protection from winds, sheds, watering 

 facilities, and arrangement of feed bunks. 



The size of the lot, while variable, should be sufficient 

 in size to permit a team to be driven in and out, so that the 

 feeding may be done direct from the wagon. Extremely 

 large lots are not desirable, as the cost of surfacing them is 

 so great as to render it impracticable, and it is also a waste 

 of land, and it cannot be justified on the plea that the dis- 

 tribution of manure will repay the use of the land, for the 

 trampling of the soil during wet times in the spring more 

 than offsets the manuring the land receives. A lot 6x8 rods, 

 properly drained and surfaced, furnishes a far better place 

 for a load of fattening cattle than a larger lot, and is ample 

 for ordinary cases. 



The matter of having lots that will remain free from mud. 

 even in wet weather, is of prime importance, and it must be 

 confessed a very difficult matter on the rich, black soils of 

 Illinois and Iowa. In Illinois the only apparent solution 

 seems to be the paving of feed yards ; but this is an expensive 

 matter, and we are not yet in possession of such data as will 

 prove the profitableness of such a plan. In Iowa, however, 

 it is possible to prepare and maintain excellent feed yards 

 without paving. 



