FEEDS FOR BEEF CATTLE 499 



when these supplements are higher in price than this, compared with 

 corn, it will usually be most profitable not to add the supplement to this 

 ration. In 4 of these trials the profit was greater and in 2 it was less 

 when the supplement was fed, with feeds at the current prices. 



777. Alnount of supplement to feed with silage. There have been but 

 few trials carried on thus far to find definitely how much protein-rich 

 supplement should be added to corn grain, corn silage, and legume hay 

 for fattening steers. On studying this important point Skinner and 

 King found in 2 trials at the Indiana Station 107 that 2-year-old steers 

 fed 2.5 Ibs. cottonseed meal daily per 1,000 Ibs. live weight in addition 

 to shelled corn, clover hay, and corn silage gained a little more rapidly 

 than those fed only 1.25 Ibs. cottonseed meal daily per 1,000 Ibs. live 

 weight. This indicates that the latter ration, which had a nutritive 

 ratio of about 1 :7.9, was slightly too wide for the maximum gains of 2- 

 y ear-old steers. In other trials they found that there was no advantage 

 in feeding more than 2.5 Ibs. of cottonseed meal daily per 1,000 Ibs. 

 live weight to 2-year-old steers full-fed on corn, clover hay, and corn 

 silage. In fact, the gains were smaller and less economical when the 

 allowance of cottonseed meal was increased to 4.0 Ibs. The nutritive 

 ratio of this ration was 1 :5.6, which about met the recommendations of the 

 old Wolff-Lehmann feeding standards. Similarly Allison found at the 

 Missouri Station 108 that steers fed corn silage and clover hay, without 

 any additional corn grain, gained just as fast when fed 2.8 Ibs. linseed 

 meal a head daily as when the allowance was increased to 4.4 Ibs. 



When alfalfa, cowpea, or soybean hay is fed with corn grain and corn 

 silage, obviously less protein-rich supplement will be needed to balance 

 the ration and produce maximum gains than when clover hay is used, 

 for these hays are higher than clover in protein. On the other hand, 

 when no legume hay is fed, the allowance of supplement should be in- 

 creased. A safe guide to follow is to feed enough supplement to give 

 a nutritive ratio of 1 :7 to 1 :8, as is advised in the Morrison feeding 

 standards, unless such supplements as linseed or cottonseed meal are 

 unusually high in price compared with the other available feeds. (710) 

 If cottonseed or linseed meal costs more than 2.5 to 3 times as much per 

 ton as does corn or other grain, then cheaper gains and greater profit will 

 often be made if no supplement is added, provided legume hay is fed 

 in addition to silage. However, if no leguminous forage is supplied, then 

 a protein-rich supplement is always necessary for the best results. 



778. Silage as the only roughage. Whether steers fed silage alone for 

 roughage will make as large gains as those supplied some hay or other 

 dry roughage in addition, is a question of great importance to the cattle 

 feeder, as dry roughages are often more expensive than silage. The 

 following table summarizes the results of 9 trials, in each of which 

 corn silage was fed as the sole roughage with corn and a nitrogenous 

 supplement (cottonseed or linseed meal) to one lot of steers, while 



107 Ind. Buls. 153, 167, 178. 108 In formation to the authors. 



