RAISING BEEF CATTLE 509 



this may be prevented by administering iodine, as has been pointed out 

 previously. (101, 574) 



If one is in doubt as to whether the ration he intends to feed his 

 breeding cows is balanced, he should calculate the dry matter, digestible 

 crude protein, and total digestible nutrients in it and see how it corre- 

 sponds with the Morrison feeding standards for beef breeding cows, 

 which are based on recent trials at American experiment stations. (Ap- 

 pendix Table V.) If the ration does not contain the minimum amount 

 of digestible crude protein there advised (0.7 Ib. per 1,000 Ibs. live 

 weight), enough of some protein-rich supplement should be added to 

 balance the ration. When the cows go into winter in good flesh, the 

 amount of total digestible nutrients may fall slightly below the minimum 

 in the standard in the case of mature cows. On such a ration, however, 

 the cows will probably lose in weight slightly during the winter. Cows 

 which are not yet mature should be fed a little more liberally than full- 

 grown ones, as they need additional nutrients to provide for growth. 

 Cows nursing calves in winter naturally require more feed than those 

 which are dry. 



789. Corn belt rations for wintering beef cows. Thruout the corn belt, 

 the corn plant should furnish much of the roughage for the breeding 

 herd. This may be fed, ears and all, as corn silage or dry corn fodder, 

 or the ears may be removed and the stover fed as dry stover or as corn 

 stover silage. 



Corn silage is a more economical feed than dry corn fodder, for it is 

 consumed with less waste and will maintain the cows in better condition. 1 

 Trials covering 6 years at the Pennsylvania Station, which are sum- 

 marized later (791), show that beef cows may be maintained in satis- 

 factory condition on 50 to 60 Ibs. of corn silage per head daily with 1 Ib. 

 of cottonseed or linseed meal to balance the ration. In experiments by 

 Busk at the Illinois Station 2 cows have been maintained in fair condition 

 on only about 40 Ibs. of corn silage with 1 Ib. of cottonseed or linseed 

 meal. Tho the cows did not carry as much flesh as many breeders would 

 desire, their health was not injured and they produced vigorous calves. 



If corn or sorghum silage is fed with 4 to 5 Ibs. of alfalfa hay or 5 

 to 6 Ibs. of clover hay, these feeds alone will make an excellent ration, 

 and it will not be necessary to add any protein-rich concentrate. 

 McCampbell of the Kansas Station 3 found that 3.5 Ibs. of alfalfa hay 

 was about equal to 1 Ib. of cottonseed or linseed meal as a protein sup- 

 plement for beef breeding cows. 



Unless corn grain is low in price, corn silage from well eared corn is 

 rather an expensive feed for maintaining beef breeding cows. Moreover, 

 it is unnecessarily rich in corn grain for the requirements of such 

 animals, whose main need is heat for maintaining the body temperature, 



^umford, 111. Bui. 111. 



Information to the authors. 



''Hays, Kans. Branch Station, Rpt. of Progress of Beef Cattle Expts., 1919-20. 



