RAISING BEEF CATTLE 511 



or linseed meal is added, better results will be secured, as this will 

 balance the ration. For safety, it is also best to add to such rations a 

 mineral supplement supplying calcium. (788) 



In the southwestern states the sorghums furnish cheap roughage for 

 beef cattle. Trials at the Kansas Station 8 by Cochel and later by 

 McCampbell show that stover or fodder from the sorghums, with wheat 

 straw and 1 to 2 Ibs. of protein-rich supplements, will carry beef cows 

 thru the winter in satisfactory condition. Ensiling sorghum forage 

 increases its value, just as with corn forage. For example, McCampbell 

 found sweet sorghum silage a much more economical feed than dry 

 sorghum fodder. In another trial, which has already been mentioned 

 (771), an acre of kafir stover made into silage after the heads had been 

 removed was equal in feeding value to 2.2 acres of dry kafir stover. 

 Silage from the sorghums should of course be fed with some protein- 

 rich feed to balance the ration. 



In the cotton belt the beef herd should likewise be maintained just as 

 largely as possible on feeds which would otherwise be wasted. For ex- 

 ample, in a trial by Gayle at the Mississippi Station 10 beef cows were 

 wintered satisfactorily on silage made from cotton plants seriously 

 damaged by the boll weevil and cut and ensiled while the plants were 

 green. This silage or silage made from a mixture of sorghum and cotton 

 plants gave much better results than the cotton plants cut and cured as 

 hay. For fall and early winter grazing, cowpeas or velvet beans may be 

 grown in the corn fields and the cows turned in after the ear corn has 

 been gathered. 



791. Cost of keeping beef breeding cows. The most extensive investi- 

 gations yet reported on the cost of maintaining beef breeding cows are 

 those of Tomhave and Severson at the Pennsylvania Station, 11 covering 

 6 years, 1911 to 1917, inclusive. Each year a lot of 10 pure-bred Short 

 horn cows and another of Aberdeen- Angus cows were wintered on corn 

 silage as the only roughage with 1 Ib. of cottonseed or linseed meal per 

 head daily in addition. During the winter period, which averaged 154 

 days, both lots were kept in an open shed or a barn open on one side, 

 with access to an adjacent lot. The rest of the year the breeding cows, 

 suckling calves, and growing stock were on blue-grass pasture and re- 

 ceived no additional feed. The average results for the winter period are 

 shown in the table on the next page. 



The table shows that the cost of feed and bedding per cow during the 

 winter period was $25.19 for the Shorthorns and $25.26 for the Angus. 

 Adding the cost of the labor and deducting the credit for the manure at 

 the prices indicated, the average net cost of wintering was $20.29 and 

 $20.36, respectively, or an average of $20.32. 



9 Kan. Bui. 198; information to the authors. 

 "Miss. Bui. 181. 

 "Penn. Buls. 138, 150. 



