RAISING BEEF CATTLE 513 



place of high-priced concentrates, hay, or silage rich in grain. Many 

 farmers were overfeeding their cows and hence wasting feed, without 

 securing any better calves. One of the greatest wastes was found to be 

 the feeding of unhusked corn fodder, in place of husking out the corn 

 for other stock and feeding the cows the stover, after cutting or shred- 

 ding it. 



Another important factor in reducing the cost of calves is to build up, 

 by selection, a herd of cows which are all regular breeders and satis- 

 factory mothers, producing good yields of milk. 



In studies by Sheets and Tuckwiller on a "West Virginia 13 farm the 

 annual cost of feed for beef cows fed corn silage, wheat straw, and either 

 mixed hay, soybean hay, or cottonseed meal, was $32.89 with corn silage 

 at $6, wheat straw at $7, mixed hay at $18, soybean hay at $17, and 

 cottonseed meal at $50 per ton. 



To study the cost of beef production, a survey was carried on for 3 

 years (1914-16) by the United States Department of Agriculture 14 on 

 354 corn-belt farms where cows were kept strictly for raising beef 

 calves. It was found that on the average the following amounts of feed 

 were fed per cow for the winter feeding period of 51/2 months : Concen- 

 trates, 122 Ibs. ; hay, 1,900 Ibs. ; silage, 700 Ibs. ; straw, 660 Ibs. ; corn 

 fodder, 0.12 acre ; corn stalks, 1.6 acres ; corn stover, 0.24 acre ; and winter 

 pasture, 4 days. On the average there were 25 cows per farm and nearly 

 an 85 per ct. calf crop was raised on the average. 



792. Feeding dual-purpose cows. Where dual-purpose cows are kept 

 and milked so as to secure dairy products as well as a crop of calves, the 

 cows should be fed the same as dairy cows and the calves raised much like 

 dairy calves. As many dual-purpose cows do not have marked dairy 

 temperament, it is especially important that they be fed strictly accord- 

 ing to their actual production, instead of wasting concentrates for which 

 they will not pay at the milk pail. (647) 



"Double nursing" is a method not followed very extensively, in which 

 about half the cows in the herd nurse 2 calves each and the other half 

 from which the calves have been taken, are milked. For this plan it 

 is essential that all the cows nursing calves be heavy milkers, as other- 

 wise the calves will not make the gains desired. 



793. The beef bull. On the range the bulls run with the cows, but 

 under farm conditions it is best to keep the bull in a paddock or lot 

 separate from the herd except during limited seasons of the year. It 

 will then be possible to keep a record of the dates when the cows are due 

 to calve, and the bull so handled can serve a larger number of cows a 

 year. Thus managed a vigorous bull should serve 25 to 40 cows a year. 



The same general principles apply to the feed and care of the beef bull 

 as for the dairy bull, which have already been discussed. (708) He 

 should be kept in good, thrifty condition but not fat. Previous to the 

 breeding season he should be well fed, and concentrates should be added 



13 U. S. D. A. Bui. 1,024, "U. S. D. A. Farmers' Bui. 1,218. 



