518 FEEDS AND FEEDING 



fed with cheap dry roughages like straw or stover. In such cases about 

 1 Ib. of cottonseed or linseed meal, or an equivalent amount of some other 

 protein-rich concentrate, should be added to balance the ration. 



Trials by Cochel and Me Campbell at the Kansas Station 27 show that 

 calves may be wintered satisfactorily on silage from corn, kafir, or sweet 

 sorghum, with 1 Ib. of cottonseed or linseed meal per head daily in ad- 

 dition. The manner in which cheap roughages may be largely utilized 

 even in wintering calves, when combined with silage, is shown in a 144- 

 day trial by Cochel in which 30 calves fed a ration of 3.3 Ibs. wheat 

 straw, 2.3 Ibs. corn stover, 2.9 Ibs. foxtail and damaged alfalfa hay, 6.8 

 Ibs. kafir silage, and 0.8 Ib. of a concentrate mixture, gained 41.8 Ibs. each 

 at a daily feed cost of 3.3 cents per head. The total gross cost of winter- 

 ing the calves was only $5.72 per head, from which should be deducted the 

 value of the manure. In spite of opinions to the contrary, steers fed 

 silage in the winter will make fully as large gains on pasture the follow- 

 ing summer as tho fed dry roughage, and often even larger gains. 



In the West Virginia trials previously mentioned, cheap and satisfac- 

 tory gains were secured when calves were fed a winter ration of 12.3 Ibs. 

 corn silage, 3.9 Ibs. rye hay, and 0.6 Ib. cottonseed meal. In these trials 

 the cost of the winter feed was about two-thirds that for the entire year, 

 while most of the gain, on the other hand, was made in summer on pas- 

 ture. This emphasizes the fact that calves must be wintered economically 

 if profits are to be secured. Concentrates should be fed only when 

 necessary to balance the ration or when the roughages are of such poor 

 quality that the calves would otherwise come thru the winter in too poor 

 condition to make large gains on pasture. 



798. Wintering yearlings and 2-year-olds. Older steers can make even 

 greater use of cheap roughages than calves. Hence, unless grain is very 

 cheap in price, yearlings and 2-year-olds which are to be grazed on pas- 

 ture without grain the following summer are usually wintered on rough- 

 age alone. Of course, a small amount of a protein-rich concentrate like 

 cottonseed or linseed meal should be added, if needed to balance the 

 ration. If the steers are to be finished for an early summer or fall 

 market by feeding them grain or other concentrates in addition to 

 pasture, then some grain is quite commonly fed during the winter, es- 

 pecially just previous to turning on grass. 



In trials covering 4 winters at the Missouri Station 28 Waters found that 

 yearling steers wintered on 31.3 Ibs. whole corn stover or 23.6 Ibs. shred- 

 ded corn stover lost in weight, while fairly satisfactory gains were made 

 on a ration of 47.4 Ibs. corn stover silage. A ration of 13.6 Ibs. clover 

 hay and 13.6 Ibs. whole corn stover was also satisfactory. 



In other trials in which yearlings were fed a limited amount (4 to 6 

 Ibs.) of shelled corn per head daily in addition to various roughages, 



27 Amer. Soc. Anim. Prod., Proceedings, 1915-16, pp. 9-14; Kan. Cir. 92; in- 

 formation to the authors. 

 . Bui. 75. 



