FACTORS INFLUENCING BEEF PRODUCTION 257 



merits of breeds was considered, no essential difference has 

 been shown in the gains in weight and cost of production 

 with cattle of several breeds of the beef type. The carcasses 

 also have been shown to be quite similar in value. If, how- 

 ever, breeds of widely different types, such as beef and dairy, 

 were compared, then it has invariably been shown that, 

 while there might not be much difference in the gains in live 

 weight and cost of the same, there was a marked difference, 

 when it came to the slaughter test, in favor of the beef 

 breeds in carcass value and percentage of offal. 



The influence of age on beef production is quite marked. 

 Quoting various experiments reported on by Henry and 

 Morrison,* the older the age of the animal fed, the smaller 

 the average daily gain and the greater the cost of produc- 

 tion. At the Ontario Agricultural College, Prof. Zavitz fed 

 a steer three years. It made an average daily gain of 2.2 

 pounds the first year, with a total gain of 785 pounds; the 

 second year the average daily gain was 1.2 pound with a 

 total gain of 456 pounds, while the third year the average 

 gain per day was but 1 pound, the total gain for that year 

 being 350 pounds. At the Ontario Experimental Farm at 

 Ottawa, in four years of feeding, including 153 steers, the 

 average cost for 100 pounds gain live weight was $4.22 for 

 the calves, $5.31 for the yearlings, $5.62 for the two-year- 

 olds, and $6.36 for the three-year-olds. 



Two age factors are important in feeding operations 

 to-day. The market demands a younger, lighter weight 

 steer than was the case a few years ago, and heavy cattle 

 around two years of age sell at a discount. A second factor 

 is that of the condition of the animals when placed on feed. 

 Cattle that are thin respond more quickly to feed than do 

 those in good condition, so that many feeders prefer to buy 

 thin yearlings or two-year-olds, on account of the greater 

 gains that will be secured. If the condition of flesh were 

 the same with cattle of different ages when put on feed, then 



* Feeds and Feeding, 1917, pp. 432-434. 



