46 THE RURAL EFFICIENCY GUIDE STOCK 



profitably, but which yields excellent pasture. In addition to an abundance of 

 pasture there should be a sufficient amount of tillable land to produce roughage 

 for the maintenance of breeding and other stock retained during the winter. 

 Silage, clover, alfalfa and a cereal crop are well adapted and highly essential 

 to this type of farming and cattle production. A given amount of commercial 

 feeding stuffs to supplement roughage will be profitable in maintaining the breed- 

 ing herd and growing the young stock successfully. Herds of high grade beef 

 cattle headed by pure bred sires of the strictly beef breeds, produce the most 

 profitable grades of stockers and feeders. 



Cattle Grazing. In the West on ranches and in other sections of the 

 country where large areas of land are unadapted for the cultivation of farm 

 crops and where the seasons are suitable, cattle may be grazed in a manner to 

 be profitable. Cattle for this purpose are largely purchased and shipped in by 

 trainload or driven across the country. The feeding season is limited to the 

 months during which pasture grass grows and is provided in abundance. The 

 larger and older classes of stock cattle graze and finish on grass pasture to a 

 better advantage than do younger cattle. The character of the land and the 

 amount of grass which it produces, the character of the season which affects 

 growth of grass, and the matter of securing cattle of suitable type and quality at 

 prices which permit a margin of profit, are factors that enter into the success of 

 the grazing industry. 



Pasture Conditions. Mistakes are frequently made in buying and graz- 

 ing cattle by misjudging the amount of feed available. One should become a 

 judge of pasture lands and understand the approximate amount of feed a given 

 area of land will supply under ordinary conditions before investing too much money 

 in cattle for grazing purposes. The more land over which steers have to run to se- 

 cure ample feed, the less favorable will be the results. Land that does not provide 

 native or tame grasses in abundance is questionable for beef cattle grazing. One 

 having land suitable for grazing should do everything possible to secure a good 

 stand of grass. This may be accomplished by destroying noxious weeds, draining 

 land that may be too wet, disking and harrowing in clover, timothy and other 

 grass seed, and applying top dressings of stable manure or commercial fertilizer. 

 Remembering that beef cattle require luxuriant pastures, one will not turn them 

 onto pasture until the grass has attained a good growth and also be careful 

 not to overstock a given area of pasture land. 



Clover, alfalfa and other crops for pasture, grown in rotation with other 

 form crops, may be utilized to good advantage under proper supervision. The 

 system of pasture that will provide the greatest amount of feed and the largest 

 returns in beef, may be regarded best for a respective locality and type of farm. 

 The climate and amount of rainfall have a marked influence upon the amount of 

 feed a given pasture will provide and judgment will always have to decide to what 

 extent other feed should be used to supplement pasture or in what manner 

 extenuating circumstances shall be met. Rotating cattle from one to another 

 of two or more fields, using meadow land after hay has been removed and grass 

 has made a start, will be beneficial to both cattle and pasture land. Corn silage 



