HAMPSHIRE COUNTY FARMERS' MONTHLY 



STEER FEEDING 



INFORMATION 



A number of tobacco men in the Con- 

 necticut Valley have demonstrated to 

 their own satisfaction that they can pro- 

 vide the manure necessary for their land 

 more economically by keeping- and feed- 

 ing a number of steers, and marketing 

 them as beef after a few months, than by 

 puichasing city manure. IMore farmers 

 are likely to adopt this practice, there- 

 fore I am presenting some experimental 

 data to show the gains to be expected 

 from different combination of feeds, also 

 the amount of manure which should be 

 produced per animal fed. Any one con- 

 templating steer feeding as a means of 

 securing' manure will want to know first 

 of all "How much is this manure going 

 to cost me?" To even attempt to an.swer 

 this question, it is necessary to consider 

 the entire procedure from the time the 

 feeder is bought until he is sold to the 

 butcher or commission firm. In short if 

 the manure is to be secured at a low cost, 

 the steer must be bought well, fed and 

 handled well, and sold well. 



Buying 



Some feeders may be secured locally 

 from northern New England. In very 

 large numbers, the supply would come 

 from the west through Chicago or other 

 commission firms. The highest priced 

 feeders of the fancy and choice grades 

 are adapted to a short intensive feeding 

 period and the making of choice beef to 

 sell at a good margin over feeder price.'=. 

 Such animals would hardly be adapted to 

 conditions here. Amount of profit or loss 

 will be very much afi"ected by the price 

 paid for feeders. A good feeder at as 

 low a price as possible should be secured. 

 Young animals usually cost more per 

 cwt. but due to somewhat cheaper gains 

 they are sometimes preferable, and also 

 adapt themselves to a somewhat longer 

 feeding period. 



Feeding and Handling 



The figures which follow will be of 

 value chiefly as a guide in pointing out 

 the very high costs to be expected if any 

 large part of the feed is purchased, and 

 incidentally the necessity of using home 

 gi'own feeds to as large a degree as pos- 

 sible. First is given a .summary of re- 

 sults of 13 trials at 7 different stations 

 to .show a comparison of fattening ra- 

 tions, where a full feed of corn is used 

 with a supplement and with corn silage, 

 and where more silage is used but no corn 

 except that contained in the silage. Two 

 year old steers were used and for present 

 purposes of comparison the following 

 feed values are assumed in this and 

 other summaries. Grain $50.00, hay 

 $20.00, Corn silage $8.00. 



Ration I — no shelled corn 

 Cottonseed or linseed meal 2.9 lbs. 



Corn silage 49.3 lbs. 



Mixed or legume hay 3.8 lbs. 



Ration II — full feed of corn 

 Shelled corn 13.7 lbs. 



Cottonseed or linseed meal 2.8 lbs. 



Corn silage 28.4 lbs. 



Hay, mixed or legume 2.9 lbs. 



The full corn fed steers gained about 

 ..5 lbs. more per day, but the cost of 100 

 lbs. gain was $21.89 as compared with 

 $15.39 for the silage fed steers. Also, 

 assuming for conditions here the silage 

 and hay to be grown and othei' feeds 

 purchased, of the $31.89 worth of feed 

 $16.15 worth was cash outlay, while of 

 the $15.39 worth of feed for the silage 

 fed steers only $3.60 worth was in the 

 form of purchased feed. The corn fed 

 steers brought only $.72 a cwt. more 

 when sold. 



Summarizing important data for cost 

 of gains at various ages, the following is 

 found for young steers weighing 500-600 

 pounds at the beginning of the period. 



Feed for 100 lbs. gain 



Grain 283 lbs. 



Hay 314 lbs. 



Silage 438 lbs. 



Co.st of 100 lbs. gain $11.96 



In these trials the feed cost per 100 

 pounds gain increased as age and weight 

 at beginning of feeding period increased. 



The.se cheaper gains may be in part 

 offset by the younger animals being not 

 .so well finished and selling for a lower 

 price per pound. 



Probably the highest costs are shown 

 where 3 year old steers are fattened on 

 legume hay and corn, or on poorer hay 

 with cottonseed meal and corn. This 

 system has required 778 pounds corn and 

 405 pounds hay for 100 pounds gain, at 

 a cost of $23.50. 



The addition of silage to this ration 

 .shows that 1 ton of silage fed saves 227 

 pounds of corn and 605 pounds clover 

 hay. With the prices used here, this 

 would make silage worth $11.67 per ton, 

 in replacement value. 



As to equipment, beef men prefer a 

 shed open on one side with proper feed 

 troughs, and enough bedding to keep the 

 animals clean. Western raisers expect 

 one man and team to be able to care for 

 200 animals. Certainly stanchions would 

 add greatly to cost of equipment and 

 labor. 



The amount of bedding used will affect 

 costs and also tonnage of manure. The 

 amount of manure per steer may vary 

 from .6 of a ton to 1 ton per month. The 

 best index to the value of the manure 

 would be the price already being paid for 

 city manure. If the farmer is paying 

 $5.00 or more a ton for manure he must 

 consider it worth that amount. 



He Aim To I'Icnsc 



The answer to your Spring 

 clothes problem is here. 



Clothing that you can rely on 

 to give you service and satis- 

 faction, and that you will feel 

 at home in any business or 

 .social gathering. 



Suits $30. to $50. 

 Top Coats $28.50 to $40. 



I 



j MERRITT CLARK & CO. 

 I 



NOItTHAMPTOSr, MASS. 



BISSELL'S TIRE SHOP 



NOIITHAMPTON, MASS. 



Miller, Qoodyear and U. S. Tires 



Tires and Tubes 



Vulcanized by Steam 



Qoodyear Service Station 



FREE AIR 

 «6 KING STREET Tel. 1293-M 



Exibe 



BATTERIES 



FORD 



80 Amp. His. 



^17.00 



DODGE 



9 Plate, 65 Amp. His. 



^29.50 



G. P. TROWBRIDGE CO. 



129 King St., Northampton 



Phone 48 O 



