CHAPTER XXIII 



FEEDIiNG AND CARE OF BEEF CATTLE 



I. Factors Influencing Beef Production 



In 1900 there were about 660 cattle, other than milch cows, per 

 1,000 inhabitants in this country, but in 1910 the number had de- 

 creased to 450, and later estimates indicate a further failure of beef 

 cattle to keep pace with population. Among the reasons for this con- 

 dition are the breaking up of the western ranges into farms, the high 

 prices for grain and the consequent tendency of farmers to sell their 

 crops rather than feed them to stock, the increase of tenant farmers, 

 who often lack capital to stock their farms properly, the expansion of 

 dairying due to the increasing demand for dairy products, and the 

 fact that not infrequently the fat steer is sold at a loss. 



Fortunately for the American public, which is loath to give up beef 

 as a common article of diet, our experiment stations are pointing out 

 how the cost of beef production may be brought down to where it may 

 yield a reasonable profit to the farmer without the finished product 

 being unduly costly to the consumer. The trials reviewed in these 

 chapters show how the breeding herd may be maintained cheaply by 

 utilizing the roughage which w^ould otherwise be wasted on the farm, 

 and the steer finished for market on a smaller allowance of concen- 

 trates than was formerly believed necessary. 



Phases of beef production. — Tho many cattle are still fattened by 

 the farmers who raise them, beef production has naturally become 

 separated to a considerable extent into two distinct phases. In re- 

 gions where the land is unsuited for tillage, due either to its rough 

 nature or the scant rainfall, breeding herds are maintained and the in- 

 crease, raised chiefly on the cheap pasturage, sold as feeder steers. 

 On the other hand, in the corn belt, w^here corn is cheap compared 

 with pasturage, the majority of the steers fattened are shipped in 

 from the range districts, where they can be raised at less cost. Altho 

 many steers are still fed by farmers who handle only a few head 

 each year, the business has largely passed into the hands of pro- 

 fessional feeders, who fatten from one to many carloads of animals 

 annually. In many instances the large operators make but little 



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