304 FEEDS AND FEEDING, ABRIDGED 



If the cattle are to be fattened on pasture the following summer, 

 feeding a moderate amount of concentrates in addition to legume 

 hay and silage rich in ear corn will start fattening and help to 

 shorten the summer feeding period. 



Trials at the IMissouri Station,^^ show that yearling steers fed clover, 

 alfalfa, or cowpea hay with 5.5 to 6.0 lbs. of corn per head daily gained 

 1.4 to 2.0 lbs. per head daily. Half clover hay and half corn stover 

 gave nearly as good results, but with corn stover, or timothy, sor- 

 ghum, or millet hay as the only roughage, the results were much 

 poorer. Yearlings wintered on 13.6 lbs. clover hay and 13.6 lbs. 

 corn stover per head daily or on ensiled corn stover alone gained 

 about half a pound per head daily. On cured corn stover alone they 

 lost weight. At the Tennessee Station ^*^ steers were wintered satisfac- 

 torily on corn silage, corn stover, or straw, with 1 to 2 lbs. of cotton- 

 seed meal in addition. 



III. Methods of Beep Production 



Fattening cattle on pasture. — ^^\^hether the feeder should finish 

 his cattle during the wdnter and spring in the dry lot or carry them 

 thru the winter to be fattened on pasture in the summer will depend, 

 first of all, on the cost of pasturage compared with hay, silage, and 

 other roughage. In the grazing regions cattle are conunonly sold at 

 the close of the pasture season when, if the grass has been good, many 

 are fat enough for the block, while the rest go into feed lots to be fat- 

 tened further. Where land is high-priced, the tendency is to fatten 

 feeders in the dry lot, since under these conditions corn silage is 

 often cheaper than pasturage. 



According to data collected by the experiments stations ^^ from 

 successful cattlemen, the gains of cattle in the corn belt on grass and 

 receiving no grain should range from 1.2 to 1.7 lbs. per head daily 

 for yearlings and 1.3 to 1.9 lbs. for 2-3^ear-olds during the grazing 

 season. It was found in Indiana that on the average thruout the sea- 

 son each grain-fed steer required 1.1 acres of pasture, and when no 

 grain was given each steer required 2 acres. From these figures and 

 the price at which pasture land rents, the cost of gains on pasture 

 may be calculated. When cattle are fattened on pasture less grain 

 and less expensive supplements like cottonseed and linseed meal are 

 required than when finished in the winter feed lot. Cattle fatten 

 more rapidly and more uniformly on pasture, and the pigs following 

 them make larger gains. Labor is saved when cattle are fattened on 



15 Waters, Mo. Bill. 75. 



16 Willson, information to the authors. 



iTMumford and Hall, 111. Cir. 79; Waters, Mo. Cir. 24. 



