Types and Market Classes of Live Stock 111 



buy feeders that weigh from 800 to 1,000 pounds, or even heavier. 

 Such steers are 18 months old, or over. A thrifty steer, well developed 

 for his age, is usually more profitable than a stunted animal. 



A considerable amount of experimental work has been done to 

 determine the relative advantages in feeding calves, yearlings, and 

 two-year-olds at the Kansas, South Dakota, Missouri, Iowa, Illinois, 

 and Indiana experiment stations. These experiments have been based 

 entirely upon the finishing period or, in other words, have been planned 

 from the standpoint of the cattle feeder rather than the grower, and 

 the results indicate that under present conditions it is more profitable 

 to feed two-year-old cattle than calves. This conclusion is based upon 

 the difficulty of securing calves of the type, breeding, and quality 

 necessary for fattening at an early age, the greater margin between 

 buying and selling prices, the shorter feeding period, more rapid gains, 

 greater production of pork from hogs following the cattle, smaller pro- 

 portion of grain to roughage, and broader demand for finished heavy 

 steers. 



In three different trials at the Indiana Experiment Station^ the 

 calves required 90 days and the yearlings 20 days longer feeding period 

 than the two-year-olds to make them prime. The average daily gain 

 of the calves was .61 pound per head less than that of the two-year-olds 

 and .34 pound less than that of the yearlings. The following conclu- 

 sions were drawn from the Indiana experiments: 



1. The initial cost per cwt. of calves is greater than that of older 

 cattle. 



2. The length of time necessary for finishing steers decreases 

 with increased age of the cattle. 



3. The rate of gain and the cost of gain increases with the in- 

 creased age of the cattle. 



4. The proportion of roughage to concentrates consumed in- 

 creases with the increased age of the cattle. 



5. The amount of gain necessary in finishing cattle of equal condi- 

 tion decreases as their age increases. 



6. The difference in total quantity of feed necessary for finishing 

 cattle of different ages and fed to the same marketable finish is negligi- 

 ble. 



7. The calves made an average profit of $4.25 per head, the 

 yearlings $6.43, and the two-year-olds $7.95. 



8. The increase in live weight necessary to make calves prime 

 was 103 per cent; yearlings, 54 per cent; and two-year-olds 43.6 per 

 cent of their initial weights at the beginning of the feeding period. 



Ind. Bui. 146. 



