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during the winter, but rather for the purpose of securing them more 

 cheaply, returning the plant food contained in rough feeds, such as 

 corn stalks, straw and hay to the soil and having cattle of such 

 quality and in such condition as to insure maximum gains on grass. 



WINTER VS. SUMMER FEEDING. 



Question 46 deals with the general practice of winter and sum- 

 mer feeding. Replies indicate that 60 per cent of the feeding in 

 Indiana is done in the winter; 40 per cent in the summer. This is 

 what would naturally be inferred from the answers to question 26, 

 in reply to which 51 per cent preferred to buy feeders in the fall and 

 16 per cent in the spring. From this it would appear that the ma- 

 jority of cattle feeders put their cattle on feed immediately after 

 purchasing, while the minority prefer to buy thin or stocker steers, 

 use them for consuming roughage on the farm, and feed them out 

 at a later date. 



WINTER FEEDING PROFITABLE IN INDIANA. 



Forty-one per cent report winter feeding as most profitable; 33 

 per cent, summer; 16 per cent, spring; and 10 per cent, fall. In other 

 words, the great majority of cattle feeders are either feeding in 

 summer or winter. The particular system followed depends largely 

 upon the facilities within reach of the individual. When there is a 

 large amount of cheap grass land, the practice seems to be in favor 

 of summer feeding; where all of the land is adapted to the produc- 

 tion of corn and small grains, it would seem that winter feeding is 

 most general. This carries out the thought in the first paragraph of 

 this circular, in which it was stated that the business of cattle feed- 

 ing is one of disposing of farm crops. In winter feeding 86 per cent 

 use a small lot for their cattle and 14 per cent allow access to pasture, 

 which has not been used heavily during the summer. There is no 

 accurate information upon this subject but so great a showing in 

 favor of the small lot should be given due consideration. 



TURNING FULL FED STEERS ON GRASS. 



Where steers have been full fed on grain during the winter with 

 the intention of marketing them during the early summer month 

 the question arises as to whether they should be turned on grass in 

 the spring with a full feed of grain, or be kept in a dry lot until 

 finished. The replies to question 50 show that the great majority 

 prefer to finish in a dry lot. The reason for this is that steers which 

 have had a full feed during the winter, and then turned out on a 

 good pasture, do not consume a sufficient amount of grain at first, 



