83 



the hog gains, the value of the manure, and all such secondary 

 profits. 



Upon the size of this so-called margin of profit, or upon the 

 size of the difference between the cost price per pound of the 

 steer and the selling price per pound, will depend in a large 

 measure the profits of the operation. It is a common saying 

 among cattle men that it is impossible to lose money on cattle 

 that are bought right, whereas it is impossible to make money 

 on those that are bought too high. It is in the buying of cattle 

 perhaps that quite as much money is made or lost as in the mak- 

 ing of them fat. 



The amount of this difference or the size of the margin 

 necessary to insure a reasonable profit in the feeding operation 

 will depend upon a great variety of circumstances. 



Margin as Affected by the Length of Feed or the Degree of 



Fatness of the Animal. First of all, the length of the feeding 

 period will affect it directly, or, to be strictly accurate, the 

 amount of fat the animal is made to carry to market will in- 

 fluence largely the size of the margin required. Other things 

 being equal, the fatter the animal, the larger the margin re- 

 quired. This does not vary directly with the degree of fatness. 

 Up to a certain point in the fattening process, the cost per pound 

 of gain increases but slowly. Beyond this point, however, 

 which will vary greatly with individual animals, and considera- 

 bly with the season of the year, the character of the feed, etc., 

 the rate of increase in cost mounts rapidly. The point where 

 the cost of gain begins to increase rapidly cannot be described, 

 in fact, is not known within very definite limits, but it is suffi- 

 cient for the purposes of this paper to say that it is some- 

 what beyond the point to which the ordinary steer is carried. 

 It is not, however, beyond the point to which the average load 

 of show steers, or the well seasoned Christmas cattle, or cattle 

 that top the market, are carried. It is perfectly obvious that 

 a smaller margin of profit would be required, if the feeding op- 

 eration be stopped short of this expensive period, and that the 

 margin must be increased materially, if the animal be made to 

 take on many pounds of gain at this excessively high rate of 

 cost. 



