282 



ing stock included. Thus v.hile not taking into consideration the rye 

 crop, the ilax which is "off" grade and surplus oats beyond that needed 

 for the horse slock of the state there is an abundant grain food at hand 

 to fatten every head of meat stock passing from our state. 



ROUGH FEED. There is no scarcity of rough food in the state. 

 Frairie hay and corn fodder are both cheap and plentiful, while oat straw 

 can be had in large quantities for little more than the price of hauling. 



WHO CAN Do THE FEEDING. There are, and will probably continue 

 to be, two classes of cattle produced in North Dakota. The largest and 

 poorest bred class is known as rang>e stock and is produced in the western 

 part of the state, where stockraising occupies nearly the whole attention 

 of the population.. By reason of the fact that range cattle are run in 

 large herds and are, by force o f circumstances, obliged to. "rustle" con- 

 siderably for a living, they will be neither so carefully selected nor. so 

 uniformly fed and sheltered as the domestic or farm stock. They are 

 coarser, later maturing and not so capable of producing prime beef as 

 the farm stock. As a general proposition, because of their poorer breed- 

 ing and selection, together with their H J SS adaptability to handling and 

 slower response in the feed lot, it is safe to say that they will never 

 seriously compete with farm cattle on the market. The animals fed on 

 small farms will rank much nearer strictly prime beef than will the range 

 steers, even when the latter are fattened. The small farmer will probably 

 feed cattle with greater profit to himself than will the feeder of range 

 stock. Amonig the advantages which the farmer will have over the 

 ranchman in feeding cattle are the following: It will make a market for 

 grain which is "off" grade and often wasted when not so used. It makes 

 a market for his time in winter, which would not otherwise be sold. It 

 forms a kind of savings bank by forcing him to place a considerable value 

 in stock, which is released in one sum. By growing corn fodder for stock 

 the land is kept free from weeds. Cultivated land produces good follow- 

 ing wheat crops. The tests at this Station published in the Eighth Annual 

 Report, page 72, show the increased yields of wheat for the three years 

 following a cultivated crop to be 17.6 bushel? more per acre than on 

 land, which had had no rest from wheat. Farms upon, which stock is kept 

 and fattened annually do not lose their fertility as do the grain cropped 

 farms. 



Range stock must of necessity be sent to the eastern half of the state 

 to fatten, they being less expensive to ship than would be the somewhat 

 bulky grain feed. 



I wish to call attention again to the fact that all of the railroads 

 of tihe stare are taking a deep interest in having our stock finished at 

 home, and assert that they stand ready to make all reasonable concessions 

 in the way of feeding privileges and rates possible, to bring about this 

 result. 



