FEEDING AND MANAGEMENT OF BEEF CATTLE. 67 



Most of the steers sold from this State will grade as butcher stock and 

 a large portion of them will go in as medium butcher steers. Virginia, 

 West Virginia, Kentucky, Pennsylvania, Ohio and Maryland furnish 

 some cattle for the export market, but they are corn fed, having plenty 

 of weight, quality and condition. The product from North Carolina 

 is most likely to be a butcher cattle trade in the steer classes. 



Margin of Profit. 



The margin of profit on cattle, considering their original cost, the cost 

 of the feed, and the market for fat cattle should be from $1.50 to $1.75 

 per hundred pounds. Even with this margin it is not possible to obtain 

 an appreciable profit from cattle feeding. It is possible, however, to 

 clear the manure, pay for the labor and get possibly from one to two 

 dollars profit per steer. If this profit can be obtained, the cattle feeder 

 should consider himself very fortunate, as many of them lose, although 

 in a great many cases considerable loss could be avoided by a better sys- 

 tem of management. If the manure can be cleared, it is well worth the 

 time spent in caring for the cattle because of the value of this product 

 in improving the farms. A large part of the fertility in cottonseed meal 

 is left in the manure, which amply justifies the farmer in feeding beef 

 cattle. If the steers can be fattened and the fertility of the meal re- 

 tained on the farm without an actual outlay of money it is an economical 

 practice in building up the farms of this State. 



FIG. 11. The class of meat which comes from steers of the grade shown in Fig. 10. Contrast 

 with the cuts of meat shown in Fig. 7. 



The principal obstacle to overcome is to get the industry on a firmer 

 financial basis. By reducing the cost of production which is now rather 

 high, the necessary margin to break even can be reduced, thus making 

 possible a larger percentage of profit in the business. When this can be 

 done more cattle will be fed. 



Scours. 



The man who can not keep scours out of his feed lot is not in a posi- 

 tion to make a success of the cattle feeding business. This trouble is the 

 bane of the cattle feeder wherever it becomes prevalent. It is an in- 

 dication that the digestive system is out of condition, which is caused 

 largely by careless feeding and management. The droppings from a 

 steer which is doing well should be dark in color and firm in consistency. 



