22 WISCONSIN BULLETIN 224 



much of a premium. Other things being equal, then, the time to 

 buy feeders of good quality would be in the fall. This last state- 

 ment presupposes good equipment and the use of silage as part of 

 the ration. 



THE FEEDING MARGIN 



It is difficult to advise under what conditions one should feed 

 or should not feed. In general, one should feed only when the 

 price of the combined finished product of the steer and the hog 

 that has followed, is sufficiently greater than the initial price, to 

 pay the market price for feed consumed, cost of feeding, and in- 

 terest on the capital invested. From the cost of feeding should 

 be subtracted the value of the manure produced. In feeding 

 cattle, the difference between cost price per 100 pounds and the 

 selling price per 100 pounds is known as the margin. A margin 

 is necessary to break even or to make a profit because at current 

 prices of feed the cost to produce a pound of meat on a feeder 

 exceeds the price cf the meat on the market. 



For example ; a steer may sell for 8 cents per pound. To pro- 

 duce 100 pounds of meat would require about 700 pounds broken 

 ear corn, 40 pounds cottonseed meal, and 400 pounds alfalfa 

 hay. With corn at 50 cents per bushel, cotton seed meal at $28 

 and alfalfa hay at $16 per ton, this would cost about $10 per 100 

 pounds, or 10 cents per pound. In order to come out even on the 

 proposition, the operator will not feed unless he can get the 

 feeders at enough less Mian 8 cents per pound, to throw the 

 ccst of fattening either upon the man who sells the feeder or 

 back upon the producer. 



Let us then say that this steer when finished weighs 1,350 

 pounds, and at the beginning of the feeding period 1,100 pounds. 

 He therefore has gained 250 pounds at a cost of $25. The steer 

 sells for 1,350 times 8 cents or $108.00. To break even on the 

 operation the steer must be bought for $108 minus $25, the cost 

 cf fattening, or for $83. As the steer weighs 1,100 pounds, the 

 operator must get him for $7.54 per 100 pounds. The difference 

 between the selling price, $8 per 100 pounds, and the cost price 

 $7.54, or 46 cents, is what is known as the margin. To make a 

 profit, a larger margin is necessary. 



What Regulates the Margin. The margin necessary is not al- 

 ways the same. It depends upon the cost of the feeds and their 

 effectiveness in producing gains. If feeds are equally effective, 



