XVlll INTRODUCTION 



husbandry, a knowledge of the best feeding practices is of 

 utmost importance. 



Within recent years many factors have arisen so affecting 

 the live stock industry that it is imperative that the successful 

 breeder and feeder must have an intimate knowledge of the 

 fundamental, scientific principles underlying the art of stock 

 feeding. The great increase in the value of farm land, espe- 

 cially in the corn-belt, the gradual disappearance of the range, 

 and the consequent increase in the value of feedingstuffs and 

 of live stock require that the stockman take advantage of 

 every aid which science and experience offer in order to make 

 his business a financial success. 



There is, in many cases, a large waste in the feeding of our 

 farm animals. Many of our good farmers are feeding rations 

 which although giving good results are not as economical as 

 others which would give the same results ; others do not 

 obtain the best results although they feed a more expensive 

 ration. Greater elhciency and greater economy in a great 

 many cases will result from the application of a few general 

 scientihc principles. 



New or unfamiliar crops, as alfalfa, cowpeas, soybeans, sweet 

 clover, rape, Sudan-grass, etc., necessitate a wider knowledge 

 of feeding values. Also the successful feeder must have a 

 knowledge of the feeding values of commercial feeds and by- 

 products from the manufacture of human foods, as tankage, 

 beet pulp, distillers' grains, the oil meals, etc. One or two 

 generations ago the feeds commonly used for live stock were 

 usually restricted to the grains and roughages grown on the 

 farm. However, with the great increase in the value of land, 

 farm animals, and farm crops, knowledge of the feeding value 

 of the farm crops is not sufficient, but the feeder must also 

 be familiar with the feeding value and general adaptability of 



