THE BEEF CATTLE INDUSTRY 



385 



Feeding mature steers — The same 

 feeds are to be used in feeding mature 

 steers as in the production of baby beef. 

 The rations become a little larger, since 

 the steers weigh more and are capable 

 of utilizing more material. They must 

 receive the same variety as during their 

 early life, viz., grains and various kinds 

 of coarse forage, including pasture. 

 After the fattening period has begun, 

 the chief point is to keep the animals 

 gaining as rapidly as possible and force 

 them to a market maturity at the ear- 

 liest moment compatible with the health 

 and constitution of the animals. The 

 sooner the market finish is secured, the 

 more profit is to be derived from the 

 operation. 



Grains — While it is possible to fatten 

 animals on coarse forage alone, provided 

 this is supplied in large quantities, they 

 cannot be fattened so as to conform to 

 modern market requirements without the 

 liberal use of grain feeds in the rations. 

 We may, therefore, discuss in this con- 

 nection the comparative value of the 

 different grains which are commonly 

 fed to cattle. 



Barley — Both the common and bald 

 barley is used in fattening steers. In 

 Idaho, French found that steers kept 

 on a grain ration of equal parts chopped 

 barley and shorts made satisfactory re- 

 turns for their feed and gained a pound 

 in weight for every four pounds of grain 

 eaten. The gain in weight compared 

 favorably in point of rapidity and econ- 

 omy with the results obtained in the 

 corn belt, where the market price for 

 grains is somewhat lower. The rough- 

 age fed to the steers in question was 

 hay of mixed grasses and clover and 

 corn silage. 



In Montana, a test was made by Shaw 

 to determine the relative results from 

 feeding light, medium and heavy rations 

 of barley. The steers used in this ex- 

 periment were divided into three lots, 

 of which one received per 100 pounds 

 live weight 0.46 pound of barley, the 

 second 0.59, and the third 0.72 pound 

 barley. The barley was ground and fed 

 in the form of a meal. The amount of 

 food required for a pound of gain in- 

 creased with the amount of grain fed 

 in the ration and the cost of gain in- 

 creased proportionately. It appears 

 from this experiment that where alfalfa 

 or clover is used for the roughage not 

 more than % pound of grain to 100 

 pounds of live weight is necessary to 



secure satisfactory results. If the effect- 

 iveness of mixed grains be considered 

 at 100, barley was found to equal 84.5. 

 In these experiments barley seemed to 

 be a little more expensive than wheat, 

 since in steers which were fed this grain, 

 the cost of a pound of gain was 6 cents, 

 as compared with 5 cents for wheat. 



In North Dakota, barley produced 

 greater and faster but more expensive, 

 gains than a combination of bran and 

 shorts, while in Utah, barley proved to 

 be cheaper and more effective than pea 

 meal for steers. Barley has been used 

 in Colorado and appears to produce 

 rapid gains, but the shrinkage of the 

 steers in shipping is somewhat greater 

 than on a corn ration. 



In Scotland, barley bran has been 

 found to produce profitable gains. At 

 the Woburn experiment farm it ap- 

 peared that dried brewers' grains can- 

 not be profitably used to replace all 

 the hay in a ration for steers. When 

 used to replace part of the hay, how- 

 ever, they produced rapid gains in 

 weight. Brewers' grains have not been 

 as extensively used in feeding steers as 

 for dairy cows. 



In Germany, the excessive use of dis- 

 tillery refuse from barley and other 

 grains was found to exert an unfavor- 

 able effect on the quality of the beef. 



Beech nuts have been fed to cattle 

 in rations of 2 to 10 pounds. Before 

 feeding they are usually cracked and 

 may then be fed dry or moistened. No 

 harm is produced from the vise of beech 

 nuts, but they may be fed to hogs with 

 better and more economical results, since 

 hogs readily harvest them without as- 

 sistance. 



Beans are fed in large quantities to 

 steers, but not many experiments have 

 been carried out to determine their feed- 

 ing value. Jack bean meal seemed not 

 to be relished by steers in Mississippi, 

 and proved to be indigestible. At Wo- 

 burn, horse bean meal produced rapid 

 and economical gains in steers. In va- 

 rious parts of England excellent results 

 have been obtained from a grain ration 

 of beans, oats and wheat, in the ratio 

 of 7: 5: 4. 



Bran — In the statistics collected by 

 Mumf brd in Illinois, it appeared that 10 

 per cent of the beef raisers of that state 

 used bran. The average amount fed 

 daily is 5 pounds a head. In some local- 

 ities bran is too expensive to occupy a 

 large place in the steer ration and it is 

 commonly limited to a small quantity on 



