THE BEEF CATTLE INDUSTRY 



397 



that this material is equal in feeding 

 value to most of the hay which is so 

 highly treasured, as a coarse fodder. 

 The greatest changes in rations for 

 steers have, however, been brought about 

 in consequence of the discovery of the 

 high feeding value of leguminous hays. 

 As already indicated, these materials 

 may take the place of a considerable 

 part of the nitrogenous grain ration and 

 may thus lower the cost of the ration 

 to a great extent. 



In the following paragraphs we dis- 

 cuss the feeding value of the more im- 

 portant forms of coarse forage which 

 have been used in feeding steers. 



Alfalfa — Throughout the western 

 states, and recently to an increasing ex- 

 tent in the eastern and southern states, 

 alfalfa is gaining favor as a coarse 

 forage for steers. In Kansas, the use of 

 alfalfa has little less than revolutionized 

 the methods of steer feeding and the 

 beef raiser has learned that by means 

 of corn and alfalfa, both of which are 

 grown on his ranch, he may produce the 

 finest quality of beef at the least possible 

 cost. 



Cottrell made a comparison of the 

 feeding value of whole and cut alfalfa 

 hay. It was found that it cost about 

 30 cents a ton for the labor of cutting 

 and handling alfalfa hay, in addition to 

 the cost of machinery and its opera- 

 tion. The amount of grain and hay re- 

 quired for a given gain was greater with 

 the whole hay than when cut in short 

 lengths. During a feeding period of 

 tbe ordinary length, the steers gained 7 

 pounds a head more on cut hay than on 

 whole hay, and ate 47 pounds less grain 

 and 37 pounds less hay for each 100 

 pounds of gain. In other experiments 

 in Kansas, the great feeding value of a 

 combination of alfalfa hay and corn was 

 clearly brought out. Beef produced on 

 a ration containing these two common 

 farm feeds was of unusually good qual- 

 ity and ranked high when judged by ex- 

 perts. The excellent quality and flavor 

 of the meat were believed to be directly 

 due to the use of alfalfa and corn. 

 These feeds were found to give satisfac- 

 tory results and fine profits, not only 

 in the case of well-bred beef steers, but 

 also with dairy steers and scrubs. 



Likewise in New Mexico, the cattle- 

 men are finding that the present range 

 methods of cattle raising are unprof- 

 itable. The grass is destroyed by over- 

 grazing, and according to careful es- 



timates from 50 to 100 acres of such 

 range land are required for maintain- 

 ing each steer annually. If alfalfa, how- 

 ever, is planted ©n all land where a suf- 

 ficient amount of water can be secured 

 for irrigation, the productiveness of the 

 land, in so far as feeding material for 

 beef is concerned, is greatly increased. 

 It was found that a fine quality of beef 

 could be produced on alfalfa hay alone. 

 It is recommended by Vernon that 

 alfalfa hay should be stacked in the 

 field, since this is the cheapest method 

 of handling it, and a larger percentage 

 of leaves remain on the stems than by 

 any other method of treatment. It ap- 

 pears that the cost of 100 pounds of 

 gain on alfalfa hay alone averaged 

 from $2.25 to $6.25, depending on the 

 market price of alfalfa. The return in 

 beef for each ton of alfalfa hay was 

 about $10.75 or $32.10 an acre. 



Craig found that alfalfa hay was an 

 excellent coarse feed to use with corn, 

 but was unsatisfactory as an addition 

 to a ration of rice bran and cottonseed 

 meal, for the reason that both of these 

 grain feeds are highly nitrogenous, and 

 the three together, therefore, make a too 

 narrow ration. The steers which re- 

 ceived alfalfa and corn and cob meal 

 ate daily 11 pounds of the meal and 17 

 pounds of alfalfa, gaining 2V2 pounds in 

 weight; on this ration the cost of a 

 pound of beef was 4 cents. 



Otis tested the value of alfalfa on 

 calves, yearlings, two-year-old and three- 

 year-old steers, the grain ration being 

 corn or kafir corn. It appeared during 

 these experiments that by feeding an 

 abundance of alfalfa and corn silage, it 

 is possible to produce rapid gains in 

 steers, and to finish them in a fine mar- 

 ket condition. The value of alfalfa hay 

 was clearly demonstrated as a means of 

 balancing a grain ration of corn or 

 kafir corn. Otis, therefore, recommends 

 that alfalfa be planted much more ex- 

 tensively than at present, and that corn 

 be also harvested in the form of silage. 

 It is believed that these two crops may 

 be confidently depended upon and will 

 enable the feeder to produce an excellent 

 quality of beef, even if other grain feeds 

 should largely fail him. 



In a subsequent test at the Kansas ex- 

 periment station, Erf compared alfalfa 

 hay alone with a mixture of alfalfa and 

 prairie hay, in a ration containing corn 

 and cob meal, and with a little cottonseed 

 meal added toward the end of the feed- 

 ing period. The average daily gain per 



