BEEP CATTLE IN NORTH CAROLINA. 13 



Table 5. — Summary of the three winters' work — Continued. 



Lot 

 No. 



Ration. 



Year. 



Gain (+) 

 or loss (— ) 

 for winter 

 per steer. 



Initial 



cost per 



cwt. 



Cost to 



winter 



per 



steer. 



Cost in 



spring 



per 



cwt. 



Advance in 



spring cost 



over initial 



cost per 



cwt. 



3 



Corn silage, corn stover, hay, and 

 straw. 



1913-14 

 1914-15 

 1915-16 



Pounds. 

 —84 

 -32 

 -40 



5.00 

 6.00 

 6.00 



6.06 



7.45 

 6.78 



6.73 



7.43 

 7.25 



1.73 

 1.43 

 1.25 





-52 



5.67 



6.76 



7.14 



1.47 







1913-14 

 1914-15 

 1915-16 





4 



+ 17 

 +17 

 +26 



4.50 

 6.00 

 6.00 



4.66 

 6.29 

 5.23 



5.23 

 6.70 

 6.60 



.73 







.70 

 .60 





+20 5. 50 



5.39 



6.18 



.68 















Some important facts brought out by the work and conclusions 

 drawn from it are as follows: 



1. The steers in Lots 1, 2, and 3 lost weight each winter, the aver- 

 age loss for the three years being 32, 51, and 52 pounds, respectively; 

 while the steers in Lot 4, which were winter-grazed, gained in weight 

 every year, making an average gain of 20 pounds per head for each 

 of the three winters. 



2. The average cost of wintering the steers on dry feeds was $11.13 

 per head, while the silage-fed steers (Lots 2 and 3) cost $7.11 and 

 $6.76, respectively, and the steers in Lot 4 had a charge of but $5.39 

 per head against them. 



3. There was a saving of over $4 per head by using a combination 

 of silage and dry feeds instead of using the common North Carolina 

 ration of dry roughage with a little ear corn. This emphasizes the 

 importance of silage as a winter feed for stocker cattle. 



4. A saving of almost $6 per head was made by using meadows for 

 winter grazing over the method of feeding used for Lot 1. 



5. It cost less than one-half as much to winter the steers of Lot 4 

 as it did those of Lot 1, and the steers of Lot 4 gained in weight while 

 those of Lot 1 lost weight. 



6. The average increased cost per 100 pounds of the steers in the 

 spring over the fall cost, due to the different methods of wintering, 

 was $1.74 for Lot 1, $1.40 for Lot 2, $1.47 for Lot 3, and $0.68 for Lot 

 4. In other words, the farmer who carries steers through the winter 

 under conditions similar to> those in western North Carolina can fig- 

 ure that steers wintered on dry feed cost about If cents a pound more 

 by their spring weight than they did in the fall. Similarly, steers 

 wintered on a light silage ration cost about H cents more, whereas 

 those wintered on prepared winter pastures cost less than f cent more 

 per pound. 



