BEEF CATTLE IX NORTH CAROLINA. 53 



CONCLUSIONS FROM THE TWO YEARS' FATTENING EXPERIMENTS. 



It must be understood that these conclusions should be interpreted 

 b}^ the reader to apply to feeding operations affected by conditions 

 such as surrounded the tests just reported. 



1. The use of hay valued at $15 or more per ton for fattening steers 

 increases the cost of gains very materially, as is shown by the first 

 year's work. Cheaper roughages should be used if possible. 



2. Cottonseed meal, even in moderate amounts, is very efficient in 

 fattening steers, and the feeder usually can afford to buy it for this 

 purpose if the other conditions are favorable. 



3. The addition of ear corn to the ration increases the gains and 

 the finish of steers, but unless it can be raised or purchased for con- 

 siderably less per ton than cottonseed meal, its use in quantities is 

 not advisable. If a farmer grows his own corn and is feeding steers, 

 its use in the steers' ration as at least a part of the concentrate allow- 

 ance is desirable if market price will permit. 



4. Cottonseed meal and cottonseed hulls produce very satisfactory 

 and economical gains when purchased at reasonable prices, such as 

 was the case in these tests. 



5. The remarkable efficiency and economy of corn silage in the 

 ration of fattening steers is the most striking conclusion shown by 

 the tests. Much more feeding could be done profitably in the region 

 under discussion if more farmers would put their corn crops in silos 

 and feed it in this form with cottonseed meal. 



6. The heavy shrinkage in transit by the finished steers shows that 

 the farmers in these sections must market their fat cattle under this 

 disadvantage. 



7. A study of the financial statements and costs of gains reveals 

 many of the factors which affect the outcome of feeding operations. 

 In calculating the profit or loss from feeding steers, the farmer 

 should not overlook the value of the manure produced. 



8. Farmers who can raise some surplus feed, especially roughages, 

 should feel safe in feeding steers in the winter, provided they can 

 buy feeders and cottonseed meal right and are not too far from a 

 shipping point. If they can raise corn, it can be utilized with best 

 results by feeding it as silage with or without other available rough- 

 ages, cottonseed meal furnishing the chief concentrate to be fed with 

 it. By so doing and using the manure on the land the productive 

 capacity of the soil will be greatly increased. 



