FATTENING CATTLE IN ALABAMA. 39 



The results for the three years have been such that the statement 

 seems justified that it will not pay to feed mature steers of medium or 

 inferior quality during the winter if they are to be kept until the end 

 of the following summer, provided the waste lands, old fields, and 

 the stalk fields of the farm will yield enough feed to keep them strong 

 and thrifty until spring comes. This is true even though the steers 

 may become very thin in flesh during the winter. If the fields become 

 depleted, however, before the winter is over, feeding should be resorted 

 to in order that the cattle shall not be lost by starvation. 



PROFITABLENESS OF WINTERING CATTLE BY FEEDING. 



The question may still be asked, "Was it profitable to feed any 

 of the steers except those of group F during the winter months?" 

 In answer to this the following statements may be made: When 

 no value was placed on the range, as in this case, it cost nothing 

 but the loss in weight to winter the steers. Since the value of each 

 steer will be reckoned by his final summer weight, no charge should 

 be made here for the winter loss in weight. The cost of wintering 

 the other steers ranged from $3.23 per head for the steers wintered 

 on cotton seed and range to $5.63 each for the cattle fed on meal 

 and hulls during 1909. The average cost of the feeding for all 

 winters of lots 2, 3, and 5 was $4.25. 



Now, for the entire time the cattle were on feed each fed steer 

 gained about 0.27 of a pound per day more than the range steers, or a 

 total of about 60 pounds more per steer during the combined winter 

 and summer seasons. The winter-fed steers were therefore 60 

 pounds heavier than the range-fed steers at the end of the summer. 

 As the weight of the range-fed steers was about 850 pounds, the 

 average weight of the others was about 910 pounds. Some southern 

 markets will pay slightly more per pound for the heavier steers than 

 they will for lighter steers of the same quality, while others make 

 little difference in price where the variation is but 60 pounds per 

 steer. There has been secured, then, in return for the cost of winter- 

 ing 60 pounds of flesh on each steer in addition to the increased 

 selling price per hundredweight in favor of the heavier steers. The 

 cost of wintering in this case was $4.25. 



The prices of feeds used in this estimate were $26 per ton for 

 cottonseed meal, $6 per ton for hulls, $10 per ton for cowpea hay, 

 and $14 per ton for cotton seed. Anyone can determine approxi- 

 mately from these statements whether or not it will pay him to winter 

 his stock, providing that he knows about what his steers are worth 

 per pound and what difference his market will make in favor of the 

 heavier steers when sold. The cost given above for wintering steers 

 should be increased about 25 percent to be in keeping with the present 

 (1913) prices of feeds. 



