2 BULLETIN 615; U. S. DEPARTMENT OP AGRICULTURE. 



, during the last three years show that losses on calves usually are due 

 ' to excessive maintenance costs of the breeding cows. 1 



Much study has been devoted to selecting for dairy cows, and also 

 for fattening cattle, rations that will give the best and most economi- 

 cal results. There seems, however, to be but little information on the 

 best rations for beef-breeding cows, although the data at hand clearly 

 indicate that these animals must be wintered at as low a cost as is 

 consistent with their welfare. When a cow is kept only for the pro- 

 duction of calves, she should be fed a ration that will enable her to 

 produce and raise a good strong calf and still keep in good bodily 

 condition. To feed in excess of this amount merely for the sake of 

 having a fine appearing cow, as is frequently done, is a waste of feed. 

 This waste increases the maintenance cost, often to the point of 

 wiping out profits, for when the business is conducted on as close a 

 margin as at present it is impossible to raise calves at a profit unless 

 the strictest economy is practiced in feeding the cows. 



BREEDING HERDS MUST GET MOST OF THEIR LIVING FROM 

 FARM BY-PRODUCTS. 



The information at hand shows that where cows are kept exclu- 

 sively for the production of feeder animals there must be a sufficient 

 area of pasture, most economically utilized, to support the animals 

 for at least six months of the year. Not only must they get fully 

 one-half of their living from cheap grazing but they must be so 

 handled during the remainder of the year that the greater portion 

 of their winter feed is made up of those unsalable rough feeds, such 

 as stalks, stover, and straw, which are abundant on corn-belt farms. 

 The data obtained also show that on corn-belt farms the size of the 

 herds usually should be limited to the number that can be supported 

 on such cheap feeds. In other words, with the prices prevailing 

 during recent years, the breeding herds must be made to utilize the 

 farm by-products and convert them into beef and manure, while the 

 more valuable products are sold or are fed to fattening animals. 



Every year there are large quantities of corn stover which are not 

 utilized to their fullest extent. Every year also a vast quantity of 

 straw is wasted by letting cattle run to the stack and trample under 

 foot more straw than they eat. An excellent illustration of this is 

 shown in figure 1, where straw piles for three successive years are 

 shown. Most of the straw on this farm is allowed to rot in piles and 

 is not even hauled out as manure. In some parts of the country 

 large quantities of straw are destroyed by burning. Much of the 



1 This investigation is being conducted cooperatively by the Office of Farm Manage- 

 ment and the Bureau of Animal Industry. The results of the first two years' work have 

 been published in Report 111, Office of the Secretary, " Methods and Cost of Growing 

 Beef Cattle in the Corn Belt States." 



