FEEDING OF BEEF COWS IN THE CORN BELT. 13 



cheapened greatly by leaving out the timothy hay, which, because of 

 a scarcity of hay in that particular year, was valued at $12 a ton. 

 In addition, 1 ton of silage could have been saved by properly 

 feeding the oat straw instead of allowing the cattle to trample the 

 greater part under foot. Estimating that the stalk fields contained 

 three-fourths of a ton of edible stover per acre, with these changes 

 the daily ration for the cows would have been as follows : 



Stover : '. 16 pounds. 



Silage 30 pounds. 



Oat straw 9 pounds. 



This ration contains sufficient dry matter and digestible nutrients 

 to carry the cows through the winter, but the total amount of pro- 

 tein is below the percentage called for by feeding standards. It 

 would, of course, be much better if there were some clover or alfalfa 

 on this farm, so that a moderate amount could replace some of the 

 silage. However, this is the best ration that can be devised from the 

 feeds available. If this farmer would feed from one-half to 1 

 pound daily of either linseed meal or cottonseed meal, the ration 

 would be greatly improved. Assuming that he purchased 100 pounds 

 of cottonseed meal per cow, costing $2.25, the ration would be ade- 

 quate and there would still be a saving of $13.75 on the winter feed 

 bill, which would have been reduced from $28.75 to $15. Such a sav- 

 ing in the cost of wintering the cows would mean that the calves, 

 which actually cost $51.50 per head at weaning time, would have 

 been produced for $38, or for only $1 more than the average for all 

 calves. 



FARM NO. 3. 



The third farm is in a region in southwestern Iowa that for years 

 has had a reputation for prime beef. Many prize-winning car- 

 load lots of fat cattle have come from this locality. Because of this 

 reputation there is a certain rivalry among farmers here in the 

 matter of the appearance of their herds, with the result that many 

 of the farmers are inclined to feed more heavily than is necessary. 

 This particular farmer was not feeding nearly as heavily as were some 

 of his neighbors, but it would have been possible for him to feed less 

 and still maintain his herd in good condition and thus effect a saving 

 on the cost of wintering his cows. 



This farm comprises 200 acres, of which 50 were in pasture, 80 in 

 corn, 20 in oats, and 30 in timothy and clover. The herd consisted of 

 22 high-grade cows and a pure-bred bull. The calf crop was kept 

 down by contagious abortion and only 14 calves were saved. The 

 cows were turned on stalks the middle of November. Winter feeding 

 began the middle of January and lasted until they were turned on 



