BULLETIN 870, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 



in Greenbrier County, W. Va,, to study beef-production problems in 

 the Appalachian Mountain region. This farm is located in the 

 southeastern part of the State in the blue-grass area. The results of 



this experiment apply not only to 

 West Virginia but also to the ad- 

 jacent States having similar con- 

 ditions, as shown in the outline 

 map (fig. 1). Some of the results 

 and methods may be of such 

 general application as to be util- 

 ized to advantage by cattle feeders 

 in other parts of the country. 





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Fig. 1.— Map showing rejion to which this work 

 applies. The black dot indicates the location of 

 the farm on which the experiment was con- 

 ducted. The shaded portion represents the area 

 to which the results are applicable, and the dot- 

 ted portion shows an additional area to which 

 the results apply in part. 



THE REGION AND THE PROBLEMS 



The topography in most parts of 

 the region, except in the vicinity 

 of streams, is gently rolling or even 

 mountainous in the higher eleva- 

 tions. The area is generally cleared 

 of forest trees, although vast areas 

 of cut-over or stump land are 

 found. The farms vary in size 

 from less than 100 acres to more 

 than 1,000 acres. The land is 

 especially well adapted for grazing purposes. In most sections there 

 is tillable land for the production of abundant crops for winter feed 

 or other purposes. 



It is in this general area that a large percentage of the grass- 

 finished cattle are produced, which go annually to eastern markets. 

 The fact that most of the steers produced in this area are finished 

 for market from grass alone attests the value of the pastures, which 

 consist largely of blue grass. The use of grain for finishing cattle 

 is not general, although there are many sections where the prac- 

 tice is followed, particularly in the valleys of the larger streams 

 and on gently rolling areas. By far the larger number of farmers 

 who handle beef cattle grow either stockers and feeders or finish 

 cattle for market from grass alone. It therefore becomes one of the 

 principal beef-production problems in this general area to determine 

 the best and most economical method of wintering the cattle and the 

 one that will enable them to make the best possible use of the pasture 

 the following summer, the time when cheapest gains are made. 



It has been a common practice in this area to winter steers on dry 

 feed, such as hay, corn stover, and wheat straw, and on corn silage 

 to a less extent, in a way that causes them to lose materially in 

 weight. They are then pastured the following summer and sold 





