CHAPTER IV. 



INCIDENTAL EXPENSES IN THE CATTLE 

 FEEDING BUSINESS 



FREIGHT AND COMMISSIONS 



In discussing the margins between buying and selling 

 prices per hundredweight necessary to insure the cattle 

 feeder against loss, freight, commission, and stockyards 

 charges are important factors — indeed larger factors 

 than they are ordinarily thought to be. The variability 

 of freights to and from different sections of the country 

 complicates considerably any attempt to make a treat- 

 ment of the subject generally applicable. It is believed, 

 however, by varying the freight rates and other variable 

 items, an approximation of the importance of these 

 factors in a given instance may be quite accurately 

 determined. The following data have been arranged 

 by Mr. L. D. Hall of the Animal Husbandry Departs 

 ment, University of Illinois. 



In November, 1903, the Illinois Experiment Station 

 bought on the Chicago market 130 choice feeding steers 

 weighing 1006 pounds, at an average cost of $4,267 per 

 hundredweight. The freight rate to Champaign (128 

 miles from Chicago) on stock cattle is 7.7 cents per 

 hundredweight, being three fourths of the fat cattle 

 rate. The shrinkage per steer, from market to feed lot, 

 was 53.4 pounds. The steers were fed six months and 

 gained 480 pounds, feed lot weights, at a cost of 7.23 

 cents per pound (not crediting pork produced) on a 

 basis of 35 cent corn, $8.00 clover hay, and $24.00 lin- 

 seed oil meal. 



When shipped to Chicago in June they shrunk 22.5 

 pounds per steer, weighed when sold, 1410 pounds 

 average, stood the experiment station at $5.79 per 



