CHAPTER II. 



GENERAL CONSIDERATIONS IN BUYING FEED 

 ING CATTLE 



There is always that first consideration as to whether 

 or not the farmer should buy cattle to feed. This 

 is a very important question, and the correct answer to 

 it depends upon so many factors that it will seldom be 

 answered twice alike. One thing is certain, it is always 

 wise to be conservative in considering cattle feeding 

 propositions. In general it would seem good practice 

 not to buy cattle to feed unless the larger part of the 

 corn and roughage necessary for finishing are available 

 from products grown on the farm. Profits in cattle 

 feeding, while not always denied to the man who is 

 obliged to purchase corn, other concentrates, and rough- 

 ages, are necessarily smaller than to the feeder who 

 produces his feeds, provided, of course, the same methods 

 and intelligence obtain in each instance. This is the 

 chief advantage of the corn-belt cattle feeder over his 

 less fortunate brother farmer outside the corn-belt. As 

 to the amount of corn and roughage required to finish 

 a steer, much depends upon the supplementary feeds 

 and the kind and quality of roughage used with corn. 

 The age and condition of the feeding cattle and the 

 method of feeding also have a direct bearing upon the 

 amount required. 



Taking, however, an average instance, namely, the 

 finishing of a 2-year-old or older steer of the choice 

 grade weighing 1000 pounds, fattened in six months 

 from purchase, when the ration is corn and a good qual- 

 ity of clover or alfalfa hay, 55 to 66 bushels of corn and 

 one ton of hay will be required. If the corn is supple- 

 mented with some nitrogenous supplement, like oil meal 



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