CHAPTER IX. 



BABY BEEF 



The demand for baby beef is strong and increasing. 

 With this increasing demand of our markets for this 

 class of beef there is a general movement among cattle 

 feeders, and more especially among those who have 

 limited experience, toward the feeding of younger cattle. 



We do not mean by this that 

 only the inexperienced are tak- 

 ing up the production of baby 

 beef. It is but natural that 

 cattle feeders of wide experi- 

 ence should be inclined to con- 

 tinue to follow those methods which they have found 

 profitable and accept slowly new methods and ideas 

 of cattle feeding. On the other hand so much has 

 been said and written concerning the advantages of 

 producing baby beef that the beginner arrives at the 

 conclusion that it is the only profitable branch of beef 

 production. 



There are many things to be thought of, however, 

 before the cattle feeder rushes blindly into the feeding 

 of calves and yearlings with a view of finishing them as 

 baby beeves. The majority of fat cattle falling within 

 this classification are from one to two years of age and 

 weigh from 800 to 1100 pounds. Such cattle can 

 only be produced from well-bred calves and yearlings. 

 Whether or not the finishing of such cattle will prove 

 profitable will depend upon a number of conditions, 

 chief among which are the breeding and individual 

 excellence of the feeding cattle used, their cost, the way 

 they are fed, and the condition of the market at the time 

 they are sold. 



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