BABY BEEF 



77 



MUST BE WELL-BRED YOUNGSTERS 



Other things being equal, the younger the cattle the 

 longer it will take to mature them for market. Well- 

 bred feeding cattle can be matured for market at a 

 much younger age than the plainer kinds. One thing 

 is certain, baby beef must be made with young cattle. 

 Only well-bred ones will mature sufficiently early to 

 satisfactorily meet market requirements. It should be 

 borne in mind, too, that, provided care has been exer- 



Fig. 7. The right quality with which to produce baby beef. 



cised in the selection of feeding calves or yearlings 

 with which to make baby beef, the period of full 

 feeding must of necessity be considerably longer than 

 with older cattle. 



It is necessary to exercise greater care in the selection 

 of feeding cattle intended for ripening into baby beef 

 than older cattle for the reasons already stated and for 

 the additional reason that the younger an animal is 

 and the more milk fat it possesses, the less it shows 

 its lack of quality or breeding. By the time a steer is 

 two years old one can tell quite accurately how such 

 steers will feed out. It is a much more hazardous propo- 



