108 BEEF PRODUCTION 



it is usually good practice to feed corn to cattle turned 

 to grass when the cattle feeder anticipates selling them 

 in the large markets for slaughtering purposes. Where 

 pasturage is abundant on cheap lands within easy access 

 of any of our large cattle markets a good rental may 

 be secured on the land by purchasing thin cattle at the 

 opening of the pasturing season and running them on 

 pasture without grain as long as pasture remains good, 

 or until a favorable market renders an earlier sale ad- 

 visable. In a majority of instances such cattle are sold 

 to local cattle feeders or returned to the market to be 

 sold for reshipment to the country as stockers or feeders. 



MANAGEMENT DEPENDS ON CONDITIONS 



If an attempt is made to fatten cattle with grain 

 on grass their management will depend upon their age, 

 condition, quality, and the time of marketing them. 

 If they are young cattle, either calves or yearlings, and 

 it is intended to market them during the pasturing 

 season or before it is necessary to remove them from 

 the pasture to dry lot, they will need to be grained 

 continuously from the time they are turned to grass 

 until marketed. With older cattle well wintered the 

 question of management is largely one of whether the 

 cattle feeder plans to market during early, mid, or late 

 summer. If early — that is, by June 15 — the writer is 

 strongly of the opinion that the cattle would better 

 never be turned to grass, but finished in the dry lot. 

 Such cattle are usually so far advanced in flesh at the 

 season for turning to grass that if they are turned to 

 grass the shrinkage is too great to make the method 

 practicable. If the cattle are to be marketed about the 

 middle of July it is then necessary to have the cattle 

 on full feed when they are turned to grass and continue 

 the same until marketed. By marketing by July 15 

 the hottest weather of summer is avoided, which is usual- 

 ly attended with myriads of pestiferous flies, which are 

 extremely annoying to cattle and which materially 



