110 BEEF PRODUCTION 



is that the practice of turning cattle to market before 

 the hottest months to avoid heat and flies is increasing. 

 Corn may be fed in the form of broken ear corn, shelled, 

 corn and cob meal, or cornmeal. Where shelled corn 

 is fed it has been found good practice to soak it for twelve 

 hours before feeding, great care being exercised to pre- 

 vent souring either before or after being placed before 

 the steers. In whatever form the corn is fed. hogs 

 should be provided to follow the steers. More hogs 

 may be used to advantage behind steers fattening in 

 summer on grain and grass than in winter in the dry lot, 

 first because the hogs get a portion of their feed from 

 the grass, and, second, the hogs are not required to wade 

 about in mud to pick over the droppings. 



START ON NEW CORN IN SEPTEMBER 



If the cattle feeder wishes to carry the cattle through 

 the summer without grain, fattening them off on the 

 new corn, it will be advisable to start with the new corn 

 some time in September, depending upon the location 

 and season and increasing very gradually until the cattle 

 are getting all they will eat. Thirty days is the mini- 

 mum of time for getting cattle on feed in this way. If 

 the grass is good the cattle will soon begin to leave more 

 of the stalk than should be wasted. In this event only 

 such amounts of the shock corn should be fed as will 

 be economically eaten by the cattle, substituting snap- 

 ped corn for a part of the shock corn. Grass fat cattle 

 handled in this manner for ninety days will be in good 

 marketable finish, especially if the corn is supplemented 

 with oil meal or cottonseed meal. 



