114 



FEEDS AND FEEDING, ABRIDGED 



eastern part of the corn belt will generally crowd his calves to rapid 

 growth on a heavy allowance of grain and fatten them as baby beef. 

 Or he will raise no cattle, but fatten feeder steers from the western 

 ranges on a liberal allowance chiefly of corn. On the other hand, in 

 the West, where pasture is cheap compared with grain, the stockman 

 will usually follow a less intensive system, roughing his growing stock 

 thru the winter and marketing them from grass as 2- or 3-year-olds, 

 having been fed little grain at any time. 



Milk for our cities must come from the surrounding districts which 

 are within shipping distance. Dairymen maintaining herds on high- 



Fig. 31. — Beef Cattle on the Western Range 



In the range districts of the West pasturage is cheap, but concentrates are high 

 in price. Hence beef cattle are raised on the range and sold as feeders to be 

 fattened in the corn belt or other grain raising districts. (From Breeder's 

 Gazette.) 



priced land to meet this demand properly tend to use a minimum 

 acreage as pasture, relying largely on corn silage or soilage during 

 the summer months. They often buy much of their concentrates, for 

 grain can be produced on land farther from market and shipped in 

 at less expense than it may be possible to grow it on their farms. 

 Such a system is not, however, economical for the dairyman remote 

 from the large markets, whose milk is used in the manufacture of 

 butter or cheese. He must adopt a less intensive system of dairying, 

 where the herd is maintained largely on pasture in the summer, since 

 with him land is relatively less expensive than labor. 



The student will realize as he goes on in this book that, while there 

 are no hard and fast rules for successfully managing live stock, a clear 

 understanding of the principles of the nutrition of animals is essen- 

 tial to the highest success. This must be supplemented by good judg- 



