Care and Management of Beef Cattle 193 
QUESTIONS 
1. How many beef cattle are there in the United States? How many 
in your state? In your county? How does your state rank with other 
states in the production of beef? How does your county rank with other 
counties of the state? Name the ten leading beef-producing states. 
Which state possesses the largest number to the square mile? To the 
farm? 
2. Why has the quality of beef-producing animals deteriorated during 
the past decade, especially throughout the principal agricultural states ? 
If this condition continues where are we to get our beef supply ? 
3. In selecting breeding stock to improve the quality of our beef, what 
are the essential factors to be considered? Why is codperative breeding 
of advantage ? 
4, Why is summer feeding on pasture likely to be more profitable than 
winter feeding in the dry lot? 
5. Why is a warm barn objectionable as winter quarters for fat- 
tening steers? Why do fat cattle differ from dairy cattle in this 
respect ? 
6. When a farmer buys cattle and fattens them, how much above the 
purchase price per hundred pounds must he obtain to make a profit? 
What is this difference called? What factors influence it? 
7. When isa fat steer ready for the market? What changes take place 
in his flesh if he is held too long after being finished ? 
8. Which is the best season of the year to market steers in your vi- 
cinity? How much does the local buyer deduct for “drift,” when he 
purchases the cattle at the farm? 
9. Name the ten largest beef cattle markets in the United States. 
How many cattle are handled at each annually? ; 
10. Name the more common diseases of cattle. Give symptoms of 
each. Why is tuberculosis so common among cattle? How can it be 
stamped out? 
11. How much does your local butcher pay for the cattle he slaughters ? 
How much will the animals lose in dressing? How much does the butcher 
charge for the beef? Approximately what are his profits on a steer that 
weighs 1000 pounds alive? What are some of the other products upon 
which the butcher realizes besides the beef ? 
