Fattening Steers 75 



wise do. This ability to estimate quickly and accurately 

 the value of a steer is just as necessary as the ability to 

 feed properly, and requires both training and natural 

 ability to a greater extent than any other branch of beef 

 production. The beginner should ask the advice of some 

 older man, and should start with a small number of cat- 

 tle, say a carload. There is much risk in cattle feeding, 

 especially as it is carried out almost entirely with borrowed 

 money. One hundred steers is not an enormous number 

 to feed, yet they will cost at least $5000, a larger sum 

 than most farmers have to invest for a short time. Also it 

 is cheaper to borrow for a few weeks than to keep the 

 money lying idle for eight or nine months of the year. 

 A reliable farmer who has the feed, or the money to buy 

 it, will have no trouble in borrowing money at the bank 

 with which to buy the cattle. 



The kind of steers to feed will largely depend on the 

 price paid for them. There is no steer, and no cow or bull, 

 that is too poor to feed with profit if bought at a low enough 

 price. Under western conditions, however, as they usually 

 exist, the most profitable feeder is the square blocky steer 

 with a straight broad back, a deep flank and weighing 

 about 1000 pounds. He should show no signs of dairy 

 or unimproved blood, should not be rough and above all 

 should be in good flesh at the start. Steers that are not 

 already in almost killing condition would better be roughed 

 through the winter and given another summer on grass. 

 The younger the steer, the better, providing he has the 

 weight. One should look out for steers that have been 

 topped a few times. The most thrifty cattle become fat 

 first, and the first man who tops the bunch secures these 

 good ones and by the time it comes around to the last man 

 there is little left but cattle that are naturally poor doers. 



