72 Western Lave-stock Management 
beef is not often produced in the West because it requires 
grain in addition to the hay. 
Steers fed on hay alone consume from thirty-five to 
forty-five pounds daily providing the hay is good, and 
make a daily gain of one to one-and-one-half pounds. 
The feeding period is not as long as in the East, usually 
three to five months. Counting hay at $6.00 a ton, the 
cost of one pound of gain is from 8 to 12 cents, and for a 
good profit there is required a margin of about one cent a 
pound for 120 days’ feed. By margin is meant the differ- 
ence between the buying and selling price a pound or 100 
pounds. For example, let us assume that a steer is bought 
for $4.50 a hundred pounds and sold after an increase of 
200 pounds for $5.50 a hundred. Assuming the cost of 
the gain to be 8 cents a pound, the profit must be in the 
increased value of each pound of the whole carcass. 
The fattening process makes the carcass better and hence 
more valuable, leaving out the gain in weight. Under the 
conditions named, if the steer weighed 1000 pounds at 
the start, the original cost at $4.50 would be $45.00. 
The 200 pounds of gain would cost 8 cents a pound, bring- 
ing the total cost of the steer up to $61. He now weighs 
1200 and if sold at the original price of $4.50 a hundred 
weight would bring $54.00, making a loss of $7.00. But 
because of the better beef he will make, he sells for $5.50 
a hundred weight, thus bringing $66.00, and a profit of 
$5.00. The margin required to make a profit varies with a 
number of factors. High cost of feed, of course, increases 
the margin required. Small steers also require slightly 
more margin than large ones. 
When steers are low in price, more margin is required 
than when they are high, providing the price of feed re- 
mains the same. Jor example, if the cost of a pound of 
