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. 
