GRADING UP BEEF CATTLE AT SNI-A-BAR FARMS 
By D. S. BURCH, Editor, Bureau of Animal Industry, in consultation with 
E. W. SHEETS, Chief, Animal Husbandry Division, Bureau of Animal In- 
dustry, H. J. WATERS, representing Sni-a-Bar Farms, and E. A. TROW- 
BRIDGE, University of Missouri 
CONTENTS 
Page Page 
mrrnoee of Lue. work... 2 Se i | Improvement in successive crossings.__ 10 
Breeding operations begun_________~_~ 1 Show winnings of demonstration catt'e_ 12 
Methods of management_______-____~ 3 | Visit to a demonstration___________~ 12 
Weneripuon of herd sires__—____.____ 6 | Business side of the enterprise______~_ 24 
Manet? -TeCSUILS=. = 25-52 ot 6 | ‘Summary and conclusions_________-_~ 26 
PURPOSE OF THE WORK 
The cattle-breeding demonstration here described shows the re- 
sults of grading up a herd of native cows with purebred beef bulls. 
The plan was the conception of the late W. R. Nelson, a lover of good 
livestock, who believed that systematic breeding with properly chosen 
purebred sires would quickly improve common herds and eliminate 
economic waste. Mr. Nelson purchased 1,755 acres of fertile land in 
Sni-a-Bar Township, Jackson County, Mo., on which the work was 
begun and is still being conducted. The tract comprises two farms, 
one of which is devoted chiefly to the production of the purebred 
sires used in the work and the other to the operation of grading up 
the main herd. 
For convenience in operation, each farm has its own superintend- 
ent, but the two properties adjoin and are under one general man- 
agement. Together they are known as Sni-a-Bar Farms and, for the 
purpose of the work here discussed, may be considered as a unit. 
The farms are in a picturesque setting about 26 miles east of Kansas 
City, on the main road from St. Louis to Kansas City. 
BREEDING OPERATIONS BEGUN 
Mr. Nelson purchased the property in 1912 and the following year 
selected 200 “ common red cows "—as he called them—at the Kansas 
City stockyards. These animals, shipped there from Missouri, Kan- 
sas, Oklahoma, and Nebraska for slaughter, were the foundation 
female stock for his breeding operations. Though of uncertain 
lineage and history, the cows were of fair to good quality, judged 
from a market standpoint, and of good size. He chose those show- 
ing evidence of Shorthorn breeding and also of being reasonably 
good milkers. The cows were from 4 to 5 years old, most of them 
with calf and dry; a few had calves at side. This basis for selection 
insured having animals that would breed. 
