INPUT AS RELATED TO OUTPUT 
27 
Table 26. — Estimated cost of beef per 100 pounds of gain at varying prices of 
hay by rates of feeding corn and hay {8^1 -pound steers, on feed 138 days; all 
cost other than feed $11.20 per head; pork by-product 7i cents per pound) 
Corn input per head per day 
Hay input per head (pounds per day) 
20 
Costs with corn at 50 cents per bushel 
and hay at $10 per ton 
10 pounds 
15 pounds 
20 pounds 
25 pounds 
10 pounds 
15 pounds 
20 pounds 
25 pounds 
10 pounds 
15 pounds 
20 pounds 
25 pounds 
$14. 07 
$13. 61 
$13. 46 
13.55 
13.22 
13.11 
13.51 
13.23 
13.13 
14.51 
14.16 
14.01 
$13. 45 
13.12 
13.15 
Costs with corn at 50 cents per bushel 
and hay at $12 per ton 
$14. 66 
$14. 28 
$14. 27 
13.95 
13.78 
13.80 
13.87 
13.72 
13.74 
14.83 
14.61 
14.60 
$14. 38 
13.93 
13.87 
Costs with corn at 50 cents per bushel 
and hay at $14 per ton 
$15.06 
$14. 94 
$15. 08 
14.35 
14.33 
14.48 
14.26 
14.20 
14.35 
15.17 
15.08 
15.17 
$15. 32 
14.74 
14.58 
In Table 26, which starts with the same least-cost combination of 
15 pounds of corn and 16 to 20 pounds of hay, with corn at 50 cents 
and hay at $10, the least-cost combination shifts to 20 pounds of 
corn and 12 to 16 pounds of hay when hay rises to $12 per ton, and 
to 20 pounds of corn and 12 pounds or less of hay with hay at $14 
per ton. 
These tables merely bear out the commonplace rule to use less of 
each feed as it costs relatively more, but they tell not merely which 
way to change but also how far, taking into account relative gains 
and (in a complete presentation) such items as weight of animals, 
length of period, and quality of animals. 
Another form of assumption might be made as follows: A man 
has a given quantity of corn and hay to feed, and a given drove of 
cattle to which to feed it. What length of period will give the most 
economical gains? For a specific illustration, the following case is 
taken from the actual records: On a given farm there were 1,848 
bushels of corn and 15^ tons of alfalfa hay to be fed to 32 steers, 
weighing an average of 835 pounds. The total value of the feed was 
$1,048.88. Table 27 indicates the gains to be expected if the total 
quantity of feed were fed in periods of different lengths. Now in 
this case some costs — feed, marketing, etc. — remain the same regard- 
less of the length of the feeding period, whereas others, such as the 
