BEEF CATTLE IN" NORTH CAROLINA. 13 
Table 5. — Summary of the three winters' work — Continued. 
Lot 
No. 
Ration. 
Year. 
Gain (+) 
or loss (— ) 
for winter 
per steer. 
Initial 
cost per 
cwt. 
Cost to 
winter 
per 
steer. 
Cost in 
spring 
per 
cwt. 
Advance in 
spring cost 
over initial 
cost per 
cwt. 
3 
Corn silage, corn stover, hay, and 
straw. 
1913-14 
1914-15 
1915-16 
Pounds. 
-84 
-32 
-40 
5.00 
6.00 
6.00 
6.06 
7.45 
6.78 
6.73 
7.43 
7.25 
1.73 
1.43 
1.25 
-52 
5.67 
6.76 
7.14 
1.47 
1913-14 
1914-15 
1915-16 
4 
+17 
+17 
+26 
4.50 
6.00 
6.00 
4.66 
6.29 
5.23 
5.23 
6.70 
6.60 
.73 
.70 
.60 
+ 20 5.50 
5.39 
6.18 
.68 
Some important facts brought out by the work and conclusions 
drawn from it are as follows: 
1. The steers in Lots 1, 2, and 3 lost weight each winter, the aver- 
age loss for the three years being 32, 51, and 52 pounds, respectively ; 
while the steers in Lot 1, which were winter-grazed, gained in weight 
every year, making an average gain of 20 pounds per head for each 
of the three winters. 
2. The average cost of wintering the steers on dry feeds was $11.13 
per head, while the silage-fed steers (Lots 2 and 3) cost $7.11 and 
$6.76, respectively, and the steers in Lot 4 had a charge of but $5.39 
per head against them. 
3. There was a saving of over $1 per head by using a combination 
of silage and dry feeds instead of using the common North Carolina 
ration of dry roughage with a little ear corn. This emphasizes the 
importance of silage as a winter feed for stocker cattle. 
4. A saving of almost $6 per head was made by using meadows for 
winter grazing over the method of feeding used for Lot 1. 
5. It cost less than one-half as much to winter the steers of Lot 4 
as it did those of Lot 1, and the steers of Lot 4 gained in weight while 
those of Lot 1 lost weight. 
6. The average increased cost per 100 pounds of the steers in the 
spring over the fall cost, due to the different methods of wintering, 
was $1.74 for Lot 1, $1.40 for Lot 2, $1.47 for Lot 3, and $0.68 for Lot 
4. In other words, the farmer who carries steers through the winter 
under conditions similar to those in western North Carolina can fig- 
ure that steers wintered on dry feed cost about If cents a pound more 
by their spring weight than they did in the fall. Similarly, steers 
wintered on a light silage ration cost about 1-J- cents more, whereas 
those wintered on prepared winter pastures cost less than f cent more 
per pound. 
