COST OF PRODUCING BEEF IN KANSAS 
15 
feeding does not play so important a part. From a detailed analysis 1 
of the thin aged cattle under study the factors influencing the finan- 
cial success in handling these cattle were found to be (1) the general 
movement of cattle prices each year from March through November, 
whether upward or downward. This general price movement is 
the principal determinant of (2) the margin received. The term 
"margin" as used here is the difference between the value of the 
steer per hundred pounds when going on grass and the selling 
price per hundred pounds. Since most of the steers using the Flint 
Hills pastures during the years of this study put on gain (see Tables 4 
and 5) for less than the sales price per hundred pounds of the steer 
the margin could be a minus quantity and the steers sell at a profit. 
However, the smaller the minus margins and the larger the plus 
margins the greater the profit. 
The (3) cost of carrying a steer through the season, which includes 
the cost of grass, the interest on capital tied up in cattle, the equip- 
ANNUAL CARRYING COSTS PER STEER ON GRASS 
1921 22 '23 '21 22 '23 21 '22 '23 '21 '22 23 21 22 23 21 22 '23 21 22 '23 
THIN HALF FAT FAT THIN HALF FAT ' THIN HALF FAT 
W^ Grass RS884 Interest on Investment in Cottle and Equipment Y^/ft Miscellaneous 
Fig. 8. — Carrying costs per steer on grass vary considerably 
ment, labor, and other charges, had about one-third as much influence 
upon the profit from handling of thin aged steers as did the margin 
received, but there Was a general tendency for those steers having 
the higher carrying charges to return the lower incomes. (Fig. 8.) 
It was also noticeable that (4) the thin aged steers held longer on 
grass made lower returns than those on grass a shorter time. There 
was a marked tendency for those cattlemen who paid the least for 
each acre of grass they used to have the larger net income. One 
reason for this was that the leases covering pasture for cattle sold 
early in the season usually called for less area but for the better grass. 
Cattlemen planning to pasture their cattle for longer periods usually 
demanded more area per steer than those planning for a short graz- 
ing period. Another reason why longer grazing of thin aged cattle 
meant lower incomes was that during the period of this study the 
1 The measure of the relative importance of the different factors influencing the financial success was 
determined by a statistical analysis which showed how closely the net income varied with each factor 
influencing financial success when the influences of all other causal factors were eliminated. 
