COLORADO EXPERIMENT STATION 
y he ta ble above gives also the summary of the second winter’s 
leeding, which finished the steers and heifers' for market. They were 
ted from September 18, 1911, to April 6, 1912, going in at 658 pounds, 
and coming out at 1031 pounds, a gain of 373 pounds per head in seven 
months,—an average gain of 1.78 pounds per day. They were fed 16.1 
pounds of alfalfa hay and 11.8 pounds of California feed barley per 
dav on the average, and the cost of gain was $6.85 per hundred pounds; 
a figure at which a very good profit can be made. 
The following summary gives a complete statement of the entire 
experiment: 
SUMMARY OF BEEF PRODUCTION COST 
Cost of cows per head . . * 35 00 
Cost of pasturing cows and calves, first summer, per head (Equivalent to 5 oer 
cent, interest on 10 a. of $10 fenced land)......... equivalent to per 
Depreciation in value of cows from spring to fall .!’.!! 1 !!!!!!’!* * 5 00 
Cnlf Tf t f,? f ,r CalVeS i PCr r- Cad 3t - be S innin g of f i r st winter, average weight 288 lbs. 10 00 
C t rAif f ff ed l ng C ? *f S first WI 1 * lte . r P er head > average gain in weight 346.5 lbs., 
(Alfalfa hay at $5 per ton, barley at $1 per cwt.) . .. . 1 ■? -is 
Cost of pasturing yearlings per head. . 
Net cost of feeder yearlings per head in fall, average weight ‘658 'lbs.! *.!! ! !! ! " ' * 28 38 
Market value of yearlings as feeders at 4^c per lb............. 29 6? 
COSt shHn f k tt f e H a n v a y f e * 5 ingS, f per £ Ca i d ’ aver i^ e & ain in weight 373 pounds without 
shrink (Hay at $5 per ton, barley at $1 per cwt.). 25 54 
TOta ibs.° S out f of t feed r iot? d heiferS ’ at tWO years ’ per head > (Average weight ‘ioii 
Sa, '|V.50?*an n d B S T'5lls P £ 967 ^ t0 
Profit per head, over cost of feed and shrink .!!!. VT?; 
These figures do not include the cost of labor in winter' feeding.. 
The figures given above are open to many exceptions, as condi¬ 
tions vary greatly with regard to the cost of summer pasturage, depre¬ 
ciation of cows, and so on. This summary aims to give a typical cost 
for the production of beef with the weights and gains actually obtained 
m this experiment during the two unusually dry years. ('1911 was 
the driest year since 1893, 18 years). Taking these weights as indi¬ 
cative of about the worst to be expected, the summary shows what 
profit,, if any, may be expected from the production of beef under such 
conditions. The best that we can do is to admit that, from the stand¬ 
point of showing a typical cost of production, the experiment is a 
failure, and we can use the figures of summer gains only as a basis 
around which to group other facts. 
In the table I have shown the cost of pasturing cows and calves 
at $5 per head for the cows. On-free range, or on forest reserve, 
where, the charge for grazing is 25 cents per head, the summer cost,’ 
including round up and. branding, is probably not over $1 per head. 
Thei e aie extensive sections in the eastern part of the State where the 
range is like that these cattle were run on, and 20 acres per cow is 
needed for summer pasture. When this land is held at $10 per acre, 
the cost of pasturing would be $10 for the summer. 
While.I have given $5 per head to cover depreciation in value of 
cows, and interest on investment, some cattlemen do not figure depre¬ 
ciation on cows, as they expect to sell their cows for beef in the fall 
when their usefulness is nearly over, and realize as much for them as 
they cost as two-year-olds. 
I have not figured loss of mature cattle in the summary, nor 
charged the extra cost due to a percentage of calves less than 100%. 
