Iron County register. [volume] (Ironton, Iron County, Mo.) 1867-1965, 1880-05-13
Dairying and Beef Growing.

s.n Dairying and Beef Growing.
As American farming becomes systems
atized. its great dairy interests will work
up all its refuse much more closely. Over
large dairy districts the bad practice OBJ
tains ofkilling the calves at birth, making
no use Of them except the hide, and thus
throwing away what, in countries of
more careful farming, becomes source
Of considerable profit. All well-shaped
calves, that prove to be good eaters,
should be reared at least to an age at
fording profit.
There are about 600, 600 cows devoted
to cheese making; 100000 or more to
butter making, and some 1000, 600 to
the production of milk for sale it cities
and towns. The balance of the cows are
kept simply for raising stock calves. The
sale-milk diaries are not favorably situa-
ted for raising calves, and in the cheese
diaries the raising of only one calf to
three cows should be attempted. In
good butter diaries three calves may be
raised to four cows, by using some extra
food. But half the calves in cheese
diaries may be kept until four weeks old
and sold for veal.
| In England calf at ten days old is
usually sold at f2, or something over SO
per head. These calves are too valuable
to be thrown away; and if our system
of farming was as careful as theirs, we
should make an equally good use of
| calves. This would give over 100000
of calves in the dairy districts, raised to
| veaIing age and beyond. This would be
at least 2,500.000 more than are now
raised.
| The skjm-milk of a good cow, for the
season, is more valuable for growing
beef than is generally supposed. If we
suppose the skim-milk of good COW to
amount to four thousand pounds during
the milking season, this, properly fed,
should produce two hundred and seventy
pounds of live weight upon calves under
three months old, or one pound live
weight for fifteen pounds of skim-milk.
This live weight can not be counted at
less than four cents per pound, or $1,000.
This makes the skiul-nlilk worth, for
feeding calves, at least twenty-five cents
per hundred pounds, and it is not worth
more to make into skim-cheese; besides,
this low quality of cheese is frequently a
! great injury to the market, sometimes
demoralizing it quite equal to the whole
value Of this poor grade of cheese. Ex-
perience has shown that the manu-
facture of skim-cheese is Improbable.
If this milk is used to grow young beef,
it will pay twenty-five per cent. of the
fertilizing matter will be left upon the
land, an important consideration.
The farmer may be surprised when we
state that this skim-milk would leave in
the manure twenty pounds of nitrogen,
which, according to the usual estimate
of commercial fertilizers, is worth
twenty cents per pound. or 81. If it is
made into skim-cheese. this is sold and
/ lost to the farm. As the calves grow
older and the milk decreases, other food
may be added to the milk, such as OIL
meal, oatmeal, or whole oats, or oats
and corn ground together, or middlings.
One of the best ways to raise calves in
tended for beef is to give them a small
lot or yard. and feed them upon milk
and this other food, with hay in racks.
If they eat hay there will be no scour-
ing, and they will make as fine growth
as can be desired. Our readers know
that we never advise scanty feeding for
beef, for that always means scanty profits
or no profits; but their calves should get
all they can properly digest and assimi-
late. When thus fed they should weigh
about hive hundred pounds at SIX months
old, and at least eight hundred pounds
| at one year old. And let us suggest
that, if these calves are fed in the best
manner, they may be in such condition
as to bring good price as young beef
at ten to fourteen months old. Their
beef is so tender as to be much relished.
Butchers viii pay a better price for
them, proportionately, when in fine con-
dition at that age, than afterward. If
fed with this view, they may easily be
made to average nine hundred pounds at
one year. Let.us suppose that they sell
for four cents per pound, live weight,
and bring 1856 per head: this will afford
fair margin of profit. with the proba-
bility of getting five cents per pound, or
S45. Dairymen would add an impor-
tant item to their profits by growing this
young beef, to be sold in the neighbor-
ing villages and cities. And in this, as
in all other branches of business. the
man who practices strict economy, and
makes the best possible use of all the
means at his command, will succeed,
. while others will fail.-Nattonat Liue
Stock Journal.