The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1885-10-07
The Cost of Producing Meat.


When, with the aid of science the farmer can
so govern his operations as to regulate the cost
of production, and adapt his pastures and crops
to special objects, he will not only be enabled to
convert his produce into the most salabe com
modities, but understand how to secure the
greatest amount at the lowest cost. In order to
determine the relative value of different feeding
materials, Professor Brown, of the Ontario ex-
detrimental farm, devoted nine years to careful
experiments for that purpose, and his results
show that while greater and more rapid in
crease of flesh is secured from certain feeding
materials, yet they are not always the
cheapest The heaviest weight per day
obtained by feeding sugar beet as
sisted with hay and a mixture of grain, which
gave 270 pounds at a cost of 124 cents
per pound. while permanent pasture produced
205 pounds at a cost of only cents per pound.
No doubt the difference in cost was the labor or
preparing the food, the pastures being ready for
the stock, while the mixed diet was prepared.
There was also a difference in the quality of the
pasture. Permanent grass gave better results
than pasture from which crop of hay had been
taken, as the hay pastures produced only l. 10
pounds. at cost of cents per pound.
Even when using hay its value depends upon
its preparation and quality. Hay roots and
bran, without grain, gave a daily gain of 2. IA
pounds at cost of cents per pound; but the
most costly food, though apparently the cheap
est, was uncut hay and roofs. with bran and
corn. which produced I76 pounds, at a cost IA
bran, with uncooked grain, gave 1870 pounds. at
cost of only cents per pound. Thus it APP
pears that cutting the hay and using grain gave
a larger profit than the uncut hay, roots and
corn, the difference being great as to be easily
noticeable. Simply cutting the hay added to the
profit and lessened the cost; for while the uncut
ha Y and roots, with bran and corr, gave l. rs
pounds, at cost of IA cents per pound the
same food excepting that the hay was cut, gave
gain of 2 10 pounds, at a cost of fraction over
alo lob
employed in order to cut the hay but the daily
gain was sufficiently large to more than compen-
safe for the labor and lessen the cost of produc-
ton. Although turnips and mangolds are
considered cheap feeding materials, and gave
large daily gains when used in connection with
other foods, yet they did not lessen the cost to
the extent expected. for when mangods were fed
with hay and mixture of grain. although the
daily gain was 238 pounds, yet the cost per
pound was 104 cents. Turnips fed in the same
manner gave nearly equal results
The concentrated foods gave good results on
the gain, and in some cases were cheaper than
was supposed, but much depended upon the man
ner in which they were fed. Corn, with hay,
roots and bran, produced two pounds daily at a
cost of 81 cents per pound AS this is almost the
same food that gave l. 76 pounds, at IA cents per
pound it is owing to the difference in proportions
that the cost varied. Oats, fed in the same
manner as corn, gave GA pounds, at a cost of 10
cents per pound
From the above it is deduced that profit does
not depend upon the rapidty Of gain in weight
daily, but upon the cost pound, and that the
cost is regulated not only by the labor required
and the value of the food, but upon the mode of
feeding and the preparation of the food. 1t
must be so varied as to attain the best results in
the cheapest manner, and the kind of food does
not affect the result much as improperly
mixing them or giving an excess of something
not required, while emitting that which may be
very important. The value of feeding mate
ria 1c ho tu1i "a hy oil far, IN
experiments m entioned above show that farmer
may have valuable amount of feeding material
that might be converted into beef, and yet such
beef would be costly unless the materials
fed in such manner as to cause rapid increase at
the least expense. The addition of a single
material may alter the result. and the
character and quality of the stock are important
factors in the matter