Mower County transcript. [volume] (Lansing, Minn.) 1868-1915, 1886-05-12

ssWOulu 10uUC0 tn0 #KSWsOOUsUUO@tO O4U,-s
#OO0, 900. and this against 5000, 600
for bread and seed would leave 1000
600 deficit, which would bring Dakota
wheat up to 81 a bushel. Now, be-
side, saving this Is per cent. in area,
expense and time, the farmer can put
in another crop that will be even more
profitable. For the last four years-every
man must do something for living
laughter -Ihaye been raising cattle. I
commenced in small way. I fed my
steers on grass and cabbage. a little
ground oats and oil cake, and the last
two weeks put in handful of cheap
brown sugar. sent four steers to
Chicago to compete in the stock show
with six hundred fat cattle, from older
states and states that make business
of feeding cattle. At Chicago I found
it an Illinois show. and they didn't like
to see people coming from Minnesota
and compete with them on fat cattle.
Ranchmen were there watching them,
and the result made them look blue. I
took the sweepstakes prize tor the best
two-year old, and then killed and
dressed him. He dressed at 1884
pounds [applause], and he dressed
ia per cent of his gross weight ap-
plause], and that was better than and
other steer ever seen in Chicago. Then
the butchers came and didn't know
whose OK was being sored, so they
were unbiased. They gave me the first
prize for the best carcass of dressed
meat, the first prize for the largest per-
centage of edible food in the carcass,
the first prize for the largest per cent
of dressed meat to the live steer, the
first prize for the best meat and the
gold medal. took these prizes with
four steers in competition with 600.
[Applause.] I fed no corn. 1 fed
them cabbage, turnips and ground oats.
NV farm had been cultivated for twen-
ty-five years, and Was pretty bad land.
WHAT HE KNOWS ABOUT FARMING.
sowed my turnips with drill, cul-
tivated them twice, thinned them out
and when ripe cut the tops off with a
hoe. It cost $3.50 per acre to raise
them, and 1 got $50 bushels to the acre,
the cost being less than one and half
cents to the bushel. Now the daily
rations for 100 steers-and one man
can take care of a hundred steers
the rations consist first of 1000 pounds
of hay at 50 per ton, and | will say that
there is enough hay burned in Mime
sofa annually, ifsold at So per acre, to
pay for the entire wheat crop of tho
state for five years. There will be
also 1900 pounds of roots or seventy
bushels, at two cents a bushel-and
mine didn't cost one and half cents,
and were raised on poor soil. Next
comes 400 pounds of ground grain at
one cent per pound, and 200 pounds of
oil-cake, at 500 per ton. The total
rations then for 100 steers for one day
are $500 pounds of feed, or tifty-eight
pounds for each animal, which costs
$3.50 or $S0l for ninety days. Now,
good stockers at a good price, three
and one-ha]f years old, average weight
1850 pounds, can be bought for three
cents a pound. or SO, $50 for the herd
of 100, making the total investment IN
feed and steers $4,251. Now, 100
steers should gain 250 pounds each dur
ing the ninety days, making their av-
erage weight 1,4O0 pounds. or total OF
14O, 900 pounds, which at Al cents q
pound, would be S6.3OO Now the
manure from these animals is worth
one-third the whole cost. 1t would be
cheap at 1867, or total on the credit
side of Sc 567, or profit of $2,3l6, or
1928 16 to each animal for three months.
[Applause.]
The following is the rabove informa
ton in tabulated form:
Daily rations for 100 steers
1 600 lbs. hay @ So per ton. 81 SO
1900 lbs. roots, " bu. a &c per bu. 1 10
400 lbs. ground gram @ 1c per Id. 4 90
200 lbs. oil cake @ $40 per ton.... 2 90
$500 lbs. for one days COST. So 80
Rations for ninety days cost...... SO1 90
100 steers, 1, $50 lbs. each, @ &c, cost $50 90
Total cost. .....A2 w
100 steers, 400 lbs each, sell for. Sc 800 90
Add o. e-third value for manure. 267 10
Total amount of sales. ...... 81 90
Profit. 2,316 90
That this can be done and has been