Bismarck daily tribune. [volume] (Bismarck, Dakota [N.D.]) 1881-1916, 1902-06-09
I v STOCK u
RESULTS THAT MAY BE ATTAINED
FROM WE'LL BRED STOCK AND

FROM WE'LL BRED STOCK AND
FEEDING.
Prof. Thos. Shaw in Pioneer Press:
The profits that may be. made from
feeding live stock have been empha-
sized in a manner at once striking and
convincing by the results from feeding
a bunch of steers at J.. ]. Hills North
Oaks farm the past winter. The fig
ures have been given from a ource at
once reliable and accurate, so that the
results, phenomenal as they may ap-
pear, may assuredly be accepted as<cor-
rect. MI. McCusick, the manager,
went down to the South st. Paul stock
yards in November, 1900. and pur-
chased forty-fve steers eighteen to
twenty-four months old. They were
chiefly h~igh-grade shorthorns, although
in the white faces of some of the lot
were indications of Hereford blood.
The point to be noted here is, that the
steers were high grades. And that
they were we'll chosen. With common
animals and carelessly picked up, the
results obtained would have been Inn
possible. The steers were driven over
to North Oaks, Assistance of eighteen
miles, and were delivered there at an
average cost per head of $2O.1S. This
cost included commissions, dehorning
o-l Jo1iro,.v, oh 4ha foero ..l TN1ou uro1.n
fed corn fodder the first winter. This
food was grown the same as the ensil-
g corn, but was simply fed in the
cured form. In the summer they had
pasture only. The following winter
they were fattened on corn fodder,
which was fairly well laden with ears.
In addition they were given all the
shelled corn they would eat, and along
with it a moderate amount of oilcake.
In the same feed lot were seventy-ive
pigs which cleaned after the steers.
On May 5, 1902, Oh eighteen months
after the steers were purchased. they
were sold for the block at South St.
Paul, the place of purchase. for S74.10.
per head. This was the average
amount received per animal, after. com
mission. yardage and feed at the yards
had been deducted. The steers had
also been driven all the way from
North Oaks to South st. Paul in the
finished form, which told heavily upon
the shrinkage. The average obtained,
therefore, for keeping those steers
eighteen months. was s553. 90: But
this does not represent all the return.
The profit on the seventy-fve pigs that
followed the steers was away beyond
the cost of caring for the steers. In
fact much of it ought to be considered
as clear profit, for the fertilizer from
the steers during the fattening period
at least, ought to be worth fully as
much as the cost of caring for the
steers.
Now, here is a line of work which
any farmer may follow who has the
requisite knowledge to select properly
and to feed properly when selected
The farmer may not be able to make az
large a profit as was made in the above
instance, as he is usually farther from
the market, and there is not always ar
advance in prices as there was las
winter, but the fact remains. that feed
ing cattle in our state will bring good
profit to the farmers who know how
to do the work properly. There arr
no good reasons why Minnesota should
not become the greatest state in all th,
union for fattening stock.
But note what was said above, tn,
steers were w%ell-bred and were care
fully chosen. With a common or in
ferior class OF steers such returns coul,
never have been obtained, no matte
how skillful the management. Thi
fact was clearly apparent to Mr.. Hi
long years ago, when he distribute.
among the farmers gratuitiously pur
bred males for the Improvement Q
their stock. Had the farmers thu
favored but understood the benefi
that they might have reaped from TIL
stock thus donated the story Of til
live stock Of Minnesota and North Da
kota would have been very differen
from what it Is today; live stock val
ues in both states would have bee.
worth hundreds Of thousands; yes
millions q than 1t is now.