Dakota farmers' leader. (Canton, S.D.) 1890-19??, 1902-02-07

Feeding Cattle.

animals are an exception and Thousand
of unfinished steers are being sent in tt
be sold at a comparatively poor price
1t is said that the chief cause for thi
state of affairs is the lack of food bu
we are inclined to believe that this ii
not the true reason in many instances
We say this for the reason that we see
the same thing happen year after year
There are some men who finish thei1
steers and obtain fine price for them
there are other men who never sold. 8
lot of finished cattle in their lives and
really do not know how to mature such
a shipment. 1t is positive shame to
send lot of fine steers to market be-
fore they are ripe. 1t is exactly like
picking crop of fruit before it is ripe.
The unripe apples can be cooked, Of
course, but they will not bring the
same price as fully ripe, lucious fruit.
The unfinished steer sells readily all
sorts and conditions of cattle can he
utilized in the big cities-but the ap.
precialive price is missed and that
price should be the goal of every feed
er. To win this price it is necessary to
start with the right sort of feeding cat.
tie. It is waste of time, food and
money to feed any other kind. The
best is none too good to turn grain and
fodder into meat. It takes the best in
deed to do this work pro6tably. 1t
necessitates the employment of cattle
bred from cattle that are of beef
breed. Such cattle, if properly fed,
will mature fast and at "a comparative
ly early age, finish" we'll for the mar.
ket and command the high price we
have in mind. Supposing then the
right kind of cattle are in the feeding
lots what method of feeding should be
employed? A common sense method
based upon knowledge of the effect
of different foods. If the cattle are
quite young and thin there is no use in
wasting corn upon them-it is too
early to derive the best profit from
corn feeding. They require to grow
and practically mature their frames
before the finishing process commences.
To throw corn into them for few
weeks and then dump them into the
market is absolute waste of time of
both corn and cattle. What they
want is cheap feeding on folders and
nitrogenous foods until they are ready
to finish and then not more than two
months of full fattening feeding upon
carbanceous foods such as corn and
along with corn. oil cake which at
present is being fed by British and
European feeders rather than our own
farmers. 1t pays them to pay high
prices for this foot product; it should
surely pay US better to consume this
food at home Given the right lot of
cattle, ready to finish, we are of the
opinion that our common farm meth
DDS of finishing are all wrong. Keep
ing the finishing bunch in an unprotect'
ed yard exposed to the incleminces of
the weather. drinking ice cold water,
ealing nothing but whole corn and hay
or fodder, horning and fighting, chas-
ing and running, all means waste of
food, waste of time. Such animals
disappoint the owner and he sends
them to market unfinished and unpro-
fitable. Each animal has its own
peculsaritles of disposition and appe-
tite according to its tasts and require
ments. Some will thrive on whole
corn, etc., others will practically starve
or at least will not ''inish." In a feed
ing lot they are not properly seen to;
their habits cannot be studied. For
these reasons cattle should be first sor.
ted into even lots of like weight and
appearance then fed indoors SO that
exercise and cold may not consume
food. Here each beast can be fed all
it will clean up. the state of its bowels
may be kept track Of, its appetite
tempted with change of food when
failing, its particular wants attended
to, its finishing period under the eye OF
the feeder. So treated each animal
may be properly finished and as some
finish first they should be punched with
other finished animals and sent 10 mar.
ket uniform in type, quality and finish.
Such cattle will bring good price
there is far too few of them to fill the
demand. Allowing corn to pass
through the bowels of finishing cattle
undigested is a sign Of waste. The
food should be in such shape that il
is wholly digested. Meals should take
the place of whole corn; oil cake
should be used at this period; roots
could be profitably employed; rough
folders and hay should be profitably
employed; rough folders and hay
should be chaffed and wetted with sue
culent foods or molasses water. 1r
short the finishing process should b.
thorough and comprise the feeding O.
every pound of food the animal viii
digest. Everything that will tend Il
waste food should be avoided. I
should be used for production AM
nothing else.-Homestead.
! Notice.