The Redwood gazette., 1903-02-18
FARMERS GET POINTERS
On How to Make Beef at Profit, how to
Get Good Pastures, Shelter
Etc.
The Value of Groves as WindbreakS, and
of Trees and Lawns for the
Home.

! If any one thinks that the farm
ers of Redwood county are indiller-
ent to new ideas on farm problems,
the large attendance at the court
house last Monday ought to open
his eyes. With the mercury away
down in the twenties nearly two
hundred farmers and farmers wives
braved the hardships OF a long
drive in the frostv winds to get
new light in the line OF their calling.
Men like Nels Haag and Geo. John
son of Lucan, who drove over TWEEN
ty miles to attend this meeting, de-
served to get something for their
hardships and the general verdict
/ is that the meeting was we'll worth
while.
President Shaver of the Farmers
Club welcomed his brother farmers
and introduced Prof. Thos. Shaw,
who first spoke good word for the
St. Anthony Park institution and
then dipped into his subject of grow
ing cattle for beef. The first requi-
site, he said. was the right kind of
animals On the form and breed OF
animals would largely depend not on
ly success in fattening, butin getting
top prices in the market He thought
20 beef animals would be shipped
from this locality in the future.
where one is-today.
| Prof. Shaw did not 90 into detail
as to what constituted the ideal
form of beef animal, but said that
the observing members OF his class
of students could pick out OF mixed
herd. the right animals with hardly
| ever making a mistake. The differ
euce Between five and SIX. cents a
pound on a 400 pound animal
meant 81 400. and the man who Sc
icured the extra cent was the one
who'fed at profit. He cautioned
against rushing, to market too soon
better keep up feeding $50 to l90
days to. insure prime conditions..
! Prof. Shaw laid down, the general
rule, that the farmer should grow
his own feed. There might be ex-
ceptions where the feeder could buy
corn from his neighbor at from Is to
20 cents per bushel, but in such a
case the feeder would be getting
rich by reason of the folly of his
reighbor.
Some valuable advice followed as
to feeding. Avoid feeding too much
grain. Experiments showed that
it was .wasteful to feed 2S pounds of
corn per day to an animal. II to IA
pounds, with good clover hay,
would bring better results. He be-
lieved that the science of feeding
would 50. improve that farmers
would no longer have to follow beef
animals with pigs in order to save
all their grain.
/ Prof. Shaw is strong advocate
of elsilage. He. thought all feeders
should have silos for best results.
He also advocated cutting and
shredding corn and ffouder. He
was experimenting on sowing wheat,
oats and little flax SO as to make
an ideal ration, and brought out
considerable comment generally
| favoring such mixture. conditions
differing with differing soils.
/ The question whether. cattle fat
tened best in stalls or open yards
was no longer a doubtful one. Ex-
periments showed that yards not
too large, sheltered with sheds and
straw stacks were every way bet
ter for results in beef and in saving
manure.
| AS rule, summer feeding was
better than winter feeding. Asked
lat what age stock should be market
ed, Prof. Shaw gave Ills opinion
that 80 months. ought to be the limit
F& >pRsts Twoyears was better.
Given gdbd .adimal and proper
feed q yearlihg would weigh 100 or
tts6ct p5unds. { If
vsry seock nianshouN have pas
tnre. Prof. SHAY ad'ysoAdted = J. mix, =.