The progressive farmer. [volume] (Winston, N.C.) 1886-1904, 1904-01-26
BUILDING UP A BEEF HERD.

An interesting letter comes to me from O. T..
Joyner, of Greenville, N. c. He has been an ac-
tive dairyman for some time, and now wishes to
turn his dairy herd into a beef herd. From his
letter / believe he has a good farm for either kind
of business.
Mr.. Joyner sends his subscription to The Pro-
grcssive Farmer, and says he hopes there viii be
many discussions about live stock this coming
year. Parts of Mr.. Joyner's letter are as follows:
!. 81 shall appreciate your opinion also ON the
management of a crop of calves that i have COM
ing on. / have now twelve young calves, and by
March 18th, will have forty more. MY object is
to raise beef cattle. / shall not sell milk nor but
ter, but shall let the calves have all the milk their
mothers give. Now what 1 want to know, is it
better to let the calves go to their mother in "a
hours, or would it be better to let the calves run
with their mothers instead of supporting them2
How much, if any, additional feed should be given
the calves, say until they are three or four months
oldP"
Where one plans to let the calves take their
mothers milk, / think it far better to let the
calves run with their mothers all the time. This
is the way the large beef herds of the West and
smaller herds of the Middle West are handled.
The calves can take their food then when they like
and in such quantities as they like. Where COWS
are sucked by their calves I think therefore, it
is best to have the two together all the time.
There is just one phase of this question in this
case that is worthy of careful consideration be-
fore anything radical is done. Mr.. Joyner says
his cows are Jerseys, grades and natives. This
means these cows are going to produce a good
deal of butter fat. / really don't like to see all
this good rich milk with all the butter fat fed to
these calves. A pound of butter fat is worth Is
cents anywhere, and that pound is worth no more
than a pound of corn and oats for making the
calves grow. Ny idea in making this change is
something like this: Select all of the very best
mixers in the herd. This may be a third or a
half of the herd. This selected lot would of course
comprise the good paying COWS. / would advise
milking these ind making butter for sale. The
remaining poor and Indifferent cows-a half or
two-thirds of the herd, I would use for raising
calves. They are to raise not only their own, but
the calves of the selected lot as well. And they
will do this. On fresh lows a couple of young
calves could be put. They will make it all right
and neither side will object.
By doing this way, we are saving the butter
from the best cows. This means a good profit
and the calves will get along just as well. The
skim milk can be given to pigs or even to the
sucking calves.
As to extra feed for the calves: During the first
three or four months but little WILL be neeoeu.
Some SOW pea hay to nibble at, or pasture grass,
or a little grain in winter will answer the ques-
ton. We should know at the beginning that an
imal growth comes not from the soil or the air:
it comes only from the food the animal gets.
Hence plenty of food will mean quick maturity.
1t is the two-year-old steer that brings the profit
in beef. The beef calf then should not be permit
ted to get thin. Keep this calf fat all the time
- 49, Pa+far houo On apd feed
well than 40 with food lacking and insufficient.
- nr- IL -@-a:.4a-of aho,,k-7 TX had Of onwa