Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1905-03-20
Experience Of Grundy County
Farmer Who Feeds Stock
For the Profit Alone
BUYS CORN ON BOARD OF TRADE
This Farmer Knows Just What His
Grain for the Winter is Going to
Cost Him, and If Price Goes Up in
Chicago His Profits Make Up Differ
once He Has To Pay.
10 Times Republican.

Conrad, March 20.-Hundreds OF
Iowa farmers this winter have been
feeding cattle How many OF them
made money out Of 1t? A very Few.
There seems to be an ambition WIN
every one to be known among MS
neighbors as a cattle FEEDER he goes
out and picks up q few punches OF
good animals. puts them thru a long
course of feeding, and II he makes any
| profit 1t is on the hogs that run with
them. But il he breaks even he Is
happy, because his standing Is raised
In the community.
I was on farm near nero ie"
days ago where. In large pen, were
20 head of cattle and 400 head OF hoss'
and as / looked at Thorn salo'
"Where did you find them; some seem
pretty rood?" "Good?" he said. Ihere
ia not a decent animal in the buncn.
was M to st. Paul and picked them
nm with those 400 hogs; ] shipped the
hogs in double deckers. and then lack
ed weight" "well," I said. III there
are no good ones among them, how are
Won going to make any money!" He
looked at me and smiled, saying: my
how the fellows who fatten the good
ones don't make any money; that out
fit did not average me s2.00 a hundrea.
I will give them about 100 days leeo
and turn them Off at about "a 10 $A.ov,
and have a good profit. My hogs VIII
make the same gains and the 1ertlllAer
obtained will be just the same as tho
they were white-faced 2-year-olds
that cost twice as much and DON'T
bring the proportionate raise In price.
"But." I said, "can you feed them this
high priced corn and get out on it?",
"well. YOU see" he replied, when
figured I'D how much this bunch would
consume / went and bought on the
board OF trade the amount Of corn that
was necessary to fatten them, and In
this county the price OF corn usually
follows the Chicago markets. So
know just what corn is going to cost
me, II 1t goes up in Chicago why my
profits make up the difference l have
to pay here. So you see / am playing
comparatively safe game" This
man does not try or care to top the
| market, he Is in the business for what
profit there is in 1T.
II has been a lesson learned in some
localities that other kind Of feeding
than fat steers pays better. AROUND
Kansas City few years ago some en-
terprising feeders saw the trend OF al
fairs and began feeding heifers Tor
the Kansas City market. They have
been feeding them regularly every
year, selling them always at high
prices and pocketing a good profit,
while their neighbors have been having
their ups and downs feeding steers. 1t
does seem little strange, neverthe-
less it is true, that a few men could
go along making "sure money" each
year right in sight OF lot of others
who make part Of the time and lose
the rest Of the time, without the latter
Catching on" and changing their
| System" OF course, If all stockmen
were to quit feeding steers and go to
feeding heifers, one, or both, Of two
things would occur: Heifer calves
would become so scarce that the
strong demand would put the price to
the prohibitive point, or the supply of
"baby beef" heifers on the market
would become so liberal that prices
would drop to the point where the
profit would be wiped out. But 1t
would appear that a few more feeders
could take up heifers without either of
the above occurring, and at the same
time their absence from the ranks of
steer feeders would not affect adverse
ly the market for beef steers. One of
the nice things about handling these
young heifers is that the money is
turned over quickly. The feeder gets
| them when they are six to eight
months old, and markets them when
they are ten to fourteen months old.
If taken before they lose the calf fat"
they never stop taking on flesh, and
when finished are almost as desirable
from the standpoint Of the epicure as
choice young veal. There is always a
scramble among buyers for them when
| they land on the market for the reason
that they are about all meat. They
kill out well and the meat is always in
demand in thine spring of the year
| when people have grown weary OF
poultry and lamb
GEORGE F. nHAYER.