Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1910-12-16
FEEDING BEEF CATTLE.

FEEDING BEEF CATTLE.
Clemson Expert Discusses the Subject
In General Way.
The following article by Prof. A.
Smith Of Clemson college contains
some suggestions that will prove Of
interest to people who are consider
ing the subject Of cattle feeding:
One Of the most important indus
tries at present being developed in
the state is the extensive feeding Of
beef cattle on the large cotton plan
tations. The object In feeding these
cattle Is to secure fertilizer for the
farm at a minimum cost and to per-
manently increase the fertility Of the
soil and improve it's physical con-
ditions which cannot be done with
commercial fertilizers. At the same
time these cattle furnish a profitable
market for. cheap, rough forage
which would otherwise have little
value.
BY exchanging cotton seed for meal
to be fed-and selling only the lint
and oil which contain no fertility,
the farmer is enabled to return to the
soil all the fertility taken from 1t and
thus maintain it's fertility and pro-
ductiveness On visiting the farmers
who are feeding cattle this winter we
find that with many Of them this Is
an entirely new industry and that
some serious mistakes have been
made.
The cattle were nearly all bought
in Tennessee and North Carolina.
The buyers in many cases taking the
weights Of the dealers without seeing
the cattle weighed and in many cases
the cattle were weighed full Of water
and feed, and as a consequence suf-
fered an excessively heavy shrink
age in weight in transit. The pre-
vention Of this unnecessary loss would
in many instances have meant a fair
profit in feeding. In buying cattle
that have not been driven q long dis
tance 1t Is customary to weigh them
after having been kept in a dry lot
without feed or water for twelve
hours. or deduct three per cent from
the weights. Many farmers contract
ed for cattle Of definite weights with
out sufficient regard for quality or
condition and obtained animals Of
poor breeding and undesirable con-
formation and too thin to finish In
the time they desire to feed them.
While It is desirable to buy heavy cat
tie when feeding cotton seed meal,
quality and condition are Of more i'm
portance, as they are the chief factors
in determining the price Of fat cat
tie. Cattle for feeding should be Of
the broad, smooth backed, blocky
type and carry sufficient flesh to fin
ish we'll on cotton seed meal in about
one hundred days, making a gain
Of about two pounds per day.
The writer also noticed that many
farmers had purchased discolored and
damaged cotton seed meal. made
largely from heated seed. This meal
Is totally unfit for feeding purposes
and Is likely to cause serious injury
to the cattle and loss to the owner.
1t Is most unfortunate that some
are selling damaged
meal for feeding purposes, as 1t Is
not only violation Of the State Pure
Food Law, but is one Of the surest
ways Of destroying an industry that
they should be as much interested as
the farmers in developing.
In many instances farmers are
housing the cattle in stables that are
too small and poorly ventilated. The
ideal way of handling cattle in the
sandy land sections of the state Is to
feed outside in the fields where their
fertilizer is required. fencing five to
ten acres at a time and moving the
feed troughs frequently.
Any buildings provided for beef cat
tie in this state should be merely to
keep them dry and not to keep them
warm. Each steer will require about
square feet of space in the
stable and two feet of trough room.
1t is important that the stable be
kept well bedded with straw, corn
stover or other roughage at all times
to make the cattle comfortable and
absorb the urine which contains
practically all of the nitrogen ex-
creted, and Is the most valuable part
Of the fertilizer. Cattle that are kept
In filthy stables or yards where they
cannot rest comfortably will not in
crease in flesh and do we'll no matter |
how well they are fed.
Some farmers have made the mis- |
take Of feeding too much cotton seed
meal at the beginning and getting |
their cattle off feed. 1t is never ad- |
,isable to start feeding more than one
half pound of cotton seed meal per |
hundred pounds live weight, and |
gradually increase one pound Of meal |
every three or four weeks when cat |
lie are to be finished in one hun |
lred days. 1t Is advisable to keep |
plenty Of salt and water before the |
cattle at all times, and to feed only |
nigh grade, fresh, bright meal.
The farmers who are feeding corn |
'ilage and stover instead Of hulls are
getting very satisfactory results and |
many have arranged to build silos
next year. At present prices 1t costs
practically as much money for hulls
as for meal and while cotton seed
neal is as valuable for a fertilizer
rs for feed. 1t Is also as valuable for
fertilizer after being fed as before.
so that the farmer who buys meal |
or a fertilizer is getting his feed for
value for either feed or fertilizer.
Farmers are beginning to realize
more fully the advantage Of growing
he roughage at home and buying
,nly the concentrated meal, which in
many cases will mean the difference
between profit and loss in feeding
beef cattle. We are endeavoring to
obtain a correct list of every farmer
n the state who is feeding beef cat
lie in order to assist them in market
ng these cattle to the best advantage.
Clemson college has employed men
Who are especially trained in every
Inc Of animal husbandry work whose
services are available to the farmers
If the state at all times free Of charge,
merely for the asking.