The Richmond climax. (Richmond, Ky.) 1897-1914, 1911-01-25
]. w. Bales
Delivers a Strong Talk on
"Cattle Feeding in Ken
lucky" atLexington.

Lexington the nrSt or Janu-
airy, a most excellent paper
was read before the Beef Cat
tie Breeders by j. W. Bales,
of this county. Below we
give some of the very fine
points brought out by Mr..
Bales, who is recognized as
one of the shrewdest buyers
in the country:
81 have been invited to give
my views on cattle feeding
from the buyer standpoint.
Since all cattle fed by what
ever process are prepared for
market, the purpose Of which
is to feed them in such a way
as to command the best price,
the feeder at the same time
seeking to mature his product
in a marketable condition in
the best and most economical
way, and with the smallest
outlay possible to secure this
end. To accomplish this pur-
pose the feeder is confront
ed with varying conditions
and circumstances. The pro-
cess best suited to one feeder
may be the reverse of what
suits some other feeder. The
conditions confronting the
feeder who feeds two or four
loads Of cattle may and often
are entirely different from
the feeder who feeds one, two
or three hundred head of cat
tie, the former most likely
being the average farmer
with two hundred or three
hundred acres of land, while
the latter would naturally he
a feeder of much larger land
ed estate, running from seven
or eight hundred acres up to
Two or three thousand acres.
Farms of this size. while not
numerous, are not uncommon
"a few reaching even more.
L am now dealing with condl-I
tlOns as we find them in Cen
trail Kentucky and not in other
sections, for the reasons, that
conditions favorable to one
locality may be entirely diff
ferent IN another locality. |
What suits the producer OF |
grain alone does not suit the
man VINO seeks to make fat |
cattle largely with the aid of |
native grass. In the one in
stance, and the one to which |
am now referring, apply to
the Blue Grass section of the |
state, where nature has done
for man and beast more than
all the artificial appliances
produced by man can accom-
plish.
''In my experience the ma
jOrity of feeders, whether
small or large, usually begin
on cattle weighing around
LOO pounds in October.
These cattle are grazed on
native grass until the severi-
ty of the weather calls for a
supplemental feed, which
most generally consists of
corn, fodder aud some times
hay, as circumstances of the
feeder are best suited, follow
ed generally by grain early
in January, if the best policy
is pursued, which is not al
ways the case, because it is "a
fact patent to every observer
or student of feeding, that it
is bad policy to let cattle
shrink or lose weight and
then try to regain the lost
weight by subsequent feed
ing, for two reasons, one of
which 1t is too expensive and
the second and a very import
ant reason is that cattle in a
thriving condition, and in
good flesh when allowed to
shrink, lose their form, grow
course in bone ana can hardly
be made TO regain their form
er condition, even with the
feeders best efforts. But
when cattle are judiciously
handled, the corn ration
should be such as to keep the
cattle in growing and thrifty
condition, maintaining their
flesh without special effort to
put on fat at a time when
such a process is costly and
extra expensive, but 10y care
full and judicious feeding cat
tie can be carried through the
months of January and Feb |
ruary in such a condition and |
without heavy expense. es-