The Mitchell capital. (Mitchell, Dakota [S.D.]) 1879-1918, 1913-12-25
THE VARIOUS MARKET
CLASSES Of CATTLE
Divided According TO Value for
Killing or for Feeding.
BEST PRICE FOR PRIME STEERS
10y VI. 3. RICHARDS. North Dakota
Aariculturai College.l

class OF cattle in greatest demand on
the market and the classes that bring
the greatest eturn he should be con
varsant with the market classes. Cat
tie that go 10 market are divided into
five classes. which classification is
based on their value for The block OF
for feeding purposes The five classes
are listed as follows. Beef cattle.
butcher stock, cutters and
stocker5 and feeders and veal calves.
There are general grades of each of
the classes based upon their merit,
and they are referred to as follows.
Prime, choice. good medium. common
and inferior. The number OF the
grades into which each class is divid.
ed varies some in each of the classes.
= :. =
BEEF CATTLE-under this head
are quoted On the market all grades OF
fat steers or hciferi that have receiv-
ed sufficient feed 70 show that an at
tempt has been made 10 fatten them.
Whether animals ave classed as beet
or butcher cattle will depend entirely
upon the amount Of flesh carried rath-
err than upon the Quality OF the II
mails All classes from the prime IN
quality to the rough steer are inclad,
cd in the beef class llayiding they are
we'll Patterned ~ Or t
The steer that IS graded as prime iii
this Class is the highest selling anima'
on the market and represents the best
there is in iGaI'itet beef cattle. To be
graded pti,aA tie steer must carry a
thits bt rut5orm covering OF firm
nesh sra shoH indications of ~ripeness.
1T Is not sufficient that he is fat. as
il is commonly put. which means to
carry a thick covering of flesh, but the
fat must be uniformly deposited on
the Important parts of the body and be
of the right quality as regards firm.
ness and handling quality.
The weight of the steer does not af.
feet his rating upon the market unless
he exceeds Loo pounds. A 1000 to
l~,200-pound steer is often preferred to
the heavy one. providing the small
steer carries enough thickness of
flesh or degree Of tnish. The prime
beef steer is the kind the producer
should aim to place on the market.
...a.:- :.
BUTCHER STOck-Most of the
cattle Of this class are those which
have been only partially finished for
market or warmed up" as the deal.
ers' expression goes. Cattle that have
failed to feed wei. would go into this
class. The line between the thin fed
cattle and the fat stocker or feeder is
not clearly defined, and the way they
will be classified will depend upon the
supply of cattle OF the better grades.
In case Of Il scarcity of fat cattle man
that would be otherwise sold as feed
crs are sold for immediate slaughter.
The butcher class represents various
grades. The price for this class is
considerably lower than the prices
quoted for the bee class.
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GAMERS AND cUTTERs-This
class includes old. thin cows. chiefly,
but also has some bulls, heifers. steers
and stays assigned to it. They are
graded according to their form and
the amount of flesh they carry. The
canners represent the thinnest of this
class. They are so lacking in flesh
that nc part OF the carcass is used for
block purposes. The cutters carry
enough flesh that the loins and ribs
may be used for cutting or selling
over the block. Discarded dairy COWS
supply a goodly portion of the cutter
class. In times of scarcity OF butcher
cattle the best grades of cutters sell
as hutche.. stock.
:. L. :.
sTockERs AND FEEDERs-An
unfinished steer under eighteen months
old is generally spoken of as a stock.
er. while one Of the same sort over
this age is called, y feeder.
a good stoeker or feeder must show
Indications OF making a good finished
steer. viz. a tendency TO put on flesh
rapidly and to be vigorous. a good
feeder must give evidence Of having a
frame that Will develop and til out to