The Columbia herald. [volume] (Columbia, Tenn.) 18??-1935, 1914-03-13
CATTLE MUST Be FED
AND BOUGHT RIGHT
TO MAKE GOOD MONEY
SMALL CASH PROFITS AND MA.
NURE MAIN ADVANTAGES
FROM FEEDING.
VIEWS OF ARTHUR MURPHY
Estimates That Steers Should Aver
age As Cents Per Month in Gain to
Be Very ProfitabIe-Bad Stuff Will
Not Make Money.
(By A. E. Murphy, Secretary Maury
County Farmers Association.)

l. ASSOCIdLlOu,)
The feeding of cattle for the mar
ket is looked upon by most farmers
as a sure and quick way to financial
failure, but my experience leads me
to a different view. That error has
crept into the minds of many because
Of knowledge and experience of
what constitutes a good feeder steer,
how to feed him, and what is a legit
innate profit from the feeding opera
tons l find the feeding of steers
profitable from several view points.
l consider legitimate profit for a
cattle feeder to be this: First,
small cash profit in and above all ex-
penses. Second, the value of the ma
nure to my soil. Third, the creation
of market by which | can sell my
straws and corn stover at market
value and have the fertilizing value
of the same left on my farm. Fourth,
1t enables one to keep his hired help
profitably employed throughout the
winter.
Now to make cash profit on feed
ing steers, we must remember when
we go to buying feeders that well
bought is half sold, and that no steer
is we'll bought if he is not bought
for what he is worth at the central
markets minus shipping expenses.
Also, one must be a good Judge of the
different grades of cattle and their
prices. Of course, the market condi-
tons might be such at selling time
that steer well bought and we'll fed
will lose money.
| have found that to make reasona--
BILE profit on feeding operations l must
have As cents per month advance over
purchase price fol- every month fed
That is, if steer costs five cents per
pound and feed him 100 days, must
sell him for 61a cents per pound. My
experience has taught me that you
cannot feed a common grade steer for
over rs days. If you do he becomes
star boarder, he ceases to gain in
weight, and the value of his carcass
does not increase enough to pay his
feed bill.
Two years ago I fed a car load of
steers under the same contract and
for the same time One car load
barely paid expenses, while the 9TH
err made $3.50 above all expenses.
They were fed just alike and the
same feeds, This difference in re-
suits was in the difference in the
grade of each bunch.
The second and perhaps the great
est value that l get from feeding cat
tie is the manure. 1t is hard to over
estimate it's value Not only will you
get from SO to 81 for your straws,
stovers and silage when fed as out
fined above, but another great advan-
tage in cutting your corn is that you
can get a winter cover crop on your
land which will give you lots of graz
ing and prevent your land from wash
ing
1t requires more skill in getting cat
tie on feed than it does to feed them
afterwards. They should be brough;
on full feed of roughage first, and
then increase the grain until you are
feeding them all they will clean up
in a reasonable time. Do not change
feed while fattening cattle. 1t will
be losing period.
A steer is only increasing in weighs
when he is eating, drinking or lying
down. Keep the stalls we'll bedded
so that he will lie down practically
all the time. Keep water before fat
tening cattle all the time and give
them about one ounce of salt daily.
Taking the average grade of our
cattle, fed as outlined above, will gen
orally be profitable.