Omaha daily bee., 1914-10-18

aue TO elnnnHtc breeding STOCK on ac-
count OF summer drouth and insufficient
grass will now be at least partially
counteracted by the high price OF cattle.
which has more than doubled In the last
decade, and unless we increase the ratio
of meat supply to population the price is
likely sim further to increase.
| with dairy cattle, ana to a limited cx-
tent with beef cattle. summer forage
crops alfalfa and sAage can supplement
native pastures instead of keeping steers
until thirty or thlrty-sx months of age
to make them weigh loo pounds. they
can he made to reach the sama weight
and be ready for the market at from
eighteen to twonty-four months, saving
| n year of maintenance. AS at least one
half the ration on fun feed goes into body
maintenance the only excuse for market
ing cattle at three years instead OF two
years will be 10 utilize cheap forms OF
| roughness.
We are rapidly coming TO the point
where our cultivated lands must grow
beef rather than fatten cattle. and. while
1t may always be profitable to buy some
feeder cattle from the region OF cheap
/ land and low-prfced roughness. our farm
ers should at least study the problem OF
/ finishing their cattle for the market
where enough grain is grown to supply
the local needs Rnd a surplus for ship
ment.
The silo Is becoming q necessary ad-
! junct, not only of the farmer on high
| priced land, but also In tho dry coun-
! try, where a crop may grow to approach
| ing maturity and be lost before II is
needed for feed unless II lie preserved in
the sIlo. Throughout most of the dry
region. the pit silo Is more efficient thaa
| the one built above ground. II can be
constructed by the farmer himself with
almost no outlay except for cement with
/ which to plaster the walls. II does not
! blow down. and upon the dry lands little
| or no danger of seepage exists. With the
Increased interest In live stock which is
now taking place. the use of the pit silo
| is likely to be greatly extended.
| In feeding calves for baby beef at tho
| North Platte station, where five differ
ent rations were fed, the lot receiving
alfalfa hay, corn and limited ration
of silage made the largest gains. the
cheapest gains and the most profit per
head. The next cheapest gains were
made upon alfalfa hay and corn with a
| little prairie hay. With 9OO-pound cattle
at the central station practically the
| same results were secured-in one expert
ment alfalfa and corn being superior to
all other rations.
In regions farther south. where cotton
seed is cheap and alfalfa hay is not
available, cottonseed meal may be SUBJ
stituted to balance the ration. though our
experiments would show that for Me-
braska, alfalfa is much more desirable.
In Texas. where kafir and milo were
fed TO steers In comparison with corn.
both kafir and milo produced larger
gains than q ration of corn and molasses.
when cottonseed meal was fed TO all lots.
This experiment will serve to show the
high value of kafir and milo and their
adaptability to finishing cattle where
/ they are a market crop.
With the present relative prices OF
stock cattle and fat cattle only the ex-
ceptional dry land farmer will find II
profitable to fatten cattle, since the ma
jority are so much better fitted to keep
q breeding herd and grow cattle for the |
feed lot Of the corn belt farmer.
In Nebraska the swine industry has ex-
tended itself into the extreme western |
portion of the state. especially in the val |
leys, where alfalfa may be raised. and |
on the uplands, where corn, barley or /
emmer is grown as q market crop. This \
sunshine region. with its dry climate, lis |
freedom from swine disease and its cheap |
feeds, has generally shown a good profit |
on cost of production. The ease and |
rapidity with which the small farmer can
get started in raising pigs is a great adj
vantage to the man Of small means. A
brood SOW, an acre OF forage, little
small grain to fatten the litter, a little
attention, and the Job Is done.
The North Platte experimental farm.
where about three carloads of hogs are
raised each year for the market, has
shown a greater profit upon the invest
ment in growing pork than in any other
farm operation. Grain purchased at the
market price has frequently shown q
profit OF 100 per cent by feeding to hogs,
either upon alfalfa pasture or with al.
falfa hay fed in racks to supplement the
corn ration Wheat and rye used as a
winter pasture with alfalfa hay and a
very small grain ration has proved a
most economical method Of wIntering /
brood sows, and approaches in cost fun |
year pasture season. but It can only be |
used where wheat or rye makes a salts |
factory growth In the fall months.
Hogs will consume with profit kaflr or |
sorghum seed where the supply OF CORN |
is limited. At the North Platte expert |
mental farm cane seed was found TO be
one-half as valuable as corn. bushel for
bushel With ground cane seed figured
at 30 cents per bushel and alfalfa hay
at IS per ton, pork was produced at a
cost of $5,7s per 100 pounds Where the
cane seed and corn were fed In equal
parts, the cost OF pork was reduced to
$3.50 per 100. In the latter case, corn was
figured at A cents per bushel. which was
the current market price at the time tho
experiment was conducted. In this ex-
pertinent. with hogs selling at $3.50 per
100 pounds. cane seed brought IS cents
per bushel and corn 50 cents per bushel.
With hogs at the present high values,
both corn and cane would show a higher
feeding value.
Milo maize. where fed experimentaliy
at North Platte with three-fourths corn.
probed equally as valuable as barley and
nearly as valuable as corn.
In Kansas experiments reported In 1906.
where kafir, milo and corn were fed with
25 per cent of the ration soy beans, Il
required 80 per cent more grain to pro
duce 100 pounds OF gain from cane seed
/ than from kafir, and d per cent more
has vyba