Morris tribune. [volume] (Morris, Minn.) 1880-2000, 1915-12-31
LITTLE LABOR IN
FEEDING FOR BEEF
Beef Cattle Industry in Mime.
sofa Fits in With Dairy
Business.
BY HOWARD r. SMITH,
Division Of Dairy and Animal Husbandry Minnesota Col.
Iege of Agriculture.

Division Of Dairy and Animal usbandry Minnesota Col
Iege of Agriculture.
Now that Minnesota is producing
much more corn and with it more
clover and alfalfa, there is certain to
be, on every we'll organized farm of
average size, surplus of feed, all OF
which cannot be utilized for dairy
COWS owing to labor limitations. The
state has an average of one man for
a hundred acres. AS the farms aver.
age lit acres in size there are less
than two men for each farm.
Dairy operations, profitable as they
are when good COWS are kept, must
necessarily be limited on the average
farm to the few COWS that two men
can milk when putting in full time
planting and harvesting their crops.
On such farm the surplus grain and
roughage not needed for the COWS.
horses, swine and perhaps sheep
should be converted into beef because
when properly fed it will bring more
than if sold for cash and there will
be more manure to make still larger
crops in succeeding years.
Little Labor Required.
Very little labor is required in feed
ing cattle for beef. The animals are
allowed to run together in yard and
shed open to the south, which may be
very expensive-perhaps of straw
and the only labor necessary is that
of filling the troughs and racks with
grain and hay once or twice day.
One man can care for carload OF
twenty head in one hours time each
day if the racks are arranged con-
veniently.
A majority of farmers in Minnesota
keep grade cows of good size and
even though many of these COWS in
elm to the dairy form, they produce
class of calves that will prove very
profitable to feed if good pure bred
beef sire is used. In fact, on high
priced farm land, it is usually better
to sacrifice Is or even so cents pei
hundredweight on the selling price OF
such calves finished for beef than to
sacrifice too much on the milk pro-
! ducing qualities of the cows. In the
range country or other districts where
grazing is cheap, one can we'll afford
to keep a cow the entire year for the
one calf she is able to raise, and un-
der such conditions it should be a
cow of special purpose beef type.
Both Milk and Beef.
Minnesota could have all the heffeI
calves needed for it's future milk sup
ply and all that the state has labor to
milk If these were the progeny OF
only half the cows of the state, pro-
viding the best milking cows. were
| chosen for this purpose and their
calves were to be sired by bulls hav
ing a productive dairy parentage
preferably those of good size. If al
other cattle were to be sired by good
pure bred bulls of the beef type, we
would have much better calves fol
fattening purposes, and would not
need to depend on the range for good
! feeding cattle. Such a system would
be made possible through the organ
iZation of Farmers Cooperative
Breeding associations, each associa
ton owning one or more sires of each
type.
Range Can't Meet Demand.
The very fact that we have beer
compelled to pay Z cents per pound
for Western cattle to go into our feeo
lots is evidence that the range cannot
supply the demand. Such cattle Car
be bred on Minnesota farms at q
much lower cost, and the farmers are
not taking full advantage of present
opportunities unless they breed more
of them for their own feed lots.
Statistics show that the United
States had 80 per cent less beef cat
tie in 1913 than in 1907. The popula
ton has increased approximately 1!
per cent since 1907. Imports from
Argentine have been relatively small
during the last year, not enough bee
to last the American people one weel
at their normal consumption, ant
there is no likelihood of a large in
crease from that source as there art
fewer cattle in Argentine than for
merly.
A restocking of American farms il
beginning. This will necessarily b.
slow, and while cattle may not con
tinue to bring as high as 10 cents pc
pound live weight, it may resonabl
be expected that prices will max
beef production profitable in Mime
sofa.
Housing Poultry.