The interior journal. [volume] (Stanford, Ky.) 1912-1984, 1916-01-14

feeding cattle during the winter
months sufficient quantity of corn,
so that they will be in an advanced,
good-freshed condition by the time
they are turned into the pasture,
about the first of May, leaving no
doubt of their grazing good and fat
for July, August or September mar
ket? Nine times out of ten this is
the best time in the year for selling
..ur grass cattle, being the time when
the western corn belt states have
marketed their winter and spring fed
cattle, and before the western range
cattle season starts.
One gentleman who disposed of a
nice quality lot of cattle in the past
month at an unsatisfactory price,
said to me: Hereafter l shall feed
my cattle better in the winter and
have them ready for the summer
market, so that l will be in position
to shoot the bear as soon as he
comes out Of the woods"
The great trouble the cattle trade
in Kentucky had the past year was
the poor and unsatisfactory condi-
ton cattle were marketed in. With
few exceptions, their percentage OF
dressing out was the lowest an2 the
most unsatisfactory for many years.
All this has been caused by not feed
ing a sufficient amour: of corn dur
ing the winter months. Conditions
in the past few. years have steadily
grown worse. beginning with the adj
vent of the silo. Those that have
silos, scarcely feeding little if any
corn, and, of course, cattle wintered
on silage principally, with just lit
tie coton-seed meal added, can new
err Craze fat. / know some of my
friends will say: "Why do silage-
fed cattle marke a fair gain if they
don't fatten?" The answer is they
grow bigger as they grow o, der hence
the gain, but they cont get fat,
causing their miserable dressing per
centage. Not only has the s;lage
feeder failed to produce good fat
cattle of grass but nc had his in
uuence on those feeders of cattle
that have no silos and are still feed
ing corn through the winter. When
the corn feeder saw the inexpensive
method by which his silage neighbor
carried cattle drought he winter he
also reduced his feed bills, feeding
only half enough corn. Right here
l blame the cattle buyers, as they
pay as much for -wintered, half
fat grass cattle as they would pay
for corn-fed, wintered-grass cattle
hence the letting up of good feed
ing by the corn feeder. These half
fat, so-called good grass cattle, dress
ing fifty to fifty-three per cent, have
brought the entire fat cattle industry
in Kenucky into disrepute. 1t is the
main cause of bringing about the
three per cent shrinkage method into
Kentucky. The packers, buying cat
tie in the west, dressing fifty-six to
sixty-two per cent in comparison to
our so-called good ones, puts us into
very undesirable class, and as one
head buyer Of a large concern recent
ly said to me: II would just as soon
have Colorado rangers as Kentucky
grass cattle"
Cattle having a low dressing per.
centage are necessarily considered OF
poor quality, and can only command
poor prices. If we are to command
good and satisfactory prices, both al
home and on the market, we must
make our cattle good and useful, OF
else the time will come when we can
not sell them at home at satisfactory
prices, and whenever the time comes
that Kentucky cattle will have to be
shipped to market from So to SIS pei
head will be wasted in comparison to
our present method of selling direct
from pasture or feed lot to the
slaughter houses of the large eastern
cities. When l refer to a difference
Of So to So head, / have in minG