Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1916-08-04

ing beef. Without entering into details
the solution is likely to be found in
better pastures with fewer acres in
them, supplemented with alfalfa hay
and si1age, raising calves from the best
types and pushing them for market at
about one year old.
An Illinois Beef Producer.
One of the men in Bureau county,
Illinois, who has stayed with live stock
while so many have turned to grain
selling, is ]. A. Brigham. He has been
feeding heavy cattle for many years
and has experienced the ups and
downs" in the business that all cattle
men have passed through in the last
Is years.
He finds that there are two serious
factors that contribute to the downs"
| in cattle feeding. One is the too high
| price demanded and usually paid for
| feeders as compared with the price
such cattle bring when shipped to mar
ket. The other factor is the excessive
fluctuations in market prices from day
to day.
AS an illustration of what has hap
pened to many feeders, especially those
without much experience in buying
the following story is told of a man
who purchased several carloads of
feeders. Part of them cost $40 per
cwt., and the balance SITS. After a
little time he shipped out a load of
culls that brought $6.65 per cwt. After
several months feeding two loads were
shipped to market, bringing $500 per
cwt., only 25 cents a hundred more
than the whole lot cost in Kansas City
Mr.. Brigham figures that there
should be a margin of 81 so per cwt- be
4 e
ing price when marketed, and that
there are times when $500 margin is
not too much to insure a profit
The wide market fluctuations in a
single day often spell profit or loss to
| the shipper.
When packers force down prices
| from day to day on increased receipts,
or force down the price of certain
/ grades of cattle whenever there is an
! increased supply of that particular
grade, they are helping kill the beef
producing industry by causing loss to
the shippers and feeders. What is
needed is a stable market based upon
the general supply and demand
throughout the country and not inf1u-
enced by the receipts of a single day.
| Such a market might put few live
stock gamblers out of business, but
would help legitimate trade.
Turned to Baby Beef.
Mr.. Brigham has been inclined to the
| belief that there might be more profit
| in feeding baby beef, so last fall he
| started his first trial in calf feeding.
He bought here and there among the
farmers 27 head of calves, mostly of
shorthorn blood. They were somewhat
uneven in age, quality and size, and
some had run with the COWS and others
raised by hand. There were IS heifers
and nine steers in the lot, the average
weight being $50 pounds, costing 6
cents per pound, an average of $27 per
head.
These calves were started in Novem-
Der, 1915, on a blue grass pasture and
fed some oats and shelled corn until
Dec. 1. They were then put into the
yard and fed ration of crushed ear
corn, alfalfa-molasses two pounds per
day and all the clover hay they could
eat About March 1 corn silage was
added to the former ration and con-
tinued until the last OF April, when it
was all fed out. At that time plain mo-
laSses was substituted for alfalfa-mo-
lasses and gradually increased to five
pounds per day per head at close of
feeding
These calves were sold in Chicago
June z, and averaged 786 pounds in
weight The day was cold and dis
agreeable and no fill was obtained.
otherwise they would have weighed 500
pounds The load sold for 91z cents
per pound, bringing an average price
of $74.67 per head. The ages of the
calves at this time ran from 8 to IL
months. Note that there was a mar
gin of 31a cents per pound between
cost and selling price and that they
sold for SAT sc per head above cost
price. This amount should cover all
costs OF feeding and shipping and leave
a good profit
Grow Them at Home
Mr.. Brigham says they made him
better profit on the food consumed than
his heavy cattle did. He says that land
in Bureau county is not too high priced
for a farmer TO keep good beef CATTLE