Atlanta tri-weekly journal. [volume] (Atlanta, Ga.) 1920-19??, 1921-05-31
Establishing a Cattle Ranch In
south Georgia

south Georgia
Fl. II. B., Quitman, Ga, writes:
l am seriously considering
changing my farming from cot
ton to live stock. 1 am using
700 acres as a hog farm that was
previously mostly cotton. [ am
carrying 81 sows and am think
ing principally of sweet potatoes
and hogs as money crop. We
have 5000 acres of turpentine
land and believe we are wasting
resources by not having the
lands stocked with cattle and
sheep. How many months would
I have to feed these cattle and
sheep? What would be the aver
age cost per day of feeding an
animal and what should they
gain? What percentage of cows
should raise a calf under range
conditions and how many acres
of land could 200 head of cattle
fertilize?
In establishing grazing areas in
your section of the state attention
should be given to the varieties OF
grasses selected. Fertile cotton
purpose you have in mind: SEEDING
should be done very early in the
spring or in the fall, where there
is plenty of moisture to insure the
rapid and uniform termination OF
the seed. The seed sown should be
covered lightly with a brush OF
spike tooth harrow. Light grazing
is necessary until the sod is well
formed. Some effort must be made
to protect pastures from being over
run by weeds.
Among the native grasses which
will furnish desirable grazing il
your section are the paspalums
broom sedges, wire grass and giant
carpet grass. The carpet grass is
the most promising and desirable ir
your section. On red lands the Der.
muda grass does very well, but or
light sandy lands it is not very sat
isfactory. Lespedeza and Dallis grass
can be used to considerable advant
age in your section of the state as
we'll. Whenever we establish perma
nent pastures of the character indi
Gated, there is no reason why We
should not increase prazing opera
tons materially.
Our native pastures only produce
enough feed for comparatively
short period of the year, and it j:
on this account, no doubt, that cattle
raising has not been found more sat
isfactory or more extensively prac
ticed in your part of Georgia. Witt
permanent pastures of RE characte
y
it necessary to feed cattle for NOR
than probably 100 days. The cheap
asst way of maintaining them woul'
be on silage and a maintenance ra
ton of grain made up either of pea
nut meal, cottonseed meal, velve
bean meal, or combinations of on
or more of the above with certain
amount of corn meal.
1t would be impossible to say VIVA
| the average cost of feeding an ani
NAL a day would amount TO becaus
at the present time, and on accoun
of the variation due to mann scnenl
care of stock, and many other fac
tors which enter into this PROPOSE
ton You could probably put u
good silage at a cost not exceeding
IS per ton. With meal at presen
| prices the cost of feeding an ANNA
would probably not be over 15c
day. Yon might be able to do
for less than this. whereas in othe
cases the cost might be more. I ar
speaking now, of course. of winte
| feeding where you would give sa
| head per day and 2 or pounds o
meal. On grazing the cost shout
come down from &c to sc.
1t would cost about one-third a
much to feed sheep as it would cat
tie About so per cent of your COW
should raise calves under good man
agement The droppings of from
| to 10 head of cattle should enric
an acre of ground satisfactorily. es
pecially if you are in position to cul
tivate the land frequently and kee
the manure turned under so as t
prevent its drying ND and evaporat
/ IL. 1,