The midland journal. (Rising Sun, Md.) 1885-1947, 1923-10-12
Great Importance
Of Good Breeding
Statistical Studies of Meat
Yields Of Food Animals
Show Wide Variations.

prepared by the United States Department
Of Agriculture.)
Statistical studies just completed by
the United States Department of Ag-
riculture, showing meat yields of vari-
GUS classes of animals in proportion
to live weight, bring out clearly the
Importance of good breeding. In the
work conducted, all the principal
kinds of market live stock were in
cluded, the grades varying from COM
mon stock to animals slaughtered in
the carcass competition of the Inter
national live stock exposition. Fig
ures were obtained from number of
government sources and from the
packing industry.
Good Breeding Shows Its Value.
The difference in dressing yield for
various grades of cattle ranged from
4S to sc per cent, meaning that that
proportion of the animal was the
dressed carcass. For sheep and lambs
the dressing yield varied from AZ per
cent for common market ewes to 5S.3
per cent for International show weth-
ers. The figures for swine show
dressing percentages ranging from IS
to S5.3 per cent. The relatively high
figures for swine are due in part to
the fact that the skin and head COM
monty remain on the carcass. The In
ternational show animals in each case
are chiefly pure breds, fed specially to
produce an ideal carcass.
The results, in the Judgment Of
specialists in the bureau of animal in
dustry, are clear-cut evidence that the
types of animals shown and recog-
nized as best by judges of live stock
are much superior to poorly bred stock
from a meat standpoint.
The practical side of the study just
completed is shown by the following
statement by John Roberts Of the bu-
reau Of animal industry, who made
the compilation:
Steer Carcasses Compared.
"The difference in dressing yield
between a good and common steer,
according to the figures collected, is
per cent. For a 1,000-pound steer
this would mean 60 pounds more of
marketable meat. Nor is this all,
since the meat of the higher-class ami
NAL is superior in quality throughout.
as well as being better distributed
among the choicer cuts. In other
words, the well-bred steer makes a
more profitable use of his feed than
the inferior one. These things are
taken strictly into account by the ex-
perts who price the animals in the
stockyards; they are, indeed, the fac
tors that determine the market value
of one class as compared with another.
"What happens when two such
steers are sold in the open market is
Of interest Consider good and a
common steer raised on the same
farm and fattened together in the
same feed lot Assume that each steer
weighs 1000 pounds and they are
marketed at Chicago during the first
week of July, 1923. The result of the
sale would have been as follows:
Com
Good" mon"
Steer Steer
Weight at market (lbs.).. 1000 1000
Selling price per 100 lbs..$ 1901 7.12
Sale value of steer. ...... 100.1o 71.20
Increased value of good" steer $3.50
Per cent of increase. .......... 40.6
Market prices from weather. Crops,
and Markets" July IA, 1923. page 80.
considering the early-maturing
qualities of better-bred beef cattle, it
may well be assumed in the above
cases that the common steer was a
year older than the other, and so
would have to be charged with an adj
ditional years keep"