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~RARY AT URBANA-CHAMPAIGN
—
L161— O-1096
WARTIME
BEEF PRODUCTION
What grade of feeders?
What finish?
HP
By Fred C. Francis
Sleeter Bull
W. E. Carroll
BULLETIN 501 • UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS-
AGRICULTURAL EXPERIMENT STATION
Carcass from a
Choice steer fed
to a Good finish
Such carcasses are
palatable, economi-
cal to produce, and
have as much fat as
most people will eat
CONTENTS
INTRODUCTION 1 27
FOUR GRADES OF FEEDERS FED 129
CHOICE FINISH WASTES FEED 131
CHOICE FINISH WASTES FAT... ...134
BEEF PRODUCED LARGELY ON GRASS 137
SLAUGHTER OF RANGE CATTLE WASTES BEEF. .138
FEEDING INSURES EVEN BEEF SUPPLY 139
CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS 140
Urbana, Illinois
June, 1944
Publications in the Bulletin series report the results of investigations made
or sponsored by the Experiment Station
WARTIME BEEF PRODUCTION
By FRED C. FRANCIS, SLEETER BULL, and W. E. CARROLL*
N
'O GENERAL SHORTAGE of beef in this country has as
yet been caused by the war. The local beef famines which
have occurred have been only temporary and the results of
maldistribution and bad management of the beef resources of the
country rather than to any real shortage. In fact, the year 1944 opened
with the record number of over 82 million cattle on the farms and
ranches of the United States.
A turn of events in either of two possible directions, however,
could change this situation radically. A year of short crops or a sub-
stantial reduction in cattle- feeding operations would bring a genuine
beef famine, while the prolongation of the war for several years even
with good crop yields would bring about a similar change more
gradually.
The most immediate threat to the beef supply is inadequate amounts
of farm grains and protein supplements to feed in the customary
manner the peak numbers of beef cattle, dairy cattle, swine, and poultry
on the farms and ranches of the country. A report submitted in Janu-
ary, 1944, to the Feed Industry Council by a special Feed Survey Com-
mittee indicates that this country has on hand or can hope to import
less grains and mill feeds by 11 percent and less high-protein feeds by
25 percent than is necessary to feed the 1944 livestock population their
customary rations.
A special need has been expressed for milk, eggs, and pork, but
the country cannot afford to discontinue the production of beef merely
because it can be demonstrated that dairy cattle, swine, and poultry
produce more human food per unit of feed consumed than beef cattle
do, or that an acre of cultivated soil planted to grains or soybeans pro-
duces more human food than can a similar area devoted to any kind of
livestock production. The fallacy of such arguments is found in the
millions of acres of American soil which, because of topography,
climate, or location, cannot be utilized by other animals and which
cannot be forced to produce food grains or soybeans. They do, how-
ever, provide feed for the growth of millions of pounds of meat which
needs only a short finish on concentrates to become beef.
*FRED C. FRANCIS, resigned for military service; SLEETER BULL, Chief in Meats; and
W. E. CARROLL, Head of Animal Husbandry Department.
127
128 BULLETIN No. 501 \_June,
Palatable beef is the product of fattened cattle. The meat "produc-
tion line" only begins on the western ranges and farm pastures of the
country. The animals leave these grazing grounds weighing from
400 pounds, in the case of calves, to 700 or 800 pounds, in the case of
older cattle, and are not usually fat enough to yield beef of desirable
quality if slaughtered in this condition. Of even more importance to
wartime meat requirements is the reduced tonnage of beef which would
be obtained if the crop were "harvested" in this "immature" stage. A
turn in the feedlot adds 200 to 400 pounds to the weight of each animal
(no mean addition to the beef supply), increases its carcass yield, and
greatly improves the quality and nutritive value of the beef.
During the emergency, when corn is required in such large amounts
by other food-producing farm animals and for essential industrial
purposes, only enough corn should be fed to beef cattle to yield maxi-
mum returns in increased tonnage and quality of beef for each bushel
of corn fed. Federal agencies have suggested that this goal is reached
with Good and Choice feeders by the time they have attained a finish
required on Good carcasses. Medium and Common feeders should
usually carry even less fat than this.
Of course, a Choice steer yields more beef and better beef than a
Good steer because he is heavier, has a higher dressing percentage, and
is fatter. The same relationships hold true with Good, Medium, and
Common cattle. Unfortunately, however, the fatter the animal becomes,
the more corn is required to produce a pound of gain. Furthermore,
after the animal reaches a certain degree of fatness, the increase in
weight is largely fat, much of which is trimmed off the lean and dis-
carded by most people. Hence very fat beef, altho very palatable, is
both uneconomical to produce and wasteful for the consumer.
In order to make this grain-saving program most effective in pro-
ducing beef, the animals should be grown to weights of 700 to 800
pounds on roughages and pasture before they are fattened. Animals of
this weight finish in shorter time and require less grain for a given
degree of finish than younger animals and they yield heavier carcasses.
The war has not changed the grades of feeder cattle available for
the feedlots, and there is little experimental information on the time
and feed necessary to bring feeder cattle of different grades to different
degrees of finish, the increase in tonnage of beef resulting from dif-
ferent degrees of finish, and the amount of fat in beef of different
grades. The experiments here reported were undertaken in the hope
that data on these various questions would be useful to beef-cattle
producers and feeders in planning their operations.
1944]
WARTIME BEEF PRODUCTION
Four Grades of Feeders Fed
129
Fifty long 2-year-old feeder steers were started on feed on No-
vember 13, 1942. There were two lots of 10 Choice steers each, one
lot of 10 Good steers, one lot of 10 Medium steers, and one lot of
10 Common steers. All steers were fed a full feed of corn, together
with approximately 2 pounds of soybean oilmeal, and suitable amounts
of corn silage and red clover hay.
With the exception of one lot of Choice feeders, which was fed
to a Choice finish, the cattle were all fed to the same degree of finish —
Good. Each steer was slaughtered when, -in the opinion of the experi-
menters, he reached this finish.
The dressing percentage and grade of each carcass was determined.
A cutting test, using the O.P.A. method, was made on the right side
of each carcass, and each wholesale cut was separated into lean, fat,
and bone.
A second experiment was begun on April 29, 1943. Sixty 2-year-
old feeder steers were put on feed. There were two lots of 10 Choice,
two lots of 10 Good, one lot of 10 Medium, and one lot of 10
Common steers each. All steers were fed a full feed of corn together
with red clover hay. One lot of Choice feeders was fed to a Choice
Choice feeders carried to a Good finish. In normal times Choice feeders
would be carried to a Choice finish and would produce Choice or AA car-
casses. This takes too much corn in wartime.
130
BULLETIN No. 501
[June,
Good, Medium, and Common feeders carried to a Good finish. Good
feeders (top) produced Good or A beef economically. Whether Medium
feeders (center) can be brought to a Good finish economically depends upon
the margin. Common feeders (bottom) should be fed to only a Medium finish.
1944} WARTIME BEEF PRODUCTION 131
finish, the other to Good ; one lot of Good feeders was fed to a
Choice finish, the other to Good; both the Medium and the Common
lots were fed to a Good finish. Each steer was slaughtered when he
reached the finish desired for his lot.
The carcasses were treated as in the preceding experiment except
that the wholesale cuts of the entire right side of only six carcasses
from this experiment were separated into lean, fat, and bone. Only the
wholesale rib cuts from both sides of the remaining carcasses were so
separated (see Table 4 and footnote}.
Choice Finish Wastes Feed
The results of the feeding tests are given in Tables 1 and 2. Owing
probably to differences in initial condition, the time required for cattle
TABLE 1.— BEEF FROM DIFFERENT GRADES OF FEEDER CATTLE
EXPERIMENT 1, 1942-43: FEED CONSUMPTION AND GAINS MADE
(10 steers per lot; all figures are averages)
Feeder grade
. . . . Choice4
Choice*
Good
Medium
Common
Condition at close of test . . . -
. . . . Choice
Good
Good
Good
Good
Fat in carcass, percent
34.1
25.2
27.4
28.8
27.3
Days to finish
174
100
114
137
141
Weights and gains
Ib.
Ib.
Ib.
Ib.
Ib,
Initial weight
968
966
876
796
743
Final weight
1 268
1 122
1 147
1 091
1 030
Total gain
300
156
271
295
287
Daily gain
1.73
1.56
2.37
2.15
2.04
Feed eaten daily
Corn
14.3
13.8
15.5
14.5
14.3
Soybean meal
2.0
2.0
2.2
2.1
2.0
Silage
10.6
14.0
12.3
10.2
9.9
Clover hay
2.9
2.5
2.6
2.7
2.7
Feed per 100 pounds gain
Corn
829
889
652
677
704
Soybean meal
118
127
93
96
101
Silage
612
899
517
475
488
Clover hay
166
161
109
126
134
bu.
bu.
bu.
bu.
bu.
Corn eaten per head
44.4
24.7
31.5
35.7
36.1
Costs and values per hundredweight
Cost of cattle in lot
. . 514.37
$14.37
$12.21
$11.14
$ 9.51
Feed cost of gainb
. ... 23.39
25.74
18.24
18.87
19.67
Necessary selling price in lot
16.50
15.95
13.63
13.23
12.34
Value in lot for grade0
. ... 16.55
15.03
14.90
14.77
14.30
Value of finished cattle in lotd
14.75
14.00
14.00
14.00
14.00
Value of feeders in lot*
12.08
12.10
12.69
12.20
11.81
Profit per head
$ .60
-310.37
$14.51
916.83
$20.15
aSee footnote on page 132 concerning the temperament of the steers in these two lots.
bFeed prices used: corn, $1.07 a bushel; soybean meal, $55 a ton; silage, $7.25 a ton; clover
hay, $25 a ton.
"Chicago price less 75 cents per hundredweight.
dFeedlot value per hundredweight of finished cattle based on ceiling prices on beef current at the
time (Chicago value less 75 cents per hundredweight).
•Price per hundredweight which owner could have paid for the feeders and still have broken
even by selling the fat cattle in line with ceiling prices on beef.
132 BULLETIN No. 501 [June,
TABLE 2.— BEEF FROM DIFFERENT GRADES OF FEEDER CATTLE
EXPERIMENT 2, 1943: FEED CONSUMPTION AND GAINS MADE
(10 steers per lot; all figures are averages)
Lot No
1
2
3
4
5
6
Feeder grade
Choice
Choice
Good
Good
Medium
Common
Condition at close of test
Choice
Good
Choice
Good
Good
Good
Fat in carcass, percent
33.2
25.8
34.5
28.7
28.0
25.9
Days to finish
148
79
204
130
134
166
Weights and gains
Ib.
Ib.
Ib.
Ib.
16.
Ib.
Initial weight
870
866
777
772
721
737
Final weight
1 175
1 049
1 183
1 069
1 019
1 033
Total gain
305
183
406
297
298
296
Daily gain
2.06
2.32
1.99
2.28
2.22
1.78
Feed eaten daily
Corn
15.2
14.1
15.3
15.1
14.7
14.0
Clover hay
6.8
7.2
6.6
6.9
6.9
6.7
Feed per 100 pounds gain
Corn
738
606
769
662
662
783
Clover hay
329
312
332
303
309
376
bu.
bu.
bu.
bu.
bu.
bu.
Corn eaten per head
40.2
19.8
55.8
35.1
35.2
41.4
Costs and values per hundredweight
Cost of cattle in lot
$15.95
315.95
314.90
314.90
313.70
313.25
Feed cost of gain*
18.21
15.49
18.85
16.43
16.50
19.67
Necessary selling price in lot . . .
16.54
15.87
16.25
15.33
14.52
15.09
Value in lot for gradeb
15.47
14.50
15.16
14.07
13.52
11.15
Value of finished cattle in lotc . .
14.75
14.00
14.75, '
14.00
14.00
11.75
Value of feeders in lotd
13.54
13.69
12.61
13.06
12.97
8.57
Loss per head
312.53
314.36
312.95
313.42
310.18
340.71
•Feed prices used: corn, 31.07 a bushel; clover hay, 325 a ton.
bChicago price less 75 cents per hundredweight.
cFeedlot value per hundredweight of finished cattle based on ceiling prices on beef current at the
time (Chicago value less 75 cents per hundredweight).
dPrice per hundredweight which owner could have paid for the feeders and still have broken
even by selling the fat cattle in line with ceiling prices on beef.
of different grades to reach a Good finish varied with the grade, Choice
feeders1 requiring least time and Common longest. Rates of gain did
not differ greatly, tho the Common cattle gained somewhat more slowly
than those of other grades.
The amount of feed eaten for 100 pounds of gain increased slightly
as the grade went down. The Common steers required considerably
more feed for 100 pounds of gain, probably due to their greater age.
The total corn required to bring an average steer of each grade to
Good finish varied from 20 bushels for the Choice feeders to about
40 bushels for the Common feeders.
Under existing feed prices and prices of finished cattle which are
in line with ceiling prices on beef, the test indicates that Good-to-
JIn interpreting the data relating to the two lots of Choice feeders in Table 1,
it should be kept in mind that these cattle were very nervous and did not re-
spond to feed in as normal a manner as did the other cattle. For this reason it
may well be that the performance of Choice steers is more accurately repre-
sented by Lots 1 and 2 in Table 2 than by corresponding data in Table 1.
1944]
WARTIME BEEF PRODUCTION
133
Choice feeder fed to a Good finish. This steer produced a Good or A
carcass (see page 126). More finish would have made him Choice but would
have taken too much corn.
Good feeder fed to a Good finish. This steer also produced a Good or A
carcass. A higher finish probably would have made him Choice but would
have taken 20 to 25 bushels more corn.
134 BULLETIN No. 501 [June,
Choice 2-year-old feeder cattle can be brought to a Good degree of
finish on a spread in price between finished cattle and feeders ( f eedlot
basis) of about 50 cents to $1.00 a hundred. Medium feeders will need
a spread of $1.00 to $2.00, and Common feeders, a spread of $2.50 to
$3.50 if they are to be given a finish characteristic of Good carcasses
at a profit above cattle and feed costs.
To carry Choice feeders which have reached Good condition on
to Choice finish required about as much corn as was needed to
bring them from feeder flesh to Good finish. In other words, the
corn required to put a Choice feeder in Choice slaughter condition
will put two Choice feeders in Good killing condition, and thus
produce about 81 percent more edible meat than is found in the one
Choice carcass.
To feed cattle of Good feeder grade to Choice finish also was very
wasteful of corn — 56 bushels per head compared with 30 to 35 bushels
for similar cattle stopped at Good finish.
Choice Finish Wastes Fat
The grades, dressing percentages, and physical composition of the
carcasses (by lots) are shown in Tables 3 and 4. Table 5 gives the
average physical composition of the carcasses by grades, regardless of
the lot from which they came. In general, Choice feeders fed to a
Choice finish, containing about 34 or 35 percent of fat in the carcasses,
produced AA carcasses, as expected. Choice feeders with a Good finish,
27 or 28 percent of fat, produced only A carcasses due to insufficient
finish. Good feeders fed to a Choice finish produced a majority of AA
carcasses, 7 AA and 3 A. The A carcasses from this lot contained only
24 to 29 percent of fat and graded too low in conformation for A A
carcasses.
The Good feeders slaughtered in Good condition yielded A car-
casses containing approximately 28 percent of fat. The Medium feeders
fed to Good condition contained enough fat, 28 percent, to Grade A,
but owing to deficient conformation only 12 carcasses graded A, the
other 8 grading B.
The Common steers fed to a Good finish, 26 to 27 percent fat, pro-
duced 3 A, 16 B, and 1 C carcass, due largely to inferior conformation
and quality. The C carcass also was distinctly unfinished, containing
only 21 percent of fat.
The large amount of corn required to carry cattle from a Good
to a Choice finish is explained by Table 6, page 137, showing the physi-
1944]
WARTIME BEEF PRODUCTION
135
Porterhouse steak from a Good carcass. Such beef is relatively inexpen-
sive to produce, is highly palatable, and most people eat the fat.
Choice or Prime beef is out for the duration. It takes too much corn to
produce and most people trim off much of the fat.
136 BULLETIN No. 501
TABLE 3. — CARCASS GRADES AND DRESSING PERCENTAGES
Second experiment
[June,
Lot
Feeder
grade
Number of carcasses grading —
Dressing
AA +
AA- A +
A- B+ B- C
, percentage
T~
First experiment
1
Choice
Choice 6
4
64.6
2
Choice
Good
6
4
62.1
3
Good
Good
2
8
59.1
4
Medium
Good
6 3 1
57.7
5
Common
Good
3 2 5 .
. . 58.7
1
Choice
Choice
4
5
1
61
5
2
Choice
Good
4
6
58
4
3
Good
Choice
2
5
2
1
62
1
4
Good
Good
3
7
58
4
5
Medium
Good
2
4
3
1
59
2
6
Common
Good
1
8
1 59
7
cal composition of the increase in the carcass weight. Lean meat con-
tains about 75 percent water, and the energy content of the dry sub-
stance is comparatively low; fat meat contains only 10 to 30 percent
water and the energy content of fat is very high ; bone contains con-
siderable water — around 35 percent — and the energy content is medium.
Thus lean and bone are produced with relatively small amounts of
feeds of low net energy, such as hays and pastures, while large amounts
Lot
TABLE 4. — AVERAGE PHYSICAL COMPOSITION OF CARCASSES, BY LOTS
Feeder
grade
Number of carcasses
with grades indicated
Percentage of —
Lean
Fat
Bone
First experiment
1
Choice
6 AA +, 4 AA -
52.5
34.1
12.8
2
Choice
6 A +, 4 A -
59.4
25.2
15.0
3
Good
2 A+, 8 A-
57.1
27.4
15.2
4
Medium
6 A-, 3 B+, 1 B-
55.1
28.8
15.4
5
Common
3 A-, 2 B+, 5 B-
56.3
27.3
15.8
Second experiment11
1
Choice
4 AA+, 5 AA-, 1 A +
49.3
33.2
17.3
2
Choice
4 A+, 6 A-
54.2
25.8
19.4
3
Good
2 AA+, 5 AA-, 2 A+. 1A-
48.2
34.5
16.8
4
Good
3 A+, 7 A-
52.4
28.7
18.4
5
Medium
2 A+, 4 A-, 3 B+. 1B-
52.4
28.0
19.1
6
Common
1 B+, 8B-, 1 C +
54.8
25.9
18.9
»The wholesale cuts of the entire right side of only six carcasses from this experiment were sepa-
rated into lean, fat, and bone. Only the wholesale rib cuts from both sides of the remaining carcasses
were so separated. This change was made after a correlation of .92 was shown to exist between the
fat content of the wholesale rib cut and of the entire right side.
1944] WARTIME BEEF PRODUCTION 137
TABLE 5. — AVERAGE PHYSICAL COMPOSITION OF CARCASSES, BY GRADES
Percentage of —
Percentage of —
Lean Fat Bone
Lean Fat
Bone
First experiment
Second experiment
6
AA +
51.3 35.4
12.5
6
AA +
47.3 36.4
16.1
4
AA-
54.2 32.1
13.2
10
AA-
48.3 34.4
16.9
10
AA
52.5 34.1
12.8
16
AA
47.9 35.1
16.6
8
A +
57.9 27.1
14.5
12
A +
52.3 28.6
18.6
21
A-
56.8 27.4
15.4
18
A-
54.4 27.6
17.6
29
A
57.1 27.3
15.1
30
A
53.5 28.0
18.0
5
B +
55.9 28.2
15.4
4
B +
53.6 26.8
19.2
6
B —
57.4 25.8
16.3
9
B-
55.4 25.7
18.6
11
B
56.7 26.9
15.9
13.
B
54.8 26.0
18.8
1
c+
55.2 21.2
23.3
of fat are produced only with large amounts of high-energy feeds,
such as corn.
In carrying Choice and Good feeders from a Good to a Choice
finish, the additional carcass weight was made up largely of fat which,
as already noted, is very expensive to produce. Furthermore, while
this additional fat increases the grade of the carcass and improves the
palatability of the beef, it usually is not eaten and therefore represents
an economic waste of the extra corn used to produce it.
TABLE 6. — PHYSICAL COMPOSITION OF INCREASE IN CARCASS WEIGHT WHEN
CHANGING FINISH FROM A TO AA
Age,
Percentage of —
•
years
Lean
Fat
Bone
Choice
1\(t
10 1
90 6
0
Choice
2
21.1
76.0
5.8
Good
2
24.5
67 0
8.5
Beef Produced Largely on Grass
The statement is often made that beef cattle are inefficient machines
for the conversion of corn to human food. That beef as customarily
produced in this country (that is, grown on roughage, then fattened on
corn) is not wasteful of corn is shown by the following data from the
second experiment, in which both Choice and Good feeder cattle were
fed to Choice as well as to Good slaughter finish. These calculations
credit all the carcass to the corn consumed during the fattening period.
138
BULLETIN No. 501
[June,
T~ , Initial
Feeder grade
weight
Ib.
Choice 870
Good 774
Choice 866
Good 772
Medium 721
Common. . 737
Final
weight
Ib.
1 175
1 184
1 049
1 069
1 019
1 033
Dressing
test
perct.
61.5
62.1
58.4
58.4
59.2
59.7
Degree
of
finish
Choice
Choice
Good
Good
Good
Good
Corn eaten for
each pound of —
.0.1 i-doa
fat
Bone-
Carcass
less
meat8
perct.
Ib.
Ib.
33.2
3.2
4.3
34.5
4.4
6.0
25.8
1.9
2.4
28.7
3.2
4.2
28.0
3.4
4.4
25.9
3.9
4.9
(•Adjusted to 25 percent of fat, as this is about as much fat as most people will eat
on beef.)
These yields of carcass and of edible meat in terms of corn con-
sumed are considerably greater than can be expected from hogs for the
reason that hogs require a concentrated ration thruout their lives rather
than just for a short finishing period, as is the case with cattle.
Slaughter of Range Cattle Wastes Beef
Many people urge the immediate slaughter of cattle directly from
the range as a means of saving corn. Each year a limited number of
older cattle on the better ranges are fat enough to slaughter as they
leave the range. The great majority of cattle, however, come from the
ranges thin, and many of them are so young that their carcasses would
be very light. To slaughter such cattle would waste much badly needed
beef due to their thin condition and low dressing percentage. The
amount of such loss is shown by the following data from the second
experiment: Carcass Carcass
weight o:
Feeder grade and feeder
finish grade (estimated) steer
Ib.
Choice feeder fed to Choice finish 478
Good feeder fed to Choice finish 410
Choice feeder fed to Good finish 476
Good feeder fed to Good finish 409
Medium feeder fed to Good finish 360
Common feeder fed to Good finish 354
In estimating the differences in beef produced by fed cattle and by
unfattened cattle, it seems logical for the present discussion to consider
only the Choice, Good, and Medium grades of feeders which were
fed to Good finish, for Choice finish is definitely too high for wartime
light of
Increase in
tughter
carcass weight
steer
due to feeding
Ib.
Ib. perct.
698
220 46
712
302 74
594
118 25
606
197 48
580
220 61
595
241 68
1944] WARTIME BEEF PRODUCTION 139
beef and Common feeders should manifestly be given no more than
Medium finish. The figures in the above tabulation show that feeding
Choice, Good, and Medium feeders to a Good finish increased the
carcass beef yielded by these cattle an average of 45 percent over the
amount which could have been expected had the cattle been slaughtered
without being fattened.
For each pound the carcasses of these three grades of feeder cattle
were increased, about 9 pounds of corn were fed. This amount is not
excessive when it is considered that the corn which produced this added
carcass weight at the same time brought about a marked improvement
in the quality and considerable increase in the nutritive value of the car-
cass originally carried by these cattle when they went into the feedlot.
Feeding enough grain to develop Choice, Good, and possibly
Medium feeders to the point where their carcasses will grade Good
can thus be easily justified by the increase in the amount of meat
produced and the improvement in its quality.
Feeding Insures Even Beef Supply
There is another serious objection to the slaughter of cattle di-
rectly off the range or farm pasture. Such cattle are marketed when
there is no more pasture for them to eat. While the exact time of
marketing depends upon weather conditions and locality, the great
majority of range cattle are sold in the fall. Under normal conditions
many of these cattle go to the feedlot. Some are marketed for slaughter
in two or three months, others in four or six months, and some in
eight or nine months. Thus there is a more or less constant supply of
beef coming onto the market thruout the year.
If all cattle were slaughtered at the end of the range season, there
would be a serious glut of cattle during the fall and early winter
months, which would tax marketing and slaughter facilities. Since the
only method by which beef can be stored for more than a few days is
by freezing, there would temporarily be more beef than could be eaten,
followed by a beef famine for the rest of the year.
AMERICAN RANCHMEN AND FARMERS, during periods
of feed-grain scarcity, can produce the most edible beef
with the least corn by adhering to the following prac-
tices, as demonstrated by the experiments reported here:
1 . Keep cattle largely on pasture and roughage until they
have most of their growth, or until they are about two
years old.
2. Feed Common 2-year-old feeder cattle a minimum
amount of corn until they have no more than a Medium
finish, thus producing Commercial or B carcasses.
3. Feed Medium 2-year-old feeder cattle a minimum
amount of corn to a Medium finish, producing Commer-
cial or B carcasses; or short-feed them a full feed of
corn to a Good finish, producing Good or A carcasses.
Which is better depends on the spread in price between
feeder and finished cattle.
4. Short-feed Good and Choice 2-year-old feeders a full
feed of corn, suitably supplemented, to a Good finish,
thus producing Good or A carcasses.
If these practices are followed, beef supplies will be dis-
tributed reasonably uniformly thruout the year.
15,050—6-44—28314
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