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Show New Era Seen In Beef Production Free range Is gone. Costs of cattle production have been steadily stead-ily increasing. " The present narrow nar-row spread existing between feeder feed-er and fat. cattle can be expected expect-ed to continue. In short, the survival of each individual in-dividual cattle grower will depend on his ability to increase the efficiency ef-ficiency of his operations to the point where he can weather the storm. It will be a survival of the fittest based on supply and demand. .A knowledge of relative feed values is imperative these days. Because of the advances made in the study of animal nutrition the cattleman needs to have a general gen-eral knowledge of the fundament-j fundament-j asl of this science. In an attempt 1 at more efficient beef production, cattlemen may find much of bene-j bene-j fit in results" of recent nutritional I studies at western experiment stations in recent years. Science with practice, or the practical adaptation of these scientific findings, should be of interest to progressive cattlemen of the entire west. The following is a brief discussion of some of the more salient points evident to ' a modern day student of nutrition. nutri-tion. Beef calves born in the spring and weaned by the first of the ! following year can no longer be be suffered to lose weight during their first winter on the ranch. Extension experiments at Nebraska, Nebras-ka, Colorado, Montana and elsewhere else-where indicate that these calves should be made to gain approximately approxi-mately one pound per head per day during the winter . feeding period.' This can be . accomplished accomplish-ed in a number of ways depending on the feeds available. With wild or native hay the use of three-fourth pound of cottonseed cotton-seed cake, two pounds of oats ,or about three pounds of alfalfa hay per head daily should turn the trick. If the calf gains more than onepound daily the value of the extra feed supplied is apt to be lost In the lowering of the cheap er gains secured during the summer sum-mer grazing period. j The success of the trench silo, has been phenominal throughout the intcrmountain area. In manyj instances corn silage is worth as much or mare than alfalfa hay. Its high value when used with the protein hay is somewhat compar-i compar-i able to the value of air when mix-; mix-; ed in the carburetor of a car with raw gasoline. The air and the silage don't have the actual fuel value shown but in correct combination com-bination they make the gasoline or alfalfa, as the case may be, so much more efficient that their value is enhanced. . In a test in Colorado it wasJ found that beef cattle gained 1.7 pounds per day when fed alfalfa j with corn silage as compared to , a lot which gained one pound per day on alfalfa alone. The cost per cwt. gain was $8.51 for hay alone and $4.86 for alfalfa and corn silage. Beef cattle should have a balanced bal-anced ration from birth for most efficient gains. Silage is still a valuable feed when added to a grain and alfalfa ration but its replacement value Is lower when added to the already balanced ration. ra-tion. There are possibilities for im-(Continued im-(Continued on page four). NEW ERA SEEN IN BEEF PRODUCTION (Continued from page one.) proving beef cattle rations today by the addition of phosphorus but only where a phosphorus deficiency defici-ency exists. As in the case ofj sugar beets and other crops anj adequate supply of phosphorus is essential to the well being of ani-. mals. Often it is lacking both on the range and in the feed lot. I A recent steer feeding test con-j ducted at the Utah State Agricul-j tural college serves to indicate ( the lack of phosphorus in sugar, beet byproduct rations and means' for supply this deficiency through1 the use of supplements high in phosphorus such as cottonseed' meal, steamed bone meal and wheat bran. Cattlemen .who will scrutinize their rations well may' be able to save hundreds or even thousands of dollars by remedying remedy-ing simple deficiencies that have developed on ranges and in feed-lot feed-lot rations of the west. |