Cover title. "March 1935." Also available in microfilm under: State agricultural papers

Cottier, G. J. (George John), 1908-

Grimes, J. C. (Jay Cook), 1890-

Sewell, W. E.

English

AU Scholarly Repository (Auburn University)

CIRCULAR 72Cottonseed Meal as a Supplement to Pasturefor Fattening Steers in the BlackBelt of AlabamaByJ. C. GRIMESW. E. SEWELLG. J. COTTIERAGRICULTURAL EXPERIMENT STATIONOF THEALABAMA POLYTECHNIC INSTITUTEM. J. FUNCHESS, DirectorAUBURN, ALABAMAvollp . ,teo -MARCH 1935CONTENTSPROCEDURE ----------- 4----------- - - - - -FINISHING STEERS FOR THE JULY MARKET - 4Effect of Cottonseed Meal on Gains of Steers-4Effect of Cottonseed Meal on Cost of Gains and Profits---5Value of a Ton of Cottonseed Meal when Fed to Steerson Pasture with Cattle Selling at Various Prices-------6Feed and Pasture Cost of Gains with Cottonseed Mealat Various Prices----------------------------------------------- 7FINISHING STEERS FOR THE JULY VERSUS THESEPTEMBER MARKETS --------------------------------------- 7DISCUSSION ------------------------------------------------------------ 9SUMMARY AND RECOMMENDATIONS ----------------------- 10Cottonseed Meal as a Supplement to Pasture for FatteningSteers in the Black Belt of AlabamaByJ. C. GRIMES, Head Animal Industry GroupW. E. SEWELL, Assistant Animal HusbandmanG. J. COTTIER, Assistant in Animal Husbandry'T HERE is no system or practice in fattening steers which willprove profitable every year. A system which is highly profi-table one year may be unprofitable another year because ofchanged conditions. The kind and quality of cattle, the locality,the season, the available feed supply, the price of feed, and themarket price of cattle are all factors which influence the profit-ableness of any system.The aim of the cattleman should be to determine the systemthat is best adapted to his conditions, the one which will payhim the greatest profit on the average over a period of years,and follow this system more or less regularly. The system mostcommonly practiced in the Black Belt is to fatten the cattle onpasture during the summer months and sell them in the fall.Due to the very cheap gains, steers managed in this mannerusually return a profit if they can be sold for as much per poundin the fall as they cost the previous spring.Cottonseed meal or cottonseed cake is sometimes fed to steerson pasture in order to increase their gains and to get them incondition for the summer market when fat cattle are generallynot plentiful.In 1908 and 1909 Gray and Ward2 conducted two testsin feeding cottonseed cake to steers on grass. They foundthat the use of cake increased the rate of gain, the sellingprice, and the profits. The conditions under which these testswere conducted would probably not be typical of Black Beltconditions of today. During that time much of Alabama was in-fested with the cattle tick, the cattle were of much lower grade,and the pastures were not as good as they are today.Barnett and Goodell3 reported an experiment in feeding cot-tonseed meal to steers on pasture. They found that the additionof meal increased slightly the rate of gain and the selling priceper hundred weight. This, however, was more than offset by thegreater cost of the meal-fed lot.1The authors wish to acknowledge their indebtedness to H. P. Shedd and U. C. Jenkins forvaluable cooperation and assistance in carrying out these experiments.2Alabama Experiment Station Bulletin 151.'Mississippi Experiment Station Circular 50.Since the results of these two experiments are not in completeagreement and the effects of feeding cottonseed meal to steers onpasture in the Black Belt are not altogether clear, it was thoughtthat additional experiments on this subject would be helpful.Consequently, in the spring of 1927, through a cooperative ar-rangement, an experiment was started on Kirkwood plantation,Faunsdale, Alabama, with the object of determining the affectsof feeding cottonseed meal to steers that were being finished onpasture for the July market. After the experiment had beenconducted for about three years the plan was expanded andanother group of steers was added. The added objective wasto compare two systems of management; namely, the feeding ofcottonseed meal to steers on pasture and selling the steers inJuly versus the fattening of steers on pasture alone and sellingthem in September.PROCEDURESteers Used.-All steers used in these experiments were two-year-old, high-grade Herefords. They were raised on the farmwhere the experiments were conducted or on adjoining farmsin the community. These steers were strong and thrifty at thebeginning of the experiment. All steers were weighed individ-ually on three consecutive days at the beginning and at the closeof the experiment. The average of the three weights was takenas the initial and the final weight, respectively.Feeds Used.-Each group of steers was turned into a largeBlack Belt pasture where there was an abundance of grazing atall times. The pastures were composed mostly of black medic,Dallis grass, white clover, and Bermuda grass. Steers in Lot Ireceived in addition to the pasture an average allowance of 4.69pounds of 7 per cent cottonseed meal per head daily. Steers inLot II (check lot) were on pasture with no supplement. Bothlots were sold in July. Steers in Lot III (during the last threeyears of the experiment) were on pasture with no supplementand were sold in September.Valuation of Steers.-All steers were valued by competentcattle buyers at the beginning and at the close of the experi-ment.FINISHING STEERS FOR THE JULY MARKETEffect of Cottonseed Meal on Gains of SteersWhen Lot I is compared with Lot II, Table 1, it will be seenthat the steers which received cottonseed meal made fairly uni-form gains during each of the six years, while the gains made bythe steers on pasture alone were much less uniform. This con-dition was probably due to the fact that the steers in Lot II weredependent entirely on pasture for feed and they were affectedmore by the variation in seasons than those in Lot I. The aver-age daily gain in Lot I was 2.47 pounds during the test while inLot II it was 1.92 pounds.TABLE 1.-Total and Daily Gains of Steers During Six Summers.Lot.No.IIIRationPastureandcottonseedmealAverage'PastureonlyAverage'Summer192719281929193019311932192719281929193019311932No. ofsteers10101426202517.510101426102616Days onpasture7070917796988470709177969884Av. wt. atbeginningofexperimentin pounds527633561568654659600526630560562663661600Totalgain persteer inpounds177181224202240209205119178147183202115157Dailygain persteer inpounds2.532.592.462.632.502.132.471.702.541.622.382.111.181.921Average obtained by adding six years' results and dividing by six (6).Effect of Cottonseed Meal on Cost of Gains and ProfitsThe data in Table 2 show that the average feed cost of mak-ing 100 pounds gain in Lot I was $3.76 and in Lot II was 98 cents.It will be seen from these figures that the steers on pasture alonemade very cheap gains. It should be remembered, however,that cheap gains alone do not determine profits; the rate ofgain, the finish of the steers, and the price at which they sell areimportant factors. Notwithstanding the fact that the steers onpasture alone made much cheaper gains, the meal-fed steers re-turned the greater profit. This was due to more rapid gains, abetter finish, and a higher selling price of the meal-fed steers.The steers which received meal not only gained 48 pounds moreper head during the 84-day period but sold for an average of 65cents more per hundred weight and returned $2.32 more profitper head. It was advantageous to feed cottonseed meal to steerson pasture for the July market during five of the six years.6TABLE 2.-Feed Allowance, Feed and Pasture Cost, Initial Cost of Steers,Selling Price, and Profit per Steer for Six Summers.Summer192719281929193019311932192719281929193019311932Daily mealallowanceper steerin pounds4.734.804.005.335.004.274.69PastureonlyFeed andpasturecost 3 percwt. gain$4.454.393.974.123.412.243.761.050.701.100.750.841.520.98Initialcost percwt.$ 5.759.6212.039.377.475.098.225.749.6312.369.387.395.128.27Sellingpriceper cwt.$ 7.5310.2511.008.255.885.608.086.6110.2510.507.255.254.757.43Profitor losspersteer$12.7011.295.52-0.55-6.568.445.319.4017.600.44-2.21-7.08-0.192.99'Both Lots I and II were on pasture throughout the experiment.2Average obtained by adding six years' results and dividing by six (6).3Pasture was charged at 50 cents per head per 4-week period.Value of a Ton of Cottonseed Meal When Fed to Steerson Pasture with Cattle Selling at Various PricesUnder the conditions which existed during the experiment re-ported on the previous pages and with pasture charged at 50cents per head for each 4-week period, the meal-fed steers re-turned a value of $44.90 per ton for the meal which they con-sumed. In view of the fact that the market price of cattle andthe market price of cottonseed meal changes from year to yearand since these two factors influence materially the financialresults in fattening cattle, it would be desirable to know thevalue of cottonseed meal when pasture-fed cattle were selling atvarious prices. Therefore, Table 3 was prepared. This table isTABLE 3.-Value of a Ton of Cottonseed Meal when Fed to Steers on Grasswith Cattle Selling at Various Prices.With grass-fat cattleselling for-5 cents per pound6 cents per pound7 cents per pound8 cents per pound9 cents per pound10 cents per poundA ton of 7 per cent cottonseedmeal was worth-$38.7541.1843.6246.0548.4950.93LotNo. 1IAverage'IIAverage2Priceof mealper ton$40.0040.0040.0034.0027.0014.0032.50costbased on the results reported in the previous pages. It is shownhere, for example, that if grass-fat cattle are selling for 5 centsper pound, cottonseed meal can be fed at a profit if purchasedfor less than $38.75 per ton.Feed and Pasture Cost of Gains with Cottonseed Mealat Various PricesWhen other things are equal the cost of producing beefvaries with the cost of feed. In this experiment the pasture wascharged at 50 cents per head for each 4-week period and thatcost was the same in both groups of steers; the cost of cotton-seed meal was the variable factor. Table 4 was prepared toshow the effect of the price of cottonseed meal on the cost ofproducing beef. By referring to this table it will be seen that itwill cost $2.65 to produce 100 pounds of gain on steers with cot-tonseed meal valued at $20 per ton, or $3.61 to produce 100pounds of gain with cottonseed meal charged at $30 per ton.TABLE 4.-Average Feed and Pasture Cost of Producing 100 Pounds ofGain on Steers with Cottonseed Meal at Various Prices.Cost of cottonseed meal per ton Cost of 100 pounds gain$20.00 $2.6525.00 3.1330.00 3.6135.00 4.0940.00 4.5845.00 5.0550.00 5.54FINISHING STEERS FOR THE JULY VERSUS THESEPTEMBER MARKETSThe experiment reported in the previous pages had not pro-gressed far before it became apparent to the authors that ifsteers were to be sold in July they should be fed cottonseed mealas a supplement to pasture. The addition of the meal to theration of the steers, caused them to sell for more per pound andreturn a greater profit than the steers which were on pasturealone. Although the steers on pasture alone made very cheapgains they were not finished sufficiently in 70 to 90 days to meetthe demands of the butcher. The question naturally arose as towhich would be the better practice, to feed steers cottonseedmeal on pasture and market them in July (apparently therewould be very little virtue in feeding meal and selling the steersin September because the main object in feeding meal is to in-crease the rate of gain and get the cattle ready for the earlymarket when grass-fat cattle are not plentiful) or to fatten themon pasture alone and sell them in September.In order to compare these two systems of management, athird group of steers, Lot III, was added to the experiment in thespring of 1930. This group was managed similarly to that of LotII with the exception that they were continued on pasture untilSeptember.By comparing Lot I with Lot III, Table 5, it will be seen thatthe steers which were on pasture and received meal made anaverage gain of 217 pounds in 90 days and the steers on pastureonly made an average gain of 258 pounds in 154 days. Data inTable 6 show that the steers which were fed meal and sold inJuly made the greatest profit in 1932 but that the steers whichwere on pasture alone and which were sold in September madethe most profit in 1930 and 1931. Apparently, the two factorswhich had the greatest influence in determining the most prof-itable practice were (1) the price of cottonseed meal and (2) therelative price of grass-fat cattle in July as compared to Sep-tember. In 1932 cottonseed meal was worth $14 per ton and thegeneral level of the cattle market was higher in the summerthan in the fall. The feeding of meal was very profitable underthose conditions. In 1930 and in 1931 cottonseed meal wasworth $34 per ton and $27 per ton, respectively. The cattlemarket was only fair in the summer of 1930 and weak in thesummer of 1931 when compared with the fall market. Duringthese two years the feeding of meal was unprofitable.TABLE 5.-Total and Daily Gains of Steers During Three Summers.Av. Total DailyLot Ration Summer No. of Days on initial gain per gain perNo. steers pasture weight steer steer(pounds) (pounds) (pounds)Pasture and cot- 1930 26 77 568 202 2.63I tonseed meal. 1931 20 96 654 240 2.50Steers sold in July 1932 25 98 659 209 2.13Average' 23.67 90.33 627 217 2.42Pasture only. 1930 26 77 562 183 2.38II Steers sold in 1931 10 96 663 202 2.11July 1932 26 98 661 115 1.18Average 20.67 90.33 629 167 1.89Pasture only. 1930 19 169 556 288 1.70III Steers sold 1931 10 147 663 269 1.83in September 1932 26 147 661 218 1.49Average' 18.33 154 627 258 1.67'Average obtained by adding three years' results and dividing by three (3).DISCUSSIONThe financial returns shown in these experiments varied con-siderably from year to year due, no doubt, to the financial con-dition of the country in general and to the cattle and feed mar-kets in particular. The first three years (1927 to 1929 inclusive)covered by these experiments were a part of one of the mostprosperous periods in the history of America, whereas, the lastthree years (1930 to 1932 inclusive) were a part of one of thegreatest depressions. The average results of the six years,which covered a part of both periods, should be fairly indicativeof what might be expected during normal times. It is evidentthat the kind, amount, and quality of pasture available for thesteers as well as the price of cottonseed meal and the conditionof the cattle market would influence the results of an experi-ment of this kind. Pastures in general in the Black Belt arebetter than those in any other part of the Cotton Belt. The pas-tures used in these experiments were excellent in both quantityand quality. With less favorable pastures greater returns fromthe feeding of meal on pasture would be expected.TABLE 6. Feed Allowance, Feed and Pasture Cost, Initial Cost of Steers,Selling Price, and Profit per Steer for Three Summers.Daily Feedmeal and Profit Priceallow- pas- Initial Selling or ofLot Ration Sum- ance ture cost price loss mealNo. mer per cost per per pers persteer per cwt. cwt. per perin wt.steer tonin cwt.pounds gainPasture and cot- 1930 5.33 $4.12 $9.37 $8.25 $-0.55 $34.00I tonseed meal. 1931 5.00 3.41 7.47 5.88 -6.56 27.00Steers sold in July 1932 4.27 2.24 5.09 5.60 8.44 14.00Average' 4.87 3.26 7.31 6.58 0.44 25.00Pasture only. 1930 0.75 9.38 7.25 -2.21II Steers sold in 1931 0.84 7.39 5.25 -7.08July 1932 1.52 5.12 4.75 -0.19Average' 1.05 7.29 5.75 -3.16Pasture only. 1930 1.04 9.39 7.00 1.56III Steers sold in 1931 0.97 7.39 6.17 3.55September 1932 1.20 5.12 4.52 1.69Average' 1.07 7.30 5.90 2.27'Average obtained by adding three years' results and dividing by three (3).-Pasture was charged at 50 cents per head per four-week period.10SUMMARY AND RECOMMENDATIONSThe average results of the experiments in feeding cottonseedmeal to steers that were being finished on pasture for the Julymarket show that:(1) Steers which received 4.69 pounds of cottonseed mealper head daily made a daily gain of 2.47 pounds while steers onpasture alone gained only 1.92 pounds daily.(2) The feed cost of making 100 pounds of beef with pas-ture charged at 50 cents per head for each 4-week period andwith cottonseed meal charged at $32.50 per ton was $3.76 for themeal-fed group and 98 cents for the pasture-alone group.(3) Steers which received meal not only gained 48 poundsmore per head during the 84-day feeding period but sold for 65cents more per hundred weight and returned a profit of $2.32more per head than steers on pasture alone.(4) It was profitable to feed meal during five of the sixyears of the experiment.(5) When grass-fat cattle were worth 5 cents a pound, aton of cottonseed meal fed to cattle on pasture was worth $38.75.(6) When cottonseed meal cost $20 per ton the feed costof 100 pounds of gain made on meal and pasture was $2.65.The second phase of this experiment was to compare the re-sults of feeding cottonseed meal to steers on pasture and sellingthe steers in July versus fattening steers on pasture alone andselling them in September. The results show that:(1) The steers which received cottonseed meal made anaverage gain of 217 pounds in 90 days and the steers on pasturealone made an average gain of 258 pounds in 154 days which weredaily gains of 2.42 and 1.67 pounds, respectively.(2) The feed cost of making 100 pounds of beef with pas-ture charged at 50 cents per head for each 4-week period andcottonseed meal charged at $25 per ton was $3.26 for the meal-fed group and $1.07 for the pasture alone group.(3) It was more profitable to fatten steers on pasturealone and sell the steers in September than to feed cottonseedmeal on pasture and sell the steers in July during two of thethree experiments.General recommendations based on the results reported inthe previous pages are:(1) Black Belt farmers who wish to market grass-fatsteers in July or August should feed the steers an average offrom 4 to 5 pounds of cottonseed meal per head daily.11(2) The price of cottonseed meal, the market price of cat-tle, and the amount and quality of pasture available should de-termine whether to feed cottonseed meal and market steers inJuly or to fatten steers on pasture alone and sell them in Sep-tember.(3) If cottonseed meal is relatively cheap or if pasture isscarce or poor in quality or if the market on which the cattle areto be sold is usually one dollar or more per hundred weight high-er in the summer than in the fall, steers should be fed meal andsold in July or August, otherwise they should be fattened onpasture alone and sold in September.I fY

Cottonseed meal as a supplement to pasture for fattening steers in the Black Belt of Alabama

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Cottonseed meal as a supplement to pasture for fattening steers in the Black Belt of Alabama

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