Open PRAIRIE: Open Public Research Access Institutional Repository and Information Exchange
Abstract
1. In feeding calves for the production of baby beef the following prices were obtained per bushel for grains used: Corn 47 cents, oats 26 cents, millet 38 cents and speltz 33 cents.2. They were shipped to Chicago under two years old; averaged 1,250 pounds, and sold on their merits in lots, same as they were fed, at the following prices per hundred pounds: The corn lot, 6.25;theoatslot,6.00; the millet lot, 5.75;thespeltzlot,5.85.3. It required .37 of a pound more of ground millet seed than it did ground corn to produce a pound of gain on calves fattened for baby beef.4. Calves raised and fattened on Black Veronesh millet seed, sown on the 28th day of June on spring breaking of prairie sod, were made to average 1,175 pounds per head at 1 year, 10 months and 23 days of age, and brought 5.75perhundredpoundsontheChicagomarket.5.FatmadebyBlackVeroneshmilletseedwasmuchsoftertothetouchthanthatmadebyeithercorn,oatsorspeltz.6.Whenfedasafatteningration,thisvarietyofmilletseedseemstobemorelikeoatsthancorn.Thisisshownbythefactthatthelotfedonoatsrequiredpracticallythesamequantityofhayperpoundofgainasdidthelotfedonmillet.7.BlackVeroneshmilletseedproducedacarcassequalinqualitytothatofcorn,asisshownbythecutonpage74ofthisBulletin.8.Thebestgainsweremadewiththegroundmilletduringthefatteningperiod,being1.76poundsperheaddaily,whilethelotfedoncornmealproduced2.08poundsperheaddailyduring2˘7thisperiod.9.Thelotfattenedonspeltzmadeanaveragedailygainof1.69pounds,whilethelotfattenedoncornmadeanaveragedailygainof1.84pounds.10.Duringthegrassperiodthelotfedonspeltzgained112poundsmorethandidthelotfedoncorn.Itrequiredonly5.16poundsofspeltzforapoundofgain,ascomparedwith7.03poundsofcorntoproduceapoundofgainduringthegrassperiod.11.Thelotfedonspeltzdidnotconsumeasmuchhayperpoundofgainasdidotherlots,indicatingthatthehuskofspeltzisagoodsubstituteforhay.12.Speltzproducesahardfat,aboutthesameasoats;andasgoodaqualityofmeatascorn,asmaybeseenbycutofribandloinonpage73ofthisBulletin.13.Withtheexceptionofthespeltzlot,thespayedheifersbroughtthesamepriceasthesteers.Inthiscaseareductionof50centsperhundredwasmadeonaccountofthespayedheiferbeingsmallerthanthesteersinthelotwhichbrought6.00 per hundred.14. Ground oats proved to be a profitable feed for the production of baby beef. From a careful examination of the lots before shipping these steers were nearly as fat as those fed on corn. The cut of rib and loin from an average carcass of the oat lot on page 74 of this Bulletin shows a high quality of meat.15. When calves were fed in lots on the same kind of grain from birth to maturity those which received the most highly carbonaceous grain produced the largest per cent of dressed meat