The Chickasha Daily Express

Twenty head of grade Shorthorn and Hereford calves were purchased by the Kansas Experiment Station in the spring of 1900 and divided into two lots. One lot was fed on sterilized creamery skim-milk with a grain ration composed of equal parts of corn and Kaffir corn meal, with all the alfalfa hay they would eat. The second lot was fed the same as the first, except that fresh whole milk was used instead of skim-milk. In addition to these two lots the station secured the privilege of weighing twenty-two head of high-grade Hereford calves which were running with their dams in a pasture near the Experiment Station.

Results with Skim-milk.-For the twenty-two weeks under experiment the ten calves consumed 24,736 pounds of skim-milk, 1,430 pounds of corn chop, 1,430 pounds of Kaffir corn meal and 641 pounds of alfalfa hay. The total gain was 2,331 pounds, or a daily average of 1.51 pounds per head. Figuring skim-milk at 15 cents per 100, grain at 50 cents per 100 pounds and hay at $4 per ton, the total feed cost of raising these calves was $52.68, or $5.27 per head. The feed cost for each 100 pounds of gain was $2.26. Cows that are milked will produce larger yields than when suckling calves. According to the average yield at this station, ten cows (one for each calf) produced 55,540 pounds of milk testing 3.93 per cent butter fat. With butter fat at 15½ cents per pound, this would amount to $338.52. The value of the skim-milk not needed by the calves would raise this to $374.24. Deduct from this the value of the feed consumed by the calves and there remains $321.56, or $32.15 per calf to pay for the expense of milking, feeding the calves, and hauling the milk to the creamery. At 12½ cents per hour, this expense need not be one-half of the above sum, leaving $15 to $16 clear profit for each calf raised on skim-milk.

Results with Whole Milk.-During twenty-two weeks these ten calves consumed 23,287 pounds of fresh milk, 835 pounds of corn chop, 835 pounds of Kaffir corn meal, and 835 pounds of alfalfa hay. The total gain was 2,878 pounds, or a daily average of 1.95 pounds per head. Charging butter fat at creamery prices, the feed cost of raising these calves amounts to $157.19, or $15.72 per head. The feed cost for each 100 pounds of gain amounts to $5.46.

Results with Calves Nursed by the Cows.-On May 28, 1900, twenty-two calves that were running with their dams averaged 174 pounds. On October 15, these same calves averaged 422 pounds, or an average daily gain per head of 1.77 pounds. The only expense attached to raising these calves was the keep of the cows, which was estimated by the owner to be $12 per head. Multiplying the average daily gain of these calves by 154, the number of days in previous experiment, gives a total of 272 pounds per head. With $12 as the cost of raising the calf, each 100 pounds of gain cost $4.41.

Results in Feed Lot after Weaning.-In the fall all these calves were placed in the feed lot, where they were pushed for baby beef. During the seven months under experiment, the skim-milk calves gained 440 pounds per head, the whole-milk calves 405 pounds per head, and the calves nursed by the cows 422 pounds per head. This experiment shows that the feed cost of raising a good skim-milk calf need not exceed $5.25 in contrast to $15.75 for a whole-milk calf, and $8 for one nursed by the dam. The skim-milk calf becomes accustomed to eating both grain and roughness early in life, is handled enough to be gentle, and when transferred to the feed lot is ready to make rapid and economical gains.-D. H. Otis, Kansas Agricultural College.