The Wanganui Chronicle. "Nulla Dies Sine Linea." WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 7, 1917. BABY BEEF.

Wanganui Chronicle, Volume LX, Issue 16892, 7 February 1917, Page 4

The Wanganui Chronicle. "Nulla Dies Sine Linea." WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 7, 1917. BABY BEEF.

lfor some time past many competent authorities have been, predicting a shortage of beef. The position :n America has beeu felt so acutely -th'^t even "Munsey's," a magazine usually devoted almost entirely to light literature, has devoted considerable space '.o this subject, and some months i.o published an extensive a? tide in whici figures were given to demonstrate the? serious wastage under present conditions. For some yea.rs past New Z&aland hag had in Mr John Alien, of Devon port, an earnest and enthusiastic advocate of "baby beef." In discussing the matter recently with a representative of the "Chronicle,". Mr Allen declared that the adoption of tha system, of breeding "and fattening stock i'or marketing ct two years of age, would result in doubling the production and put an end to the wastage or millions annually. Nearly all writers in New Zealand confuse the two terms ''Baby Beef" and "Early Maturity." The' latter, of course, is bringing the animak as- near as possible to its mature growth by forcing it with artificial foods. It is explained how "this can be accomplished by intense cultivation, growing fancy foods which are to be fed by hand, for there is a gr«at wastage in field feeding." But Mr Allen makes bold to say tiiat as soon as, these hand-feeding and forcing methods are advocated the average farmer dismisses the subject as not worth considering:. This confusion of terms has repeatedly This confusion of terms has repeatedly cropped up when tii e question has been discussed with leading graziers and top beef producers. It is no use trying t) alter the mode of farming that is prevalent unless, one can show that with the same amotint of labour and feeding (fed in the open a:/ and the beasts helping themselves) the grazier v by a little alteration of procedure can pioduce more beef and secure an enhanced value for his acres of grass, e tc. "The reason 1 have taken up this question," said Mr Allen, "is that in discussing jt with even some of our most intelligent farmers, it i s apparent that lew realise the seriousness of the situation, and have not the faintest idea of the loss they, and the country, are! thereby sustaining every year. They' buy three and four-year-old steers in store condition ever year, fatten them in the oae season, and if not then the next, and never give a thought to the relative amount of food cons..mcd.:" Mr Allen's eyes Avere opened to the question s:me fifteen years ago, when keeping lour picked steers back from a, line of sixty prime two-and-a-balf-yeir-olds sold fcr export freezers. The majority of tie line were bred on the property, and were grazed on the same pasture. The four wer e the best of tho line, and selected to sse hew they would develop by ttie spring. They were turned back on the same pasture, nnd a line of 18-months old, bred tho same way, were run with them. In the spring the .younger cattle had retained their fat and grown well, but the four-year-olds fell off considerably, and were riot what one would terra prime. It was quite clear that tho older cattle-required better fe:d in order to maintain their growth and retain their fat, or, practically. }-al to have the (jr^ss sticking out both sides of the mouth's if-they wer e kept on pasture. A couple cf years after, while visiting Gove:rinient "experimental farms" in Canada and the United States,, Mr Allen made inquiries r.s to their experience on the question, and steers were exhibited to him that had been treated for this very purpose. All the food given to them was weighe eveiyweek, and the steers weighed every week, and an accurate record kept, Tho result was most instructive.

Excluding the birth weight, the steers maintained a pra ticnJly uniform rate of gain until they became two years old, but tho cost of gain in t.e se:<mi; sta^e, from two 'to three je.irs old, was about double that of tlie first, and i:or the third, fro*~i three to four years old, the cost was about three times that of the' firs*. And, most important of all, the extra cost of keeping is far fiom recompensed when it comes to selling time. In proof of this Me Allen is able to_ cite innumerable instances, but one example is sufficient to illustr t.-» the point. "A breeder of approximately 400 calves per year tells me,'' said Mr Allen, "that he sells his steers at two ears old. He was.informed by the butchers (when selling his last lina) that they were not properly finished, but they realised £16 per head, and tho same day three-year-olds that the butcher had no fault to find with realise! £18, or only an advance of £2 lor t:\o third year. "We stood discussing the suuject when a pen of five-year-old steers were soldVfc £14 17s 6d a head. The next pen was throy ear-olds of abo.it> the same quality. They realised £13i 15a, or £1 2s 6d for keeping the nve-year-olds two years, this being a recompense at tho rate of twopen.e halfpenny per week for keeping them a second and third yeail" In short, Mr Allen believes "baby beef" to be the only solution of the beef problem, and he hopes to see the day when the thousands of acres of. splendid grazing country whiah we have in the North Island will be used for this purpose, while the second and third class land will be utilised for rearing the calves.