The bulk of the fat cattle marketed from Iowa is fed by men who are farmers first and then cattle feeders. They feed cattle primarily for the purpose of marketing the roughage, grass and grain they produce, with perhaps some additional purchased corn and protein supplement.

There is an old saying current among cattle feeders that they seldom make much money feeding cattle but that they have to feed cattle in order1 to make money farming. The cattle feeder is interested in his land and counts as part of his returns from feeding the maintenance of soil fertility and high crop yields secured by use of the manure from the feedlot. His idea is concisely put in the old feeder’s rem ark that in 40 years of cattle feeding he had never lost money but that at times he had to figure on some rather high-priced manure.