Corn and milo are the principal grains fed to beef cattle. Limiting wheat to 50 percent and oats to 30 percent of the grain in finishing rations of beef cattle is recommended. Some experienced feeders use larger amounts of wheat successfully.
What should I Feed my cattle?
Cattle weighing 700 pounds or more should be fed a ration containing 11 percent crude protein in a ration composed of grain (usually corn, but barley and wheat are often also used), protein sources, and roughage.
Can you feed beef to cows?
Beef cattle feeding is possible on small and part-time farms, but the cost of feeding drops significantly as the size of the operation increases. If playback doesn't begin shortly, try restarting your device. Videos you watch may be added to the TV's watch history and influence TV recommendations.
Is cattle feeding a good business?
Cattle feeding is a high-risk business. During some years, an operation may not recover out-of-pocket costs. The beef industry is very cyclical and cattle prices can fall dramatically when beef operations reduce herd sizes because of drought and the high cost of feed. Entry into the cattle-feeding business usually has few restrictions.
What do cows eat in a day?
A cow’s basic nutritional needs include protein, carbohydrates, fats, vitamins, minerals, and water. Grass-fed Beef Cattle Grass-fed beef is a term used to describe meat from animals that ate a pasture-based diet. Cows raised on pastures spend a bigger part of their time eating native forages and upcycling nutrients.
What do you feed a beef cow?
Beef cattle can utilize roughages of both low and high quality, including pasture forage, hay, silage, corn (maize) fodder, straw, and grain by-products.
What do you feed beef for slaughter?
For finishing beef cattle prior to slaughter, most are fed a mixture of ground, shelled corn or millet. These grains are inexpensive, nutritious and add fat to the meat to make it tender.
What do farmers feed their beef cattle?
Cattle are fed grains like corn because they are nutritious, energy-rich, and can be stored for use throughout the year. Because grass does not grow year-round in most of the United States, feeding grains like corn to cattle helps farmers and ranchers raise a consistent, year-round supply of great tasting beef.
What grain is best for beef cattle?
Corn, oats, and barley are the primary grains fed to cattle. Oats, which has a lower energy value due to its high fiber content, is considered the "safest" grain in regards to potential digestive disturbances.
Do beef cows Need grain?
Cattle weighing 700 pounds or more should be fed a ration containing 11 percent crude protein in a ration composed of grain (usually corn, but barley and wheat are often also used), protein sources, and roughage.
What do you feed slaughter steers?
Feed a free choice mixture of 80 percent ground sorghum grain, 10 per- cent protein supplement and 10 percent salt as cattle are placed on pasture and continue until slaughter weight is reached. Cattle will consume this mixture at approximately 1 percent of their body weight daily.
Do cows prefer grass or grain?
First, know that the majority of a cow's diet is grass and hay. For cows who are grain fed, it's only 10% of a cow's total diet during their lifetime–the rest is still grass. In warm weather cows eat pasture and in cold weather months cows are fed hay (which is dried grass if you didn't know).
How do you fatten up a beef cow?
Fattening cattle are commonly fed twice per day, in the morning and in the evening or even only once in the morning, using an ad libitum feeding regimen. On pasture, cattle spend about 10–12 h per day grazing, divided into several meals spread out from dusk to dawn (6).
How much grain does a beef cow need?
10-15 lbs. per day of corn, oats or barley fed to grazing cattle is a good finishing ration. This fed to a 900-1000 pound steer for 3-4 months should will you a nicely finished animal. If you do not have access to pasture or if you are finishing during the winter, you might increase the amount of grain to 15-18 lbs.
Do cows need grain everyday?
The grain finished cattle need to be checked regularly and fed daily. They live in the pasture their entire lives and also receive natural grain during the last 6 months of their life. It's up to them on if they eat the grass or grain.
How much grain should a beef cow eat per day?
Cows will voluntarily consume about 2 percent of their body weight or 24 pounds per day. The 24 pounds is based on 100 percent dry matter.
Are oats good for beef cattle?
Oats is an ideal grain for starting cattle on feed because of its high hull and fiber content. Many experienced cattlemen prefer to start weaned calves on oats as the only or major grain, gradually shifting over to higher-energy grains as the animals become adapted to grain consumption.
How much do you feed a steer for slaughter?
The steer will consume roughly 15-20 pounds of hay per day or 2 percent of his body weight. Grain is added to the diet three months before taking the steer to the processor. The amount of time on feed can vary from 60-150 days. For a backyard steer, 90 days on grain should be sufficient.
How much does it cost to feed beef cattle until slaughter?
If you retain ownership of the calves and they are the type of calf that can go through a growing period during the winter and grass pasture in the spring and summer, then to a short feedlot phase and the total cost after weaning to slaughter is about $520, then the total cost is $905 per head (using cow cost to ...
What do feedlot cattle eat?
Generally, feedlot cattle are fed predominantly high quality fibrous diets early in their growth periods and high-energy cereal grain diets during the finishing periods. The breeding herd commonly grazes fibrous forages from pastureland, rangeland and from field residues, such as corn stalks.
What is the best feed to put weight on a cow?
Best Beef Cattle Feed for Weight Gain Energy feed such as corn, sorghum, barley, accounts for about 60% - 70% Protein feed including bean cake (meal), cotton seed cake (meal), peanut cake, etc., about 20% - 25%
Ration Formulation for Growing Cattle
Fact sheet providing guidelines as hypothetical scenarios that illustrate dietary comparisons across a singular system for growing beef cattle.
Integrating Grazing into Cropping Systems
Benefits of integrating livestock grazing into cropping systems are becoming clearer. There are many challenges that need to be addressed to increase the chance of success with both enterprises.
Preparing for Calving Season
Spring calving season is here for some and around the corner for others. As a beef producer, what do you need to know to be prepared for calving season?
Ration Formulations for Growing Cattle
Formulating a diet for beef cattle and feeding a balanced ration are keys to having a successful beef operation. Learn how to combine various feed ingredients to meet beef cattle daily requirements.
Cattle Feeders Day
Learn up to date information on the cattle feeding industry and production with this informative webinar!
Transitioning Calves: From Pasture to Feedlot
Transitioning newly weaned calves to the feedlot can be highly successful, or it can be a disaster. In order to avoid the disaster, follow these tips for success.
Gut Health in Cattle
Poor gut health can negatively affect overall cattle health status and performance. By maintaining ideal gut health, animal health and performance will be bettered.
Getting Started
Finishing cattle doesn’t have to be complicated, but it does take additional management to ensure the health and performance of the cattle are maintained. This article will address a few options for hand-feeding a small group of cattle to finish.
Things to Consider
Before discussing specific diets, here are some tips and things to think about prior to finishing out cattle for beef.
Starting a Beef Feeding Enterprise
Thorough planning and preparation are essential for you to have a successful beef-feeding operation.
Facilities
Various materials can be used for feedlot fences, including boards, wire panels, high-tensile wire, and steel cables. Barbed wire is not recommended. A seven- or nine-wire high-tensile fence is one of the most economical barriers.
Grazing and Backgrounding
Some cattle feeders purchase lightweight feeder calves (350 to 550 pounds), graze them during the spring and summer, and then finish them in the feedlot starting in late summer or fall. Backgrounding is a special type of program that usually combines pasture systems and lightweight cattle.
Purchasing Feeder Cattle
Anyone purchasing feeder cattle must keep up-to-date on market conditions. Graded feeder-calf sales are held in both fall and spring; some feedlot operators use cattle brokers and tele-auctions to obtain their feeder cattle. Feeder-cattle prices can fluctuate considerably in almost every season of the year.
Health Maintenance Program
Because preconditioned and heavier feeder cattle tend to have fewer health problems, purchasing preconditioned calves can be a good investment for the cattle feeder.
Nutrition
Cattle weighing 700 pounds or more should be fed a ration containing 11 percent crude protein in a ration composed of grain (usually corn, but barley and wheat are often also used), protein sources, and roughage.
Environmental Impacts
In the normal course of operations, farmers handle pesticides and other chemicals, may have manure to collect and spread, and use equipment to prepare fields and harvest crops. Any of these routine on-farm activities can be a potential source of surface water or groundwater pollution.
Cattle Nutrient Requirements
First, you have to make sure your feed fulfills all your cattle's nutritional requirements. The primary nutritional needs you have to be concerned about are:
Feed Composition Sources
In general, your cattle feed will be made up of three different sources: roughage, concentrates, and supplements.
How Much You Should Feed Your Cattle
It's time to put some numbers to these generalizations. Of course, this comes with the caveat that you need to monitor the growth and health of your cattle to ensure they are eating properly. However, as a starting point for estimates and budgeting, consider these approximate figures for daily feeding to achieve maximum weight gain:
Seasonal Considerations
The above figures assume that animals are in good conditions. However, animals' nutrient requirements change when they become stressed.
Having a Roller Mill Makes Your Operation More Flexible
When you are designing the optimal diet for your cattle, you have many factors to balance. Having a roller mill can help you keep the balance in your favor. You can buy less expensive and more stable whole grains and mill them yourself to be more digestible and less likely to cause problems.
Nutrition
Table 1. Approximate daily water intake (gallons) for finishing cattle.
Health
Concepts of health and selection can be important in choosing an animal to put on feed. For producers who have been focused on selling calves at weaning, knowledge of genet-ics—specifically carcass merit—may not have been necessary in the past and may be unknown.
Implants and Ionophores
Beef production uses a variety of technologies to boost gain and improve efficiency. Two of those technologies commonly used in the finishing phase of beef production are implants and ionophores.
Starting A Beef Feeding Enterprise
Facilities
Grazing and Backgrounding
Purchasing Feeder Cattle
Health Maintenance Program
Nutrition
- Cattle weighing 700 pounds or more should be fed a ration containing 11 percent crude protein in a ration composed of grain (usually corn, but barley and wheat are often also used), protein sources, and roughage. Larger-framed cattle tend to require a ration with a higher percentage of grain to achieve the same carcass quality grade as cattle with ...
Environmental Impacts
Risk Management
Sample Budgets
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