Did you know that what you feed your beef cattle directly affects the quality of the meat, the marbling of the fat, and the overall price at market? Having a solid plan for feeding beef cattle that considers nutritional needs, cost and availability of feed, as well as other aspects of feeding your livestock can improve the quality of the final product, therefore improving your farm profits.
Cattle Feed Plans: What Do Beef Cattle Need to Eat?
All types of cattle are born with a four-chamber stomach. At birth, calves live off the fat and protein that comes from their mother’s milk, and their stomach functions more similarly to a single-chamber stomach. As calves get older and begin to eat grass and forage, the other three stomach chambers grow to become one of the most efficient means of transforming plants into protein.
Cattle are very efficient at extracting as much nutrients as they can from the food they eat. Ruminants have a special stomach chamber filled with microorganisms that break down the components of their food. However, cattle still need specific nutrients to grow and thrive such as:
- Protein: While hay and various grasses contain protein, most cattle will get their protein through legumes. Soybeans are the most common protein source, followed by cottonseed meal and linseed. They can also get protein sources from mineral blocks, which is especially helpful for young calves.
- Minerals: Cattle can get minerals through the hay they eat, though the amount can vary depending on mineral content in soils where the hay is grown. Livestock need calcium, phosphorus, potassium, and salt as the basic minerals, but trace amounts of iodine, copper, cobalt, zinc, and selenium are also essential. To ensure your cattle get the proper minerals, it’s important to feed them minerals – whether in block form, or loose – so they stay healthy.
- Vitamins: Minerals for cattle are only half of the equation. They also need an abundance of vitamins A, D, and E. Bacteria that lives in the fourth stomach produce vitamins K and B, so you don’t have to worry as much about feeding your cattle these vitamins.