Cattle, Corn and Co-Products -- Feeding Cattle in Nebraska

Nebraska has more than 5,000 feedyards willing to work with cow-calf producers interested in retaining ownership or partnering on their feeder cattle and offering competitive feeding rations from the quality feedstuffs we have available. And now, cow-calf producers nationwide can get an up-close view of the cattle feeding industry in Nebraska, thanks to the six minute video, "Consider the Possibilities -- Cattle, Corn and Co-Products -- Feeding Cattle in Nebraska".

The video, produced by the Nebraska Department of Agriculture and sponsored by the Nebraska Corn Board, highlights the many opportunities available for feeding cattle in Nebraska. It also features University of Nebraska Extension beef specialists discussing the economic benefits of feeding distillers grains, risk management decisions and the parameters cow/calf producers can utilize to evaluate and select a feedyard.

Category:

Education

Tags:

• UNL
• beef specialists
• economic benefits
• distillers grains
• risk management decisions
• cow/calf
• feeders
• stockers
• feedyard
• beef
• corn
• ethanol
• corn co-products
• grain
• cattle
• Nebraska
• Nebraska Corn Board

[NebraskaCornKernels]

Cattle in feedlots are not just fed grain, but roughage (form of grass hay) too. The grain, often called a concentrate, is any feed that is under 20% in crude fiber and over 60% total digestible nutrients (TDN), the opposite of roughage which is over 20% crude fiber and under 60% TDN. Concentrates and roughages are mixed together to create a balanced ration to meet an animal’s nutritional needs and also their energy needs, based on their use.

[211vario]

Kranke Sache ;) Fett

[kelseyjpope]

@rakerman102 Grass-finished beef contains slightly more omega-3 fatty acids (<1/10 of a gram more per 3.5 ozs), but no specific type of beef is considered a primary source for omega-3s. Grass-finished beef can provide more CLA that some health professionals believe has cancer fighting properties; however, there is no clear health benefit in this difference. All beef, regardless of production method, is leaner than ever before - there are 29 different cuts that meet govt guidelines for lean.

[NEfarmkid]

@sanjoriot Cattle that are corn-fed receive a balanced diet with a mixture of forage and protein such as DDGs. Using grain to finish beef is more efficient than grass finishing beef as in 6-10 months less time to finish beef. With growing demand and population around the world, we must push to be efficient and sustainable. Beef isn’t the only source of Omega 3 & 6, we must eat a balanced diet ourselves to achieve an efficient level of fatty acids.

[sanjoriot]

@NEfarmkid In todays diet, leaves and greens are being replaced by seeds and grains just to make production cheaper. Switching to that diet alters natural omega 3(greens) and omega 6(seeds) levels, leading to cancers and heart problems.Omega 3 is essential to our health. Even the animals we eat experience problems, and try try to fix our easy solutions with more science instead of going back to the natural ways we were taught as humans up to the industrialization of food.

[NEfarmkid]

@rakerman102 Cattle actually can digest cattle better than grass, they attain more energy from a corn ration and therefore gain faster, making the finishing time much more efficient. Just because beef are labeled as grass-fed doesn’t mean that they not been given antibiotics. Cattle producers use antibiotics to prevent disease, much like vaccinations that children receive as they are growing up. 

[rakerman102]

corn fed beef is not the correct way to raise cattle. Cows and cattle are not made to eat corn. they are ruminents and have a stomach designed for grass. The "real cost of corn fed beef" is that you feed your cattle corn and then they get sick so you buy medicine and treat the animal. then we put the chemicals from the medicine into our bodies. Is it really worth it in the long run?