# Can cattle eat this?



## CESpeed (Aug 4, 2011)

In addition to the hay field that's already available I want to grow corn for my animals to eat.  From my understanding corn takes a lot of minerals out of the soil that soy beans can put back into it, so it's recommended to alternate the fields between corn and soy beans.

I know that cattle and pigs can eat corn but what about soy beans?  I'm pretty sure pigs can eat them, but has anyone ever fed them to cattle? 

Also if given a choice between, oats, barley or rye which would you feed to cattle?

Thanks again!


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## WildRoseBeef (Aug 5, 2011)

Either types of crops are going to cost you.  You have to pay for putting in fertilizer (for BOTH soybeans and corn), and pay someone to plant, spray, then harvest the corn for you.  Yes cattle can eat soybeans, but feeding them to cattle alone is like putting them in an alfalfa pasture when they're hungry. (edit: not to mention other issues that RedTailGal posted below.)  

I suggest that if you want to feed grain to your cattle, buy it.  Use the land for hay and pasture only.  Use whatever grain that is available.  Up here we use barley to feed up cattle for finishing.

Besides, the breeds that you have chosen are best raised with very little to no grain, and can be raised on grass and hay only, provided you have a good mineral source for them and test the soil and feed occasionally.


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## aggieterpkatie (Aug 5, 2011)

I agree.  With the equipment needed to plant, harvest, etc, you'd be way better off to plant that land in pasture and be able to let the cows harvest it for you.


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## redtailgal (Aug 5, 2011)

z


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## WildRoseBeef (Aug 5, 2011)

Rye isn't a popular feed for cattle, unless it has been dehulled and cracked or rolled.  This is because the outer hull of rye has these little spiky things that can get stuck in a cow's mouth or throat causing coughing or choking.  Triticale is also bad for this too (triticale is a cross between barley and rye).

As I mentioned in my first post on this thread, the breeds you have chosen, being Galloway and Red Poll, are older-type breeds than the more modernized breeds being Charolais and Angus, for instance, which means they are better adapted at being raised on grass-only (and hay as well, especially during the winter when grass won't be growing as well or not at all) than what you think.  All a cow needs is grass to keep her condition up.  You may have to watch the steer and heifer though, as they are growing animals and need a higher nutritional plane than a cow would.  However, a cow going into her third trimester right through to her third or fourth month of lactation need just as much good-quality feed as a couple of growing animals.  Grass, if it contains the proper nutrients and/or you supply a mineral source for them according to what they are lacking in their diet, should be good enough for your animals.  But ONLY feed grain when your animals are loosing condition, or if you are in the final finishing stages of fattening up your steer for beef (if, that is, you wish to have beef that has a little extra marbling that a grass-finished diet cannot provide).

Backgrounding and finishing are two different feeding programs you will need to know (and ask about) when you get your animals and start working with them.


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## CESpeed (Aug 7, 2011)

I wasn't looking at either corn or soy as the staple of their diet.  I ever much plan to have them in pasture grazing.  I just thought that it wouldn't hurt to give them grain as well.  The only reason I was thinking soy was to replace the minerals that corn takes out of the ground.  A farmer here mention that clover would be just as good as soy for replacing minerals and my cattle would absolutely love clover.

Rye grass was the only suggestion given to me as a good winter grass but I don't want to plant something that can harm them.  Does anyone know who another winter hardy grass that can be planted instead?  Oat and Wheat were mentioned as good fall grains.  

Thank you everyone for your help.  I am learning a lot from everyone. And I truly appreciate it and I'm sure my future cattle do as well!


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## WildRoseBeef (Aug 7, 2011)

Winter rye and winter wheat are good for grazing livestock in the fall.  Some producers use corn as a winter feed just by leaving it standing and letting the cattle in to eat.  But you need to have an electric fence up to limit how much they graze in a certain period of time to avoid bloat or nitrate toxicity.  Crop-residue grazing is also gaining ground in some areas, as well as swath grazing and bale grazing.  But a lot of these grazing practices make use of a lot of animals that are in the same reproductive stage as the other.  The last three I mentioned are best done with dry bred cows (those that have reached adult maturity already).  If you were to use young animals to graze in these types of systems you will have to supplement.

Clover (or alfalfa, or other legumes like bird's foot trefoil, sanfoin, laspedenza and cicer milkvetch) are also great at nitrogen fixation activities of putting nitrogen back into the soil.  But, don't forget what your animals can put back into the soil.  Manure from cattle also contains high levels of nitrogen (a bit lower in phosphorus) which will also help provide nutrients and organic matter to the soil bed.  But you will have to manage for OTHER nutrients in the soil as well, especially for things like calcium, phosphorus, potassium, magnesium, etc.  You really have to be careful with clover and alfalfa because of the high incidence of bloat with these plants.  Sanfoin, trefoil, laspadenza and milkvetch do not have the compounds that will make a ruminant bloat and thus are species to consider if you don't want to have to do some extra work making sure your cows won't get bloated.  Also, with spring time, be careful of how much potassium is in the fertilizer.  Excess potassium in the soil can cause cows in early lactation to get grass tetany which, like bloat, can be fatal if not treated or prevented.  Cows can even get tetany from feed that has too much potassium and not enough magnesium in it.  That's why a good mineral program is always important for your animal's health.


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