Nutrition and Feeding

Among the most essential components of beef production are proper nutrition and feed management. Feeding your cattle a healthy, balanced diet and providing abundant supplies of clean water is crucial for herd health and productivity.

On this page, Penn State Extension offers a comprehensive list of resources to help you with beef cattle nutrition and feeding, high-grain vs grass-fed beef production, feed analysis, water needs, mineral supplementation, and more.

Beef Cattle Feed Management

A large part of beef cattle production costs is dedicated to the purchase of (supplementary) feeds. Due to the high expenses, it’s important that producers utilize cattle feed in an optimal way.

When creating a feed management plan, the focus should be on increasing cattle feeding efficiency, reducing the quantity and nutrient content of manure, and achieving nutrient balance.

To learn more about beef cattle feed management, have a look at Penn State Extension’s Feed Efficiency workshop. The workshop covers a variety of topics, such as identifying animals that can efficiently convert feed into marketable products.

Beef Cattle Nutrient Requirements

Matching forage quality and quantity to the cattle nutritional needs is a key factor for optimal herd performance. Underfeeding nutrients can lower production and overfeeding can increase feed expenses and losses over net return.

Typically, the amount of nutrients needed is influenced by climate conditions, as well as the animal’s age, weight, and production stage (e.g. calves, young cattle, or lactating cows). 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.

It is worth knowing that beef produced for the grass-fed market, may also come from animals raised in a pasture setting but ‘finished’ on a grain-based diet.

Grain-Fed Beef Herds

Grain-fed beef is meat from cows that have been fed (mostly) corn and other grains. Beef producers may choose to feed their livestock grains for a number of reasons such as on-farm resources and environmental factors, as well as wanting to maintain a consistent meat supply quality.

A grain-based diet can be a cheaper alternative to hay that supplies the herd with sufficient nutrition. In general, good cattle diets are developed by nutritionists and contain protein, fiber, vitamins, and cereal grains.

Overall, whether producers raise beef as grass-fed or grain-fed, the animals still spend the majority of their life grazing on pastures and their meat is an excellent nutritional source.

Calving and Cattle Nutrition

Beef cattle can meet the majority of their nutritional needs through hay, grass, or stored forages. Certain adjustments are required in the period right before and immediately after calving.

Proper beef cattle nutrition prior to and after calving can be challenging to maintain. During this period, nutritional needs are dependent on factors such as lactation, reproductive state, and colostrum production.

Colostrum – the initial milk produced by the cow – plays a significant role in the diet of a newborn calf. Restricted pre-calving nutrition can directly impact colostrum production. In turn, calves with restricted colostrum intake tend to be more prone to diseases, have higher mortality rates, and have lower feedlot growth rates.

Learn more about cattle nutrition, as well as how to manage beef cattle feeds with Penn State Extension’s articles, workshops, conferences, and online courses.