I thought cows were supposed to eat grass. Why do we need to feed corn to cattle?

Question

Reliance on corn cattle feed seems to make beef prices go up as demand for corn rises. Why must we feed cattle corn in the first place? It's not even their natural diet. I know they have 4 stomaches and can digest almost anything. Some farmers use fillers like bone and concrete in the feed (using ground bones is what causes madcow disease). Why don't farmers just feed the cattle grass? I can't see how grass would cost more than corn. Wouldn't beef be cheaper and more wholesome?

Answer 1

With slaughter animals, the first year of their life is pretty much spend nursing or eating grass.  It's only after being sent to a feed lot are they poured full of corn or other high energy grains.  Corn is what makes marbling and is what the different grades of meat are graded on.  The higher the grade, the more valuable the meat is and since grass fed beef has little marbling, it grades lower.  

Grass feeding slaughter animals pretty much doubles the time it takes to get one up to slaughter weight, usually 2.5-to even 3 years of age.  Grassfed beef is more healthful but can be so lean that you have to add oil to the skillet to keep it from sticking.  I don't care for the stuff because to me, it taste is reminiscent of venison or other wild game.

Feeding ruminants lots of grain changes the rumen pH and as a result, calcium is feed to offset the acidity.  Bonemeal is no longer fed in the US because of the BSE potential.  Incidently, feeding bonemeal does not cause BSE, feeding bonemeal or protein made from BSE infected animals is what can cause it.

Answer 2

Grass fed cows are generally leaner and take much longer to get to marketable weights than do corn/grain fed animals.  It also takes much less area to 'house' those animals.  So it is economically much more efficient to put your cattle into a feed lot and give them grain to eat than it is to put them onto a large ranch and allow them to eat mostly grass.  You can put 10,000 cattle into an area of a couple hundred acres and manage them easily with few employees as opposed to putting that same 10,000 cattle onto a ranch of hundreds of thousands of acres and manage them with many employees and much more time.  The price per pound of the resultant beef is much less.

Americans want their cheap burgers.

To change this situation, make sure you only purchase beef from grass-fed cattle.  Market forces will then work to decrease the profitability of feed-lot cattle and make the grass-fed product more viable in the market place.

Answer 3

corn is full of essential protein that most cows need to produce a better product and keep them healthy. cows can eat many things not just grass and grass does not have enough nutrients in it to keep a cow as healthy as it can be. Many things can be put into a cows diet for farmers to strive for healthier cows

Answer 4

Cows need 70% roughages (like grass,hay or straw) and 30% concentrates (like oil cakes, nutrient supplimenst..less than 30%) for better milk yield. If we can find good alternatives like corn which can reduce both roughages and concentrates in terms of quanity and cash, it is not a bad idea. But cost of production of corn must be very low.

Any way it is better to have natural and traditional ways of Animal farming for good quality milk rather than quantity.

Answer 5

Actually there is a movement among small rural ranchers to promote grass fed beef. The beef from these cattle is most often sold directly to the consumer for a price that is the same or less than beef in stores, and the rancher makes a better profit than if he took his cattle to the auction market where the beef "jobbers" fill orders for the big feed lot concerns.

I know because I raise grass fed beef, and sell it through a co-op of small ranchers directly to the consumer. It does take a little longer to put a bloom on the cattle, for instance instead of 12 to 18 months it takes from 15 to 24 months to "finish" an animal. Grass finished cattle rarely score more than high "select" or low "prime" in the meat grading department, the meat is less marbled (but not tough) than "choice" and "prime" grading cattle. However, the end leaner product is healthier for the average American... our obesity problem is still on the rise. Animals raised in this manner lead a longer more normal life as well. The rancher also benefits because he gets a much better price for his animals when he markets directly to the public.

Answer 6

Let's see.  Cattle eat corn.  Corn is a member of the grass family.  Never mind that it is a grass - all grass takes nutrients to grow.  Corn is usually fed to finish them out unless they produce milk and then to increase production of milk.  

Most beef cattle graze a great deal on private ranches or on leased range land.  Ranchers sell most of  their stock at auctions.  The price is determined by many animal characteristics and the amount of meat they appear to have based on the professionals doing the bidding and buying.

Feeding cattle today is a science and ranching is a business.  If ranchers waste feed they loose money.  

Regardless of whether cows are fed milo, corn, Bermuda grass, or other feed or are on open range, it costs ranchers to feed the animals if we are to get the quality of meat we expect.

Cattle graze on grass and then chew the cud - regurgitate the grass while resting and chew it again.

Answer 7

You are exactly right about beef cattle, they can live their entire life without eating a grain of corn, eating nothing more than grass and/or hay. Corn is added to the ration of calves being fattened out for slaughter. Corn gets them to market faster and with a higher fat content to the meat. This makes the meat more tender and taste better to most consumers, but the corn is not necessary. The calves can be brought to market have been fed only grass. This will give a more healthy meat with less fat. To most consumers the meat is less tasty and also not as tender. Feeding corn also allows the feeding on feed lots, requiring less space than feeding all grass. Given the choice most consumers will buy corn fed beef. Consumers that are more healthy minded will buy grass fed beef. Right now there is a good market for both, but the time may be coming when feeding corn is not economically viable, and grass fed beef is the only available option.

Answer 8

The answer is complex and you can find it here:

http://michaelpollan.com/omnivore_excerp...

Answer 9

I'm not a farmer, but I believe it's to make the meat taste better......I know there is a difference.

Answer 10

Cattle, for most of their lives eat grass and hay.  When getting animals ready for slaughter grain is added.   The reasons for this, IMO, are to add fat fast (weight), and to change the flavor of the meat.  People have gotten used to eating grain finished meat so they are not used to the gamie flavor of totally grass fed.  

The flavor, tenderness, and nutrition of grass fed beef also depends on the time of year the animal is slaughtered.  Early summer is best as the animal has been eating new growth grass which has the most nutrients in it.