Why can't farmers fee cows grass?

Question

why can't farmers fee cows grass instead of corn?

Can't they have really fast growing grass.

Cut the grass, and put it into the feeding buckets. instead of corn? seems like it would be cheaper.

Answer 1

Corn is a carbohydrate...grass is fiber.  They really need both.  Cows/bulls are ruminants.  They need hay/grass (some sort of fiber) to keep their rumen functioning properly.

Answer 2

you can't fee cows.

they don't have money.

Answer 3

You can raise a lot more corn on an acre of land than you can raise grass.

Corn is fed in two forms -- as ensilage, made by chopping up the entire plant --stalk, ears, silk, worm and all -- and storing in a silo where it ferments in the absence of air and becomes more digestible (for cows).  It (an other grain) is also fed as a supplement when they are finishing in the feedlot to produce more tender meat.

Answer 4

They do.Cows are maintained on grass but fattened on grain due to higher carbo.s in grain.Cows are fattened to make the meat tenderer.A grass feed cow is almost unchewable..

Answer 5

Some farmers do.  We have grass fed beef and dairy.   We do use a tiny bit of grain when our dairy come in to be milked (about 1lb per cow of a sweet feed type ration), but not much.  We do a mineral supplement as well and offer molasses in the winter if it is really really cold.  

I respectfully disagree with the person who said it makes the meat tough.   We just put a Jersey (not a beef breed) steer in our freezer.   He was 2 years old, ate ONLY grass, and the steaks melt in your mouth.    The beef breeds are even better.  

The milk is amazing, and butter comes out bright yellow in spring and summer, not as much so in winter on hay (dried grass).  

For more info on grass fed, check out the links below...

It is also a pretty efficient way to raise meat as far as feed costs, but is more labor intensive as you have to manage the pastures so that the cows do not overgraze and that they are getting a blend of plants that provide good nutrition.....

some farmers do go out and mow and feed the confined cows "green chop" around here...

Answer 6

Beef production in the US is primarily a mixture of both grass and grain.  The young animals spend most of their lives on pasture unless beef prices are high and corn is cheap.  Right now, beef price is not all that high (relative to inputs) and grain is far from cheap.  Consequently the margin (the difference in price per pound of a 500 pound calf and a 750 pound stocker steer) are very narrow.  This has resulted in more stocker steers going out on pasture and more of the beef being produced from grass.  The animals will be fed grain for a shorter period of time (probably 60-90 days) than they were when corn was considerably cheaper.

We have been through this multiple times before.  Most of the beef eating public prefers cattle slaughtered at a medium choice grade and with white fat.  They express this difference with their pocket books.

If they, the beef buying public, preferred yellow fat they would pay the difference.

As far as the fast growing grass, Sir, that has been my business for the last 30 years.  We have lots of answers, that many people really don't want to hear.   This includes genetics, which is funny, as corn (and wheat) are both grasses, as some of your responders failed to understand.

Answer 7

The cows won't pay a fee. they have no money

Answer 8

Many farmers feed their cows nothing but grass. They don't even have to cut the grass for them and put it into feeding buckets. The cows are very capable of doing that themselves. Grass fed beef is leaner and better for you than grain fed beef. Most people think grass fed beef is less tasty and tougher than grain fed beef, it is true, but grass raised beef is far from being , as not edible, as someone else has suggested.

Answer 9

We do.

In the summers, they graze. In the winters, we give them a bale of Prairie Hay in their pasture for them to graze off of and alfalfa twice daily.

Answer 10

most farmers allow their herd to graze for at least part of the day. however to enrich the milk if we are speaking of dairy herds or beef muscle and that good fat marbling that most people find so delicious, the animals must be fed a protein rich supplement such as corn, milo, or perhaps cotton seed meal. this makes the meat and milk richer and much more desirable.

Answer 11

they feed them both, their main food is corn meal in order to get essential nutrients, yet they also let them graze in the fields to eat grass and exersize too, so its not like they only eat corn.

Answer 12

American cattle are grass fed, in the beginning.  When they reach around 800 to 900 pounds (feeder cattle) they are then corn fed.  They also receive protein pellets.  The cattle gain weight faster because of the sugar content of corn.  The protein pellets help them grow more muscle tissue.  As they get heavier and fat stores start to build up, they don't have the energy to walk around a pasture grazing.  They prefer to eat the corn.

Corn fed cattle go to market faster and therefore cut down the amount of time it takes from calf to critter to steak on the American publics' table.  Marbled fat in the meat makes it so-o-o-o-o-o-o tasty.

Yes, they could, but the flavor when it reaches the table would not be there.

Farmer's daughter.

Answer 13

Cows are grass fed but are also fed other things.  Grass does not have all the nutrients cows need, plus it gives them the mega runs...

Answer 14

Because corn is easier to genetically engineer than grass (monocots are difficult in general), more nutrients can be fed to cows in a short time. Consider this in the light of the growing worldwide demand for meat: faster meat production, shorter time. Have you ever seen a video or a picture of a cow chewing grass? They take their sweet time. An all corn diet is detrimental to the cow because their digestive system is adapted to digesting grass, not corn (they get really sick after a while): a reason why systems often alternate or combine the two.

Answer 15

We feed both, but haven't been feeding feed in about 6 wks, they are just eating grass and are so fat and rolly polly!  They have gained an average of 70 lbs in six wks eating only grass!

Cattle are herbivores. They can gain on grass. This is the preferred way to feed if you can. Corn makes them add fat on and gives the meat a good flavor.

One problem or reason some farmers feed grain is because they don't have enough grass to feed them all. It takes a lot of grass to supply a heard.

(we have 200 head of feeder calves, 800 lbs each)