Feeding Explained: Can Cows Survive On Grass Alone? (2024)

FAQs

Feeding Explained: Can Cows Survive On Grass Alone? ›

It is possible for cattle to survive on grass grazing alone, provided the nutritional value and abundance of the grass meets their dietary requirements.

Winter Feeding Options

In some of the drier parts of the country, cattle can directly graze the grass year-round. There are some grasses, like fescues and native prairie grasses that, surprisingly, can be more palatable to the cattle during the dormant season.

In fact, millions of tiny organisms (mainly bacteria) naturally live in the rumen and help the cow by breaking down plant parts that cannot be digested otherwise. These tiny organisms then release nutrients into the rumen.

Although in recent years, “grass-fed” has become a trendy buzzword, it's important to understand the difference between raising dairy cows and raising cattle for beef. Dairy cows require greater nutrition than what can be provided by grass alone whereas beef cattle can thrive quite well on a diet of 100% green grass.

Simply put, grass-finished beef comes from cattle that ate nothing but grass and forage for their entire lives. Grass-fed, on the other hand, may be used to label meat from cattle that werestartedon a grass diet but have either received supplemental grain feed or are finished on a fully grain-based diet.

Commodities need to be fed to cows daily if substituting for hay. Start with 5-6 pounds of commodities/cow/day and increase, depending on nutrient requirements. I generally recommend increasing 1 pound per cow per day when working up to greater levels of commodities in a beef cow diet.

No studies have proven that grass-fed beef is better for your health. But pound for pound, it may have less total fat and fewer calories. Also, grass-fed beef has up to six times more heart-healthy omega-3 fatty acids than regular grain-fed beef. Many people also believe grass-fed beef to be a more humane option.

The protein content of grains is moderate, and while contributing to meeting protein needs, may not adequately supplement protein when fed with low quality forage. Grains also tend to be low in some minerals, especially calcium, and tend to have low vitamin A activity.

Previous research has determined that most pasture-based dairy cattle graze for 8 to 10 hours per day and do so in bouts of 1.5 to 2 hours, and repeat that 4 to 5 times throughout the day. Once cattle go the pasture from the milking parlor, they tend to consume a large portion of their dry matter intake for the day.

Grazing cows (grass-fed) are in a spread-out and natural environment with access to fresh air, water, and sun. The environment also benefits from the interaction between ruminants by helping to increase soil's carbon sequestration and water retention.

How many acres to raise a grass-fed cow? ›

The pasture or range acreage needed for each cow is 10 to 12 acres per year. Pasture costs will vary, depending on the location. Pastures range in rent for Sonoma and Marin Counties from $30-50 per acre per year.

A typical 1 AU, 1,000 lb, cow might require as much as 8 acres (3.2 ha) on poor quality pasture with low precipitation or as little as about 0.27 acres (0.11 ha) on an irrigated pasture in excellent condition.

Red Devon are known for early maturity on grass. This means that you'll turn around your grass fed, grass finished beef product faster and more efficiently than with other breeds. And the faster you can turn around your product, the more money that ends up in your pocket as a farmer.

It is possible for cattle to survive on grass grazing alone, provided the nutritional value and abundance of the grass meets their dietary requirements.

Organic, 100% grass-fed farms need to be pretty self-sufficient because buying feed can be very expensive. Most of our Grassmilk® farms have enough land for their cows to eat fresh pasture during warm months plus additional land for growing forages that they harvest and store for the winter months.

Cows are ruminants like sheep, goats, deer, even giraffes which means they have a rumen, a part of the stomach that allows them to take grass and convert it into protein. They eat a lot of grass, not chewing it very much, swallow it and it gets stored in the rumen. This is the biggest part of their stomach.

While cows can survive on the levels of nutrients available in a pasture, they may not be receiving what they need to reach maximum milk production through grass alone.

Grass-fed indicates that a cow was fed a diet of grass at the beginning of its life but should not be taken to mean that the cow was fed only grass. Many grass-fed cows are grain-finished, meaning they are transitioned to a grain-based diet at some point in their growth before being butchered.

Whereas conventional cows are typically grain-fed, grass-fed cows consume grass as their main source of food and can't be fed grains or grain byproducts. This diet can lead to a healthier animal and different milk composition compared to regular dairy products.

Johnsongrass can be toxic to livestock, but only under certain conditions. The same is true for sudangrass, milo and sorghum-sudangrass. Wild cherry trees can also produce toxic levels, and poisoning occurs most often when animals consume wilted leaves after trees have been damaged by storms or pruning.