Findings from the 3-year study show beef cattle can be finished as efficiently on grass pastures, with some grain, as they can with mostly grain. A high-energy diet composed mostly of corn is provided in a covered feeder to give cattle additional energy for fattening. The ARS scientists finished cattle using wheat pasture and perennial grass pastures, such as Old World Bluestem, millions of acres of which grow in the Southern Great Plains region. They stocked the grass pastures with twice as many cattle as they would normally, to ensure that most of the grass would be consumed. As the grass supply dwindled, the cattle ate more of the high-grain diet.
Less feed means lower production costs.
Cattle finished in the pasture reach about the same end weight as those finished in feedlots, but they have about 3 percent less fat. Regulations require farmers to capture, store, and dispose of the animal waste they generate. Phillips says in their system the cattle distribute the manure over the pasture, where it can be incorporated into the soil and used to fertilize the grass for future growth. Click here to see this issue's table of contents.