What to Feed a Cow

How Much Does a Cow Eat?

• A beef cow will typically eat 2.0 percent to 2.5 percent of its body weight a day, whether the cow is grazing a field, silage or hay. Having enough food for your cow is very important for the health of the animal.

Food Options for Your Cow

• Corn silage is corn grown specifically for feeding of cows; it is grown in the spring and summer months and than stored for 30 days to build a fermentation process. It is easily digested by cows and supplies valuable nutrients for your cows' overall health, and is usually combined with a grazing diet.

  Grass hay mixed with alfalfa is a good balance of hay for feeding your cow. When purchasing the hay be sure to ask if it is a blend of both grass hay and alfalfa. It is not recommended to feed straight alfalfa to your cow because it may cause digestive issues.

  When using a field for grazing a cow, it is important to ensure the field grasses have a combination of several varieties of grass for the cow to graze. The combination of grass varieties ensures that the cow will receive enough nutrients to maintain a healthy diet. Also, when you allow cows to graze naturally you will need to provide a fresh water source for your cow.

Raising Your Beef Cow

• If you have the room to own your own cow and can afford to feed it silage or hay or graze it, your cow should live many years in your field. If you are intending to raise your cows for beef, watch their food intake, keeping in mind that you are intending to ingest what your cow does--high quality silage, hay and grassland for grazing is a priority.