Management Considerations for Beef Cows in Confinement

The available forage supply for maintaining beef cow herds continues to decrease. This decrease is caused by factors such as high commodity prices resulting in conversion of non-cropland to cropland; urbanization; and periodic natural disasters such as drought, fire, and insect damage. When forage supplies cannot be sourced at an affordable price, cattle producers can either sell their cattle or feed them in confinement. Feeding beef cows in confinement is not a new concept. However, one management strategy is to limit feed cows an energy-dense, protein-adequate diet that is less than 2 percent of body weight on a dry matter (DM) basis. The intent is to keep them in the production cycle, rather than finishing them for harvest. This can reduce a producer’s dependence on pasture. It also can enable a producer to add a beef cow enterprise to the business or expand an already existing beef cow enterprise.