What does the final diet at feedyards typically involve?

The final diet at feedyards typically involves a variety of feedings over several steps, which is essential for optimizing the growth and health of cattle. This approach allows for the gradual acclimation of the cattle to different feed ingredients and nutrient profiles, ensuring that they receive a balanced diet tailored to their needs as they mature.

By incorporating multiple phases into the feeding regimen, nutritionists can adjust the diet according to the specific growth stages of the cattle, taking into account factors such as age, weight, and health status. This method often includes a mix of grains, forages, and protein sources to achieve the desired weight gain efficiently while maintaining animal health and well-being.

Using a single feeding per day would not provide the necessary nutrition balance and might lead to digestive issues, while feeding exclusively grain or forages would limit the diversity of nutrients available to the cattle, ultimately hindering their growth and health. The multi-step feeding strategy ensures that cattle receive a well-rounded diet that supports optimal growth rates and overall productivity in a feedyard setting.