What percent of US cropland is used to feed beef?

Answer 1

Around 36 percent of corn grown is used as feed for livestock, including the by-products generated from the ethanol industry and human food industry. Forty percent is used for ethanol. The rest is for human consumption.

Answer 2

Corn is not necessary to feed a cow unless she fits the following criteria:

• She is thin or emaciated (below a body condition score of 2.5 or 4, based on the Canadian and American scores, respectively)
• She is old (at least 10 years of age)
• She has teeth (as in her molars) worn down to the gums
• She is a high-producing, quite feed-inefficieny dairy cow
• The current feed you are feeding her is not meeting her energy requirements
• She is experiencing cold-stress
• Hay and/or pasture is very short and you need to find an alternative feed to extend hay supply, which often means feeding straw plus grain for a couple months
• This "cow" is in fact not a she, but a he, and he, being a steer, is being fattened up for slaughter and you wish to feed grain along with giving him hay or allowing access to pasture
• This steer is a dairy steer (not a beef steer) which you are fattening up for the freezer

Often it is safest to supplement such cattle with corn to a maximum of 1% to 1.5% of their body weight per day on an as-fed basis (not dry-matter). For finishing a steer for slaughter, beef steers should be fed around 2% of their body weight as-fed per day, and dairy steers a little higher, as in around 2.5% to 3% of their body weight (as-fed) per day. With such steers, you can split up the feedings to twice a day to reduce instances of bloat or acidosis. Make sure they have constant access to hay and/or pasture (or silage, if available) while supplementing grain. Also, only feed corn at such a high ration three to four weeks prior to the expected slaughter date.

One thing you must know and understand about dairy steers is that they cannot be expected to gain or be fed like a typical beef steer. Dairy steers, like their dams which are used extensively in a dairy operation, have been selected for milk production, not meat. Their genetics dictate as such, and makes them much less feed efficient on either grain or pasture than what beef cattle are able to accomplish on the same ration. As a result, where Angus steers will become literal butterballs on a high-grain ration, a dairy steer will still look boney as ever--with a little fat covering, one might add--no matter how much you grain him. He will most certainly gain weight on such a diet, but not as quickly or efficiently in comparison with an Angus or even a Simmental steer.

Answer 3

Corn was a major source of livestock feed in the 1990s and early 2000s, with approximately 50 percent of the annual harvest being fed to chickens, hogs, and cattle.

Answer 4

It varies from year to year, but it's around 35%.

Answer 5

It has dropped from 34.6% in 1987 to the present level 24.5%

Answer 6

3.5