you're reading...
Cows, Uncategorized

What do cows eat?

Posted by ⋅ ⋅ 16 Comments
Filed Under  , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

The cattle on our dairy farm eat diets that are made specifically for them by a ruminant nutritionist. Here on the dairy we mix together individual ingredients to make a ration that is then fed to the cattle. In addition we do have some pasture to supplement the rations.

The ingredients are:

Dried Distillers Grain – this is the grain left from brewing and distilling spirits and is a good source of fat and protein.

Dried Distillers Grain (DDG)

Dried Distillers Grain

Almond Hulls – Outer protective skin when the Almond grows on the tree

Almond Hulls

Cotton Seed – the inner part of the cotton boll that is left after the cotton fiber is removed

Cotton Seed

Various silages – made from Corn Plants, and various small grain plants

Silage Bags

Alfalfa Hay

Alfalfa Hay

Various minerals and vitamins

Rumen Buffer

We also include steamed flaked corn, water and some concentrated energy additives to make the ration.

Cow Food

To learn more about technical information on cattle rations please visit the blog of my great friend Jeff Fowle he is currently doing a series of posts on cattle nutrition.

Related articles

About raylindairy

Ray is a partner with his parents in Ray-Lin Dairy in Denair, Ca. The operation milks 475 cows and double crops corn & winter forage on 130 of the 240 acres with about 90 acres of pasture. The family also has 1200 ac operation in Klamath Falls OR that raises alfalfa hay, wheat hay, and oat hay. Ray is currently secretary of the Agchat Foundation an entity he helped found whose mission is to empower farmer to use social media. He is currently a on the board of directors of CA Dairy Campaign, Dairy CARES, and is the 2nd Vice-President of Stanislaus County Farm Bureau. He is also a member of the National Dairy Board. In addition to his involvement in agricultural organizations’ he is the Chairperson of the Governance Committee at a newly formed charter school his daughter attends, and serves as a director for the East Stanislaus Resource Conservation District. Ray and his wife Erica live on the dairy with their two children.

Discussion

16 thoughts on “What do cows eat?”

  1. Thanks for posting valuable information about Ag!

    Posted by Katie Olearnick %Colorado Corn Growers | January 31, 2011, 11:57 AM
    Reply to this comment

Trackbacks/Pingbacks

  1. Pingback: Tweets that mention What do cows eat? « Ray-Lin Dairy -- Topsy.com - January 31, 2011

  2. Pingback: Cotton Found on the Ranch! — Friend’s Photos | ag – a colorful adventure - January 31, 2011

  3. Pingback: Making Cow Food « Ray-Lin Dairy - May 4, 2011

  4. Pingback: Making Cow Food | Farmer Bloggers - May 4, 2011

  5. Pingback: Just Farmers » Blog Archive » Nature’s Recyclers - June 10, 2012

  6. Pingback: So what do cows eat anyways? « The Adventures of Dairy Carrie… I think I Need a Drink! - June 11, 2012

  7. Pingback: on Small Businesses » Blog Archive » Share this on: - July 4, 2012

  8. Pingback: on Small Businesses » Blog Archive » No bull - July 4, 2012

  9. Pingback: No bull | Substance Abuse - July 5, 2012

  10. Pingback: thhresources.com » Blog Archive » No bull - July 6, 2012

  11. Pingback: Start a conversation with a farmer and a customer « Agriculture Proud - July 9, 2012

  12. Pingback: Ask A Farmer: Does feeding corn harm cattle? | Agriculture Proud - September 27, 2012

  13. Pingback: What Cows Eat Exposed « Ray-Lin Dairy - February 20, 2013

  14. Pingback: Cotton Found on the Ranch! -- Friend's Photos - a colorful adventure - October 5, 2013

  15. Pingback: What do cows eat? | The Adventures of Dairy Carrie... I think I Need a Drink! - December 20, 2013

Leave a comment

Farmer Bloggers

Rambles

Enter your email address to subscribe to this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.

Join 15.9K other subscribers

Follow the herd on Facebook!

Categories