In January, 2016 according to the USDA, there were 30.3 million beef cows and 9.3 million dairy cows. This has resulted in dairy animals being an increasing proportion of the beef supply compared with past decades, with fed dairy steers accounting for approximately 14% of beef, and cull dairy cows accounting for 6%. In the Midwest, an increasing number of operations are feeding dairy steers due to their consistent supply and performance compared with beef breeds.

What you need to know about feeding holsteins

One of the biggest differences between feeding holsteins and beef breeds is the time on feed due to the age and weight that animals are placed in the feedlot, the differences in feed conversion and expected average daily gain, and the final weight achieved. With beef breeds, many steers go into the feedlot at 500 to 850 pounds and reach their finished weight at 1,200 to 1,400 pounds. This results in feeding periods from 140 to 200 days, with an average daily gain of 3.4 to 3.9 pounds per day with a feed to gain conversion of 5.6 to 6.4 on a dry matter basis. For updated information on current feedlot performance, a good site to visit is Kansas State University’s Focus on Feedlots: https://www.asi.k-state.edu/about/newsletters/focus-on-feedlots/monthly-reports.html.

In contrast, holsteins require anywhere from 8 to 12% more energy to meet maintenance energy requirements than beef breeds, due to a variety of factors including their greater frame size, and thinner hide and hair coat, and less subcutaneous fat, which make them more susceptible to environmental stresses such as excessive mud, rain, snow, or wind. They also consume approximately 7% more feed than beef steers, as reported in an excellent online publication from the University of Minnesota (http://www.extension.umn.edu/agriculture/beef/components/docs/holstein_feeding_programs.pdf) that outlines the nutritional requirements of holsteins at various stage of growth. Their average daily gain rarely exceeds 3.4 pounds per day, with a realistic range being 2.8 to 3.4 pounds per day gain, under a variety of feedlot conditions.

From a carcass standpoint, Holstein cattle have carcasses with a higher numerical yield grade than carcasses from beef breeds due to heavier carcass weights, smaller longissimus muscle areas, and higher kidney, pelvic and heart fat (KPH) percentages, Dairy steers have a lower dressing percentage, which is calculated by dividing the hot carcass weight by the live weight at harvest, compared with beef steers. In general, dairy steers have a dressing percentage between 55 to 62%, with an average of 58% to 60%, compared with beef steers that normally range between 58% to 65%, with an average of 62% to 64%. The factors that tend to lower dressing percentage are cattle being lighter muscled, having less fat, having a greater gut fill and larger visceral organs, having mud on the hide, and having a greater proportion of live weight in head, feet, and leg bones.

With holsteins, it is critical to feed as little long-stemmed forage in the feedlot as possible, in order to reduce maintenance energy requirements, increase the energy density of the diet, and to increase the dressing percentage of carcasses.  In ruminants, maintaining the digestive organs (rumen, reticulum, omasum, abomasum, small intestine, and large intestine) plus the liver and kidneys can take as much as 40-50% of the energy and 30-40% of the protein consumed in a day.  Forage diets that are very bulky and only 40-60% digestible increase the weight of the digestive tract.  In contrast, grain-based diets result in decreased organ weights compared with forages, because grains are 80-100% digestible, and have a much smaller particle size, which allows them to have a faster rate of digestion and passage through the digestive tract.  The result is that grain is more digestible than forage, plus it decreases an animal's maintenance requirement by resulting in less digestive organ mass, leaving more nutrients for muscle growth and fattening.  Sainz et al. (1995) reported steers fed a high-forage growing diet had 21% (P < 0.01) greater maintenance requirements during the finishing phase compared to those grown on a high-concentrate diet and slaughtered at the same carcass weight. Thus, long-stemmed forage is detrimental to feed efficiency, and dressing percentage, and with holsteins, the negative impacts on carcass traits can have a significant economic impact, if steers grow in size, but do not deposit fat.

Feedlot nutrition and management are constantly evolving. With holsteins, reducing maintenance energy costs through feeding a highly-digestible, grain based diet will improve the efficiency of gain, carcass characteristics, and allow animals to achieve a USDA Choice carcass while reducing the chance of discounts for carcasses that are too heavy. The important thing to remember is that there are ways to improve efficiency, alter the composition of gain, improve carcass characteristics, and increase profit potential with appropriate feeding and management strategies.

Francis Fluharty is a Research Professor in the Ohio State University Department of Animal Sciences and a member of the OSU Extension Beef Team. He can be reached at [email protected]. The Beef Team publishes the weekly Ohio BEEF Cattle letter which can be received via email or found at their website http://beef.osu.edu Research Professor