How do you feed cows on a ranch?

Answer 1

Range cows often don't need to be pampered as much as feedlot or other "farmer's cows" do with grain and such. During the winter, you can have them forage for themselves by having them on a stockpiled pasture with grass-stems sticking up out of the snow. But this depends on how much snow a rancher gets in the winter. Sometimes they need to be supplemented with bales of oat straw or swath-grazed on a winter-barley or winter-oats feild. This cuts down on time spent on the tractor feeding the cows. Range cows can be pretty smart on how to figure out how to get forage on their own like elk and bison do, but it takes a while for them to get it if they're older than if they were shown when they were calves.

In the summer time, they are still out on range pasture, grazing the hillsides and in the forest on their own. It is easier for them to find good eating in the summer than the winter because plants and trees and shrubs are green and growing. Range cows don't need to be fed everyday. Often they only see a human being once or twice a year when they have to be processed and weaned, respectively.