Using cotton byproducts in beef cattle diets

Winter feeding accounts for about 40 percent of yearly brood cow maintenance costs. Hay is the primary wintering feed source for beef cattle, but feeding crop residues has long been a way to reduce these costs. For example, cattle can eat many cotton production byproducts that remain in the field after harvest, including cottonseed, cottonseed meal, cottonseed hulls, gin trash and cotton stalk residue. Cottonseed, cottonseed meal and cottonseed hulls are widely used as feed ingredients in beef cattle diets. Although cattle producers do not commonly use gin trash or cotton stalk residue, they also can be fed as the sole feedstuff or with little supplementation.