Beef Feedlot and Backgrounding

All Beef Feedlot and Backgrounding Content

Red angus cattle gathered in a feedlot in winter.

Livestock

South Dakota is home to a dynamic livestock industry.

herd of beef cattle grazing in a pasture

Home to more than 1 million head of cattle, South Dakota’s producers can rely on SDSU Extension for research-based information, best management practices and resources to support healthy and profitable herds.

Beef Cattle Budgets

What does it cost to maintain a cow for the year? This is a common question asked by producers across the nation.

Three brown yearlings eating from a feeding trough.

Animal Science Research and Extension Report

Research report from Animal Science Department covering a variety of areas in livestock production.

Group of young producers inspecting beef cattle in a feedlot

Using Feedlot Manure to Reduce Crop Production Costs

Manure plays a key role in reducing system costs for integrated livestock-crops enterprises. Livestock waste can be a valuable source of crop nutrients when correctly managed.

Black beef cattle at a feedbunk at an SDSU research facility.

Registration open for 2026 Siouxland Feedlot Forum

April 20, 2026

Registration is open for the Siouxland Feedlot Forum on June 16, 2026, in South Sioux City, Nebraska.

A livestock producer stands beside a concrete feed bunk at sunset, holding a tablet and reviewing feeding data. Several beef cattle with ear tags are eating a mixed ration from the trough. In the background, a feedlot mixer truck with a visible mixing tank and discharge auger delivers feed into the bunk, creating light feed dust in the air. The image represents modern feed management combining animal care and digital decision-making in a commercial feedlot.

Feed Management in a High-Data Livestock Industry

Livestock feeding systems are generating more data than ever before. In modern feed management, success depends less on how much data is collected and more on how effectively that data is translated into biologically sound decisions.

A male producer observing cattle in a feedlot.

Animal Nutrition Program’s Feed Management Committee: Feed to Gain Calculator - Fat Inclusion

Adding fat to cattle diets is a common strategy to increase dietary energy density. Learn how to make informed feed decisions using a feed-to-gain breakeven calculator developed by the National Animal Nutrition Program Feed Management Committee.

Illustration of a rancher making a management decision that triggers a chain of dominoes representing different technologies such as wearable livestock sensors, genetics, satellites, drones, modeling, and data analytics. The falling dominos symbolize how management actions create effects that unfold over time, often with delayed and unintended consequences. Zeros and ones in the background represent the increasing amount of data modern ranchers must interpret when making decisions.

From One Decision to Many Outcomes: Why feed management decisions ripple through beef production systems

Feed management is the starting point of a system that rewards informed decisions and magnifies uninformed ones. Producers who use feed informed nutrition models are often able to reduce waste, increase gains, and decrease costs.

Replacing Distillers Grains with Heat-Treated Soybeans to Increase Finishing Cattle Growth

Heat-treated soybeans offer interesting attributes that could enhance cattle growth. The SDSU Feedlot Research group recently examined how they can fit into modern cattle feeding diets.