Beef Feedlot and Backgrounding

All Beef Feedlot and Backgrounding Content

Group of black cattle at a feed bunk.

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.

Red angus cattle gathered in a feedlot in winter.

Livestock

South Dakota is home to a dynamic livestock industry.

Black beef cattle at a feedbunk at an SDSU research facility.
Jun 23

Environmental Training for Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations (CAFOs)

SDSU Extension will host an environmental training session for operators of Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations (CAFOs) on June 23 at the Crossroads Convention Center (100 Fourth St. S.W., Huron, SD 57350).

herd of beef cattle grazing in a pasture

Beef

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 steer eating hay
Jun 16

Siouxland Feedlot Forum

SDSU Extension and Nebraska Extension will host the Siouxland Feedlot Forum on June 16 from 8:00 a.m.-3:30 p.m. (385 East 4th St, South Sioux City, NE 68776).

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.