Yes, field pea grain can be used as a feedstuff in many different types of beef cattle rations. The protein content of field pea grain ranges from 22 percent to 26 percent crude protein (average is approximately 23.6 percent), making them an attractive protein source for a variety of livestock feeding applications. The protein in field pea grain is highly rumen degradable, meaning that it is easily broken down and utilized by rumen microorganisms. This makes it useful in situations where rumen-degradable protein is limiting (e.g., low-quality forage diets).
Field pea grain can be used as a protein supplement for forage-fed cattle. The starch content of peas is lower than corn, which also enhances their value as a protein supplement for beef cows since starch can have negative impacts on ruminal fiber fermentation.
Field peas have also been used as a component of creep feeds with excellent results. Combining field peas with wheat middlings, soybean hulls, or dried distillers grains is a very effective method of taking advantage of the nutrient characteristics of the field pea grain in a creep feed.
Field peas are very palatable, and increases in intake have been noted in some situations when field peas are compared to other cereal grains in receiving diets for beef calves. This could be particularly important following weaning when intake is already typically compromised. Replacing corn with field peas in backgrounding and finishing diets for beef cattle resulted in no differences, or even slight improvements, in performance.
Research that investigated the effect of processing field peas has produced mixed results. In some cases, processing (dry rolling) has resulted in increased performance, while in other cases no differences have been noted. Generally speaking, diet mixing will be enhanced and sorting problems reduced if peas are coarsely dry rolled (breaking the kernel into two or three pieces).
