Following are data using barley as a supplement to beef cow, high-forage diets. The greatest amount fed was 4.5 lb/hd/day fed to cull cows. If the cows' daily feed intake was 26 lb/hd/day, then less than 18% of the diet was barley, with most diets having between 10 and 12%. I assume barley screenings would include some fines and would recommend to start at 5% of the diet on a dry matter basis and not go over 10% of the diet on a dry matter basis. Barley screens will likely digest in the rumen quickly and result in subacute acidosis if fed at levels above 10% of the diet dry matter. Barley as a Supplement in Forage-Based Diets Using Barley in Diets for Beef Cows Momont et al. (1994) compared barley (4.5 lb/hd/day) and beet pulp (5.7 lb/hd/day) as supplements for ammoniated straw when fed to cull cows. Both were equally effective as supplemental feeds for ammoniated straw diets. Cows fed the barley supplement consumed more ammoniated straw than cows fed the beet pulp supplement. No adverse effects of barley on forage digestibility were noted. Ward et al. (1990a) evaluated the effect of rolled barley (3.0 lb/hd/day) or monensin supplements alone or in combination on forage intake and digestibility with beef steers grazing native range in southeast Montana during June, July, and August. Rolled barley decreased forage intake but had no impact on forage digestibility. Total intake (forage + supplement) was not impacted by treatment. Ward et al. (1990b) evaluated the effect of a barley-based protein supplement (1.76 lb/hd/day; 26% CP; 55% barley, 40% soybean meal, 5% molasses) or monensin (Rumensin®>) for steers grazing native range in November and January. Forage intake was not influenced by supplementation. However, forage digestibility was increased by the barley-based protein supplementation. Cochran et al. (1986) used a barley-based protein supplement (2 lb/hd/day; 70% barley, 30% cottonseed meal) for dry, gestating cows grazing native range in southeastern Montana. Cows fed the barley-cottonseed meal cake gained 31 pounds during the trial. Cows fed 2.75 pounds of alfalfa cubes per cow per day had similar performance. Unsupplemented cows lost 24 pounds during the study. Leventini (1990) investigated the effects of increasing levels of supplemental barley (10, 30, or 50% of the diet dry matter) and the addition of a ruminal buffer for steers fed brome hay diets in a 3 x 2 factorial design. Increasing the level of barley resulted in increased average daily gains and improved feed efficiencies. Ruminal buffer (sodium sesquicarbonate) had no effect on performance. Digestion of NDF decreased as barley supplementation increased. Carey (1993) compared soybean meal (1.06 lb/hd/day), beet pulp (2.93 lb/hd/day), barley (2.83 lb/hd/day), and corn (2.84 lb/hd/day) as supplements for brome hay (9.9% CP) diets fed to beef steers. Supplemental CP intake was equalized using soybean meal. Forage intake (percent of body weight) was decreased for all supplements compared to non-supplemented cattle. Total intake did not differ among treatments. Barley supplementation resulted in lower NDF digestibility compared with other treatments. Westvig (1992) also noted reduced forage intake when feeding barley (5.9 lb/hd/day) to beef steers consuming grass hay. Ulmer et al. (1990) supplemented grass hay diets with increasing levels of barley (2, 4, and 6 lb/hd/day). Forage intake was reduced when 4 and 6 pounds of barley were fed.

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