Whole cottonseed for cattle is protein, energy and fiber in one feed that needs no processing: about 23% crude protein, 95% total digestible nutrients (TDN) and 17.5% fat on a dry-matter basis, in University of Georgia Extension’s table. The fat is also its limit. University of Florida and Alabama Extension cap it at about 0.5% of body weight a day for mature cows, roughly 5 lb for a 1,000-lb cow and 6 to 7 lb for a bigger one, and University of Florida advises keeping it from calves younger than about four months and from bulls in the 60 to 90 days before breeding season.
This fall it is worth pricing carefully. USDA’s Economic Research Service forecasts the 2026/27 U.S. cotton crop at 13.4 million bales, more than 3% below last season and the second-smallest since 2015/16. Cotton growers in Texas, the only state the National Agricultural Statistics Service reported that early, received $234 a ton for their seed in August 2026, after a 2025 U.S. marketing-year average of $241, and in California’s San Joaquin Valley, USDA reported asking prices of $450 to $470 a ton for fuzzy whole cottonseed on October 16, against $392.50 a year earlier. What you pay depends on how close you are to a gin and how far the seed has to travel.
Quick answer: Feed mature cows up to about 0.5% of body weight a day in whole cottonseed, hand-fed daily, and price it per pound of protein and energy against cubes and hay.
- How much: up to 0.5% of body weight a day for mature cows (University of Florida, Alabama Extension), 5 lb for a 1,000-lb cow and 6 lb for 1,200 lb, with 7 lb a head as University of Georgia’s maximum.
- Younger cattle: 0.3% to 0.33% of body weight for weaned calves and stockers, under 15% of diet dry matter; none for calves under about four months.
- Bulls: University of Florida advises no whole cottonseed in the 60 to 90 days before breeding season, or for young bulls sold for breeding.
- What it supplies: each pound supplies about 0.2 lb of crude protein and 0.87 lb of TDN; 7 lb covers 1.5 lb of protein (Georgia).
- Handling: fuzzy seed will not flow through augers or V-shaped feeders; move it with a loader and store it dry, at no more than 14% moisture, out of the rain.
At $300 a ton delivered, protein from whole cottonseed costs about 71 cents a pound, against $1.40 to $1.50 for a 20% cube at the $560 to $600 a ton producers reported in 2022 and 2023 (XES arithmetic, below).
This guide is for cow-calf and stocker producers in and around cotton country who winter cattle on hay or dormant pasture and are weighing whole cottonseed against range cubes, tubs, distillers grains or better hay. It covers what the seed supplies, how much to feed by class of cattle, gossypol, feeding and storage, and what it is worth. It is not a ration; for growing cattle, show cattle and anything near breeding season, work with a nutritionist or veterinarian. Our guides to protein tubs versus range cubes, soybean hulls and distillers grains cover the alternatives.
XES makes bale net wrap, and most of the cows these supplements are fed to are eating round-bale hay, so we read these threads with the hay in mind. We read 236 posts from 67 archived AgTalk and HayTalk discussions that mention cottonseed, cottonseed meal, hulls or gin trash (58 of the discussions started in 2022 or later), and extracted 113 producer reports on prices, feeding, storage and bulls. Then we checked the feeding guidance against University of Georgia, University of Florida and Alabama Extension, and the prices and crop figures against USDA.
What whole cottonseed supplies
When cotton is ginned, the lint is separated from the seed, but short fibers stay on the seed and give it its fuzzy look. That linted seed is fed as it comes from the gin or sold to a crusher for oil and meal. University of Georgia Extension’s bulletin on cotton byproducts (Lawton Stewart and Johnny Rossi) lists the main feeds side by side:
| Nutrient | Whole cottonseed | Cottonseed meal | Cottonseed hulls | Gin trash |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dry matter | 92% | 92% | 91% | 90% |
| Crude protein | 23% | 46.1% | 4.1% | 11.7% |
| TDN | 95% | 75% | 42% | 46.6% |
| Fat | 17.5% | 3.1% | 1.7% | — |
| Calcium | 0.16% | 0.16% | 0.15% | 0.9% |
| Phosphorus | 0.75% | 0.76% | 0.09% | 0.2% |
Alabama Extension’s averages are close: 96% TDN, 17% fat, 21% crude fiber and 24% crude protein. Alabama notes that seed quality varies with variety, source, heat damage in storage and wet, humid weather late in the season, and University of Florida stresses that published values are averages, so have your lot analyzed. Most of the energy comes from the oil, and the protein, energy and fiber arrive together, which is why the seed competes with more than one kind of feed:
"Cottonseed is a great dairy feed. It provides fat, fiber, and protein. It competes with corn, roasted soybeans, and quality dry hay. Transportation costs sometimes prices it out of rations."
— joseph, Lyons,NY · AgTalk thread 1214921
Two gaps matter. Whole cottonseed is low in calcium, so cattle eating it need a mineral that supplies calcium (Georgia, Alabama); see our guide to winter mineral for cattle. And it is not cottonseed meal: the meal is the high-protein product left after the oil is pressed out, with about twice the protein, little fat and different feeding limits.
How much whole cottonseed to feed
Fat sets the ceiling. Alabama Extension explains that 0.5% of body weight for mature cows keeps fat below 4% of the total diet so the rumen keeps working properly, and University of Georgia puts the most a cow should get at 7 lb a day, which supplies about 1.1 lb of fat, the most that should be fed without significantly reducing fiber digestion. Above the recommended level, University of Florida warns, diarrhea may result.
| Cattle | Limit | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Mature cows | 0.5% of body weight a day (Florida, Alabama) | 5 lb at 1,000 lb, 6 lb at 1,200 lb, 7 lb at 1,400 lb |
| Mature cows | No more than 7 lb a head a day (Georgia’s maximum); Alabama’s range is 6 to 8 lb, 1.0 to 1.3 lb of fat | 7 lb supplies about 1.5 lb of crude protein and 6.1 lb of TDN; 6 to 8 lb equals 0.5% of body weight only for cows of 1,200 to 1,600 lb |
| Weaned calves and stockers | 0.33% of body weight (Florida) or 0.3% (Alabama); under 15% of diet dry matter (Florida, Georgia) | 1.5 lb at 450 lb, 2 lb at 600 lb |
| Calves under about four months | Do not feed (Florida; Alabama and Georgia: not for pre-ruminant calves) | — |
| Breeding bulls | None in the 60 to 90 days before breeding season, or for young bulls sold for breeding (Florida) | — |
| Mixed rations | Under 15% of total ration dry matter, counting hay and pasture (Florida) | — |
Where the guides differ, take the lower number. Alabama’s 6 to 8 lb works out to 0.5% of body weight only for cows of 1,200 to 1,600 lb, and Georgia stops at 7 lb, so a conservative rule is the lower of 0.5% of body weight and 7 lb: 5 lb for a 1,000-lb cow, 6 lb for a 1,200-lb cow and 7 lb for a cow of 1,400 lb or more (XES reading of the three guides). Have a nutritionist approve anything higher.
Introduce it gradually. Alabama Extension recommends an acclimation period, longer for weaned calves and stockers learning to eat from a trough, and University of Florida notes that cattle may need to be enticed at first, for example by top-dressing the seed with molasses.
The limit is per day, which matters if you are used to feeding protein every few days. Research on feeding high-protein cubes and meal two or three times a week, covered in our protein supplement guide, should not be assumed to carry over to whole cottonseed: three days’ worth for a 1,000-lb cow fed at once is 15 lb, three times the daily cap (XES arithmetic). University of Georgia calls hand-feeding in a trough every day the most ideal method.
How much cattle eat when they can help themselves varies widely. In a Georgia trial cited by Alabama Extension, free-choice intake was erratic, from 4 to 11 lb a head a day, and University of Georgia reports a study in which self-fed first-calf heifers ate 14 lb a day, noting that poor-quality forage may greatly increase intake. Other feed changes the picture: a producer finishing cattle on oat pasture with grain twice a day wrote in January 2024 that he kept a bunk full of cottonseed and his cattle ate little of it:
"I’m feeding 7#corn, 5# wheat, 7#of oats twice a day right now. I keep a bunk full of cottonseed, but they don’t eat much of it, maybe 5# a day or so unless I’m home late to feed."
— SamT · AgTalk thread 1143687
Whole cottonseed with hay
University of Georgia calls whole cottonseed an excellent supplement to poor-quality grass hay for dry and lactating cows, because it brings protein and energy in a single ingredient. Its rule is that the seed is a sufficient supplement for lactating cows on hay that tests at least 9% crude protein and 50% TDN; if a cow needs more than 7 lb of supplement, blend other feeds with it. In Georgia research, lactating cows on average bermudagrass hay gained the same on 4.7 lb of whole cottonseed a day as on 4 lb of corn plus 1.5 lb of soybean meal, and with the prices used in that bulletin the seed cost 28 cents a cow a day against 43 cents. The fat may help rebreeding as well: Georgia notes that fat is a precursor to reproductive hormones and that the effect on pregnancy rates is greatest in thin cows, below a body condition score of 5.
The ratio of seed to hay depends on the hay, so test it first; our guides to reading a hay test and how much hay a cow eats cover the forage side. Producers use the seed to stretch hay they are not proud of: a Brandon, Mississippi producer about to switch from baleage to dry hay wrote in January 2025 that his dry hay was not the best, so he supplements it with cottonseed. In South Carolina, one producer finishing cattle on grass described using it to build frame:
"Bucket feed corn and cotton seed to start. Work them up harder on cotton seed to put frame on then back off cotton seed and replace with corn. End up feeding about 20#/hd of corn for a 1200# animal."
— 3Sfarms, South Carolina · AgTalk thread 1135770
If the hay itself is the problem, cutting feeding waste is the cheapest supplement there is; see our guide to reducing round bale feeding waste.
Gossypol: bulls and young calves
Gossypol is a natural compound in the cotton plant, most concentrated in the seed. University of Florida Extension explains that rumen microbes bind it so cattle absorb little, but that this protection can be overwhelmed at very high feeding levels, and that calves cannot rely on it until the rumen is well developed, usually after about four months of age. Calves nursing cows fed at or below the recommended level will not eat enough of the cows’ seed to cause a problem.
For bulls, Florida says gossypol can cause a temporary reduction in fertility when the seed is fed above the recommended level, and its general recommendation is no whole cottonseed for 60 to 90 days before the start of breeding season. Feeding seed to the cow herd while bulls are with it is acceptable, it adds, because any decline in fertility takes several months to develop, and by then the breeding season should be over. Alabama Extension adds two details: Pima cotton, grown mainly in Arizona, New Mexico and California, carries more free gossypol than the Upland cotton that makes up more than 95% of the U.S. crop, and whole cottonseed releases gossypol more slowly than cottonseed meal. University of Georgia warns that bulls on self-feeders may eat more than the recommended amount. Producers watch their bulls for the same reason. A Brandon, Mississippi producer planned in January 2025 to pull his young bull into another pen so he would not eat the cottonseed before the May breeding season, and a producer who had fed heavily wrote in February 2024:
"Well guess I fed too much cotton seed and the bulls were not very fertile for a few key months. So I ended up with a hand full of these guys."
— SamT · AgTalk thread 1147764
That is one producer’s explanation for a bad breeding season, not a diagnosis. If bull fertility is in question, talk to your veterinarian before the season starts.
How to feed it
Hand-fed whole seed is the standard. University of Georgia recommends feeding it in a trough every day, with at least 2 ft of bunk space per cow so every cow can eat at once, and says that in dry weather it can be fed on sod under a temporary electric fence with little waste; Alabama Extension gives the same two options. No processing is needed: Georgia finds no advantage to cracking or grinding the seed.
Self-feeders are possible once cattle are adapted, Georgia says, but individual intake varies widely, and V-shaped self-feeders should be avoided because the seed bridges. Bulls on self-feeders may overeat. Producers run into the bridging in other equipment too. One wrote on AgTalk in February 2025 that seed in his large double-sided creep feeder bridged just out of a calf’s reach even with the doors off, and asked about cutting the openings 3 to 4 inches larger; a northwest Wisconsin producer replied that he would be better off buying creep feed, which he guessed cost around $300 a ton. Before putting whole seed where calves can reach it, keep the four-month age limit above in mind. Others want to spread a line of seed on the ground mechanically: a producer wrote in August 2025 that he hoped to convert an old fertilizer spreader to throw out cottonseed, and a northeast Colorado producer agreed that a spreader that calibrates down low would work.
Range herds once used salt to hold down intake of self-fed supplement mixes. A central California producer described the system in September 2025:
"As for the settling out the grain and cottonseed went thru the grinder then mix the salt. It stayed well mixed. But unground oats probable not so much. Liter weaned calves that would run another season as stockers 25% salt was considered enough, but cows 33% salt was the standard mix."
— Ray54, central California · AgTalk thread 1212905
In the same post he dated that practice from the 1950s to about 2000, on cows wintered on rain-washed dry annual grass, and said rising salt prices made other methods cheaper. Salt-limited feeding is a management system of its own; plan it with a nutritionist rather than copying the percentages.
Buying, storing and handling
Whole cottonseed is bulky and does not flow. Alabama Extension warns that it clogs V-shaped automatic feeders, augers and feed trucks, and University of Georgia says not to store it in a grain bin; handle it with a scoop or front-end loader. For storage, both recommend a commodity shed for larger operations, Georgia specifying a concrete floor, and Georgia suggests that smaller producers pick seed up at the gin in a peanut wagon or other gravity-flow wagon, park it near the feeding area and scoop the day’s amount into a trough.
Keep it dry. University of Florida says moisture should not exceed 14% for safe storage, that seed stored too wet and stacked high can heat and even combust spontaneously, and that wet storage invites molds and aflatoxins; Georgia adds, do not feed moldy seed. Alabama Extension’s storage advice is to keep the seed out of the rain in stacks less than 8 ft high on a concrete pad in an open-air barn, because a dirt floor or a layer of plastic can make the seed sweat; stored dry, it keeps one to two years. Before you buy, Florida suggests cutting a few seeds open with a pocket knife and avoiding lots with many lightweight or hollow seeds, since wet, humid weather before harvest can cause mold or sprouting. Producers’ experience matches:
"I pack cotton seed in one. It sweats some so I’m gonna add some fans to suck air through it this year."
— SamT · AgTalk thread 1085163
He was describing a shipping container, in November 2022. For bulk deliveries, a south-central Wisconsin producer advised in December 2023 that commodity bays be built wide and tall enough for a semi to back in and dump, and added in the same thread that his 60-ft-deep bay fits a semi-load of cottonseed if it is mostly empty:
"Make it wide enough and tall enough to back a semi directly into it. When they have to dump outside on the apron it sucks, especially cottonseed due to all the dusty fibers."
— bsfarms, south central WI · AgTalk thread 1141192
Bulk is also the catch for small herds far from a gin:
"I know myself personally, if I could get it in super sacks I’d prefer that, we just don’t use enough to get it in bulk, and with transportation “here” it’s not cost effective to use in a general ration."
— blowsand, mercer county, il · AgTalk thread 1214921
What it costs and what it is worth
There is no single price for whole cottonseed. USDA tracks two very different ones: what cotton growers receive for their seed, and what sellers ask for it in California’s San Joaquin Valley, a major dairy region. They are separate reference points, not a national floor and ceiling; what a cattle producer pays at the gin or delivered depends on location and freight, and can fall outside both.
| Series | Price | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Price received by cotton growers, U.S., August 2026 | $234 (Texas, the only state reported that month) | NASS, Agricultural Prices, September 29, 2026 |
| Price received, U.S. marketing-year average, 2025 | $241 ($223 in 2024) | NASS |
| Price received, 2025 marketing-year average, all 17 states reported | Florida $170, Georgia $190, Oklahoma $205, South Carolina $209, Alabama $217, Virginia $225, Kansas $226, Louisiana $237, North Carolina $239, Texas $245, Arkansas $246, Missouri $247, Tennessee $251, Mississippi $257, New Mexico $293, Arizona $327, California $375 | NASS |
| Fuzzy whole cottonseed, California San Joaquin Valley, asking price FOB truck or rail | $450 to $470 (average $460) on October 16, 2026; $392.50 a year earlier | USDA AMS, National Grain and Oilseed Processor Feedstuff Report |
Producers’ prices on AgTalk show both the regional spread and the swings from year to year. In fall 2022, whole cottonseed ran $460 a ton plus delivery in southwest Oklahoma (September), about $400 in central Louisiana (October) and $500 delivered to northeast Iowa (November), and a northwest Iowa producer paid $520 for a load in early fall. In 2023, one producer heard of contracts at $250 delivered to Lubbock, and a South Carolina producer had paid under $280 on everything he bought the year before:
"A month ago cottonseed was $400 in central La. A year ago it was $275 and 2 years ago $200, if I remember correctly. Much less cotton produced in La this year is what I was told."
— labrahman, SW Louisiana · AgTalk thread 1084597
"Been feeding whole cottonseed for 23 years. My last price quote was 500 ton delivered to Northeast Iowa. That’s it! I’m not buying a $12000 load! I’m switching to a dry fat product and gluten."
— FiveMFarms, Northeast Iowa · AgTalk thread 1084597
"I knew cottonseed was high out there but dang I was under $280/t on all mine last year. The econmics made the hassle worth it. 20% range cubes are $560 here but no body outside of extension has a cake box."
— 3Sfarms, South Carolina · AgTalk thread 1135770
To compare it with other supplements, put every feed on a cost per pound of nutrient. A ton of whole cottonseed as fed holds about 423 lb of crude protein and 1,748 lb of TDN, using Georgia’s table (2,000 lb × 92% dry matter × 23% protein, or × 95% TDN). A 20% range cube holds 400 lb of crude protein a ton.
| Delivered price | Per lb crude protein | Per lb TDN | Per cow a day (5 lb) | Per cow, 150 days |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| $250 a ton | $0.59 | $0.14 | $0.63 | $93.75 |
| $300 a ton | $0.71 | $0.17 | $0.75 | $112.50 |
| $350 a ton | $0.83 | $0.20 | $0.88 | $131.25 |
| $400 a ton | $0.95 | $0.23 | $1.00 | $150.00 |
| $460 a ton | $1.09 | $0.26 | $1.15 | $172.50 |
By the same arithmetic, protein from a 20% cube costs $1.40 a pound at $560 a ton and $1.50 at $600, the prices producers reported for 20% cubes in 2022 and 2023. On protein alone, whole cottonseed is the cheaper feed whenever its delivered price per ton is below about 106% of the cube’s, and it brings a lot of energy with it, 95% TDN on a dry-matter basis. Several producers put the gap more bluntly:
"I have a cake box in the weeds I’d love to use but a shovel and straight truck loads of cotton seed are 1/3 the money. I’m gonna make money with sweat while I’m young enough."
— SamT · AgTalk thread 1221374
The same producer figured he spent $25 a head on cottonseed for protein that year (November 2025), with some rotational grazing of winter wheat supplying protein as well. A North Central Texas producer added the caveat in November 2023: the best price is cottonseed straight from a gin, but it requires labor to fork out. Cubes earn their premium where daily feeding is impractical, because high-protein cubes can go out every few days while whole seed is best fed daily. Our cost-per-pound-of-protein worksheet and soybean hull guide compare the other common choices; our guide to feed wagons and feed trucks covers the delivery side.
Supply can be tight close to the gins. A Nash County, North Carolina man newly responsible for selling cottonseed wrote in September 2025 that he had been told most of it goes into dairy rations, and producers in the cattle country around the gins described the competition:
"They say it's all already contracted. It should make a good protein source for cattle on pasture. Doesn’t need any processing, just dump it on the road. All the feed stores have it in small bags, for small bag prices. People feed it to the deers now."
— eight, South Texas · AgTalk thread 1214921
"I'm set to buy some this year and shiver at the thought of what it will cost. Cotton is only worth 66 cents a pound. Only folks planting it are the ones with a stake in the gin. Will lead to a short supply and thus drive the price up."
— DieselDennis, Brandon, MS · AgTalk thread 1214921
Call gins and commodity dealers early, ask whether the price is at the gin or delivered, and price a full load against your storage. Then run the numbers per pound of protein and energy, delivered and stored, against what you can buy instead.
Frequently asked questions
How much whole cottonseed can a cow eat per day?
University of Florida and Alabama Extension cap mature cows at about 0.5% of body weight a day: 5 lb for a 1,000-lb cow, 6 lb for a 1,200-lb cow. University of Georgia sets the maximum at 7 lb a head. Fat sets the limit, so feed it daily, not several days’ worth at once.
Is whole cottonseed good for cattle?
Yes, for mature cows and older calves fed within the limits. It supplies about 23% crude protein, 95% TDN and 17.5% fat on a dry-matter basis, and University of Georgia calls it an excellent supplement to poor-quality grass hay. Keep it from calves under about four months, add a mineral with calcium, and test the lot.
Can you feed whole cottonseed to bulls?
Carefully. Gossypol can temporarily reduce bull fertility when cottonseed is fed above the recommended level. University of Florida advises no whole cottonseed in the 60 to 90 days before breeding season or for young bulls sold for breeding, but says feeding the cow herd with bulls present is acceptable, since any decline takes months to develop.
Can whole cottonseed be fed free choice?
It can be self-fed, but intake varies widely. In a Georgia trial cited by Alabama Extension, free-choice intake ranged from 4 to 11 lb a head a day, and self-fed first-calf heifers in another study ate 14 lb. University of Georgia recommends daily hand-feeding in a trough and warns against V-shaped self-feeders, where the seed bridges.
How do you store whole cottonseed?
Dry and under cover. Keep moisture at or below 14%, store it out of the rain on concrete in stacks less than 8 ft high, and handle it with a loader or scoop, because it will not flow through augers or bins. Wet, high-stacked seed can heat and even combust, and moldy seed may carry aflatoxins.
The bottom line on whole cottonseed for cattle
Whole cottonseed for cattle earns its place where a gin is close, freight is low and someone can feed it every day. It packs protein, energy and fat into one unprocessed feed, about 0.2 lb of crude protein and 0.87 lb of TDN in every pound fed, and at gin-country prices it usually beats range cubes on cost per pound of protein. The limits are fixed by its fat: about 0.5% of body weight and no more than 7 lb a head for mature cows, 0.3% to 0.33% for stockers, none for young calves, none for bulls in the two to three months before breeding. Store it dry, move it with a loader, test the lot and the hay it goes with, and price it delivered against cubes, hulls, distillers and better hay before you sign for a load.
Most cows on cottonseed are also eating round-bale hay, and how well that hay keeps sets how much supplement they need. If you bale your own, XES Extreme bale net wrap was tested by DLG (Report 7439), which rated its edge-to-edge bale coverage as good in practical use. For the hay side of the winter ration, see stretching a short hay supply.
Research note: We read 236 posts from 67 archived AgTalk and HayTalk discussions that mention cottonseed, cottonseed meal, hulls or gin trash (the matching posts and the posts on either side; 58 discussions started in 2022 or later; posts from 2009 to March 2026) and extracted 113 producer reports. We checked them in October 2026 against the sources linked below. Producer prices, rates and results are what individual producers reported at the time and, where stated, the place given; they are examples, not market data or feeding recommendations. Figures marked as XES arithmetic use the assumptions stated with them. This page is general information, not nutritional or veterinary advice. XES sells bale net wrap and does not sell feed or endorse any feed supplier. Sources: University of Georgia Extension, Bulletin 1311, Using Cotton Byproducts in Beef Cattle Diets (Lawton Stewart and Johnny Rossi; published with full review April 4, 2022); University of Florida IFAS, AN134, Whole Cottonseed for Beef Cattle Rations (R. O. Myer and M. J. Hersom; reviewed 2024); University of Florida IFAS, AN130, Potential for Gossypol Toxicity When Feeding Whole Cottonseed to Beef Cattle; Alabama Cooperative Extension System, ANR-2608, Whole Cottonseed Use in Beef Cattle Diets (Luke Jacobs, Kim Mullenix and Steve Brown, December 6, 2019); USDA NASS, Agricultural Prices (September 29, 2026); USDA AMS, National Grain and Oilseed Processor Feedstuff Report (October 16, 2026); USDA ERS, Cotton and Wool Outlook (October 2026).
Featured photograph: A bag of cotton seeds, Thamizhpparithi Maari, January 2012, licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons. An open sack of fuzzy, linted cottonseed, the form fed as whole cottonseed. Image unchanged apart from display resizing.
