When I was a child my mother served beef stew as an inexpensive means to feed her family of eight while forcing me and my siblings to unknowingly eat our vegetables.By combining beef, onions, potatoes, carrots, peas, corn and an occasional turnip in to one pot, that stew was essentially a total mixed ration (TMR). Total cost was less than a quarter per head per day. Relative to a cow-calf operation, let’s discuss how a TMR might work for you.