by Lisa Moser, K-State Research & Extension

When eating a salad, imagine how it might taste if all there were to eat were the stems of the plant. Not very appealing, right?

Similarly, cattle that are offered cornstalk bales to eat in place of hay also often find that to be less palatable, says Phillip Lancaster, beef cattle nutritionist for the Kansas State University (K-State) Beef Cattle Institute (BCI).

Cornstalk bales can be used for bedding or as a feed resource with supplementation.

Speaking on a recent Cattle Chat podcast, Lancaster says there is an increase of cornstalks being baled as a feed resource this year because of the shortage of hay and the decrease in pastures available for fall grazing due to a lack of moisture.

“Traditionally, grazing cattle in the late fall on harvested corn fields can be an option to extend the grazing season, because cattle can eat the husks and leaves, which have a decent nutritional value,” Lancaster says. “However, this year farmers are baling up the cornstalks after they’ve harvested the crop, which leaves only the stalks that are lignified and indigestible.”

He says that when cattle are offered a cornstalk bale, they will consume the resource at a higher proportion of stalks than they would if they were just grazing the field.

“Producers feeding those bales will have quite a bit of wastage unless they grind them and add them to a mixed ration,” Lancaster says.

For producers who need to use this as a feed resource, Lancaster says they need to supplement the cattle with protein.

“For cows going into their third trimester this winter, their maintenance requirements are higher; so, along with protein, they will also need to be supplemented with energy.”
— Phillip Lancaster

“For cows going into their third trimester this winter,” he adds, “their maintenance requirements are higher; so, along with protein, they will also need to be supplemented with energy.”

Additionally, there is a potential health concern with bales that were made from a failed corn crop when fed to the cattle, Lancaster says.

“If nitrogen fertilizer was put on the crop in the spring and then it failed, the plant may still be holding that nitrogen,” Lancaster says.

In that case, producers will need to test the bales for nitrates, according to Lancaster.

To hear the full discussion, listen to the Cattle Chat podcast online or through your preferred streaming platform.

Editor’s note: Lisa Moser is a communications strategist for Kansas State University. [Photo courtesy K-State Research and Extension.]