Baling Corn Residue Questions

[Stocker Steve]

Most crop farmers have no watering facilities and fall plow their corn stubble in my area. Hay prices have gone way up... So I am looking at hiring a neighbor to custom bale of corn residue. A couple related questions:

1) Do you have any nutritional information from different harvesting approaches (chopping stubble and then raking vs. raking only before baling vs. direct baling right behind the combine)?
2) What is a typical charge per bale for the different harvesting approaches?
3) What is a reasonable waste estimate when feeding baled corn residue?

Thanks for the tips.

 

[mnmtranching]

SS I have noticed that a few of the corn producers around here with the latest combines are cutting the stalks short, 6-8 inches. Seems to me baling right behind the combine would be best in this case. Otherwise, I don't think raking or baling would work well without being chopped first.
I've fed baled stalks to wintering cows. First they check for the ears, usually find a few. Then they go for the husks and finally the leaves. Stalks are left for bedding.
When I fed cornstalks I also feed a few pounds of alfalfa and 30% lick tubs, cows did good.

 

[cowwrangler]

i was just reading an article where they baled the stalks right behind the combine,took them home and ground them ,then sprayed them with corn syrup and let it soak in then tarped it and it turned to silage

 

[TexasBred]

I've always said I'd sell out before I'd force my cattle to eat corn stalks. I have fed maize stalks (milo) in the winter of 06-07 and they contained quite a bit of protein. Had some tested at 12.2%....still a lot of waste because of the big stalks but very leafy. Works really well in a pinch and was only $40 a roll when grass hay was over $100.

 

[somn]

Just so you know removing stover comes at a cost to the land.
For every ton of stover you remove you are also removing 20# of N, 7# of P and 33# of K. But if you return the manure from the cattle fed the stover to the area it was removed it is a wash. Our stover usually tests in the 7 to 8% protein levels.

 

[mnmtranching]

Up here the irrigated corn is very very heavy. So Many tones per acre. May be had to imagine. Anyway it is untouchable. The disks run right behind the combines, I mean the same day. They rotate, Corn, edible dry beans and potatoes, some do soy beans instead of the dry beans. Anyway, they got to work in all that corn organic matter to make it work. No way is the corn residue available for cattle producers.

 

[Stocker Steve]

Just so you know removing stover comes at a cost to the land.
For every ton of stover you remove you are also removing 20# of N, 7# of P and 33# of K. But if you return the manure from the cattle fed the stover to the area it was removed it is a wash. Our stover usually tests in the 7 to 8% protein levels.

I seldom sell forage off the place because building up the soil is important to me. I try to stock heavy and buy in some forage.

I would graze stalks but almost all the neighbors fall plow.

But for folks that already routinely sell hay off their farm, is there any difference to land in selling stover vs. hay?

 

[mnmtranching]

Perennial grasses will build soil even though crops are taken off a couple times per year. Much different then annual type crops. Small grains are very hard on light soils, the whole idea of rotating grain with hay crops.
I'm not somn but I thought I would answer anyway.

 

[Stocker Steve]

I can see where corn stover yield per acre will be much higher than the yield of grass hay, so there can be more soil impact per acre from removing stover.

I can see where legumes fix N in the soil. How does perennial grass build up the soil if you are haying off the growth?

 

[mnmtranching]

SS, You have plowed grain, corn stubble and old hayfields right. Notice how the soil is so much more firm on the hayground? It's the root system, perennial grasses with the complex root system have as much below ground as above. The richest soils in the world are areas where native prairie grasses have grown for centuries. Even though prairie fires were common burning up all above ground organic matter. Many places the black soil is several feet think and more. All made up by the roots of the perennial grasses.
Corn and other annuals on the other hand put everything into making the seed, no need to store underground for the next years growth.
I believe there is nothing harder on soil then taking oat hay, or other grains where the whole plant is taken off the fields.
Cow manure is a great remedy. Still the best way to build soils is perennial grasses.

 

[TexasBred]

Just so you know removing stover comes at a cost to the land.
For every ton of stover you remove you are also removing 20# of N, 7# of P and 33# of K. But if you return the manure from the cattle fed the stover to the area it was removed it is a wash. Our stover usually tests in the 7 to 8% protein levels.

Somn..the last 4-5 years the farmers around here have begun selling most of their corn crop for silage and leave only about 6 inches of stubble. Not only are they removing nutrients from the soil but adding hardly any organic matter back into the soil. I'm not a farmer but seems a policy like this would make for an ever increasing fertilizer amount and concentration in order to the get the same yield, not to mention hardpack soil.

 

[somn]

Just so you know removing stover comes at a cost to the land.
For every ton of stover you remove you are also removing 20# of N, 7# of P and 33# of K. But if you return the manure from the cattle fed the stover to the area it was removed it is a wash. Our stover usually tests in the 7 to 8% protein levels.

Somn..the last 4-5 years the farmers around here have begun selling most of their corn crop for silage and leave only about 6 inches of stubble. Not only are they removing nutrients from the soil but adding hardly any organic matter back into the soil. I'm not a farmer but seems a policy like this would make for an ever increasing fertilizer amount and concentration in order to the get the same yield, not to mention hardpack soil.

With todays current fertilizer prices one ton of stover costs me $36.01. Considering one ton of stover will yield 2.89 4x5 bales I have $12.46 in the bale before I chop, rake and bale each bale. But I put it back in manure so really for me the only negative is soil compaction. But for others hoping to just bale the fella down the roads corn fields it will come at a cost either to the farmer or to the guy getting the bales.

 

[Weaver]

The organic matter in fields is never going to build up if you work the ground up. We have fields around here that have been no tilled for over 30 years and increased the orginic matter by several percent, but those fields can go back to scratch by taking a plow to them.

 

[Stocker Steve]

The organic matter in fields is never going to build up if you work the ground up. We have fields around here that have been no tilled for over 30 years and increased the orginic matter by several percent, but those fields can go back to scratch by taking a plow to them.

You see some great pastures that have had MIG for a long time and receive little or no chemical fertilizer. I think the higher organic matter and associated water retension is a major cause.

 

[msscamp]

I've always said I'd sell out before I'd force my cattle to eat corn stalks.

Perhaps this is one of those regional differences things, or perhaps I'm misunderstanding your statement, but I can't see where anyone would have to "force" cattle to graze corn fields. We never had to "force" the girls to graze corn stalks. They were quite willing to gobble up the leftover corn cobs, corn shucks, and even corn stalks to a certain degree. They did very well on them, too. The only time we had to supplement was during snow storms when they couldn't reach the corn/corn shucks. When the field was depleted, the girls were either moved or supplemented accordingly.

 

[TexasBred]

I've always said I'd sell out before I'd force my cattle to eat corn stalks.

Perhaps this is one of those regional differences things, or perhaps I'm misunderstanding your statement, but I can't see where anyone would have to "force" cattle to graze corn fields. We never had to "force" the girls to graze corn stalks. They were quite willing to gobble up the leftover corn cobs, corn shucks, and even corn stalks to a certain degree. They did very well on them, too. The only time we had to supplement was during snow storms when they couldn't reach the corn/corn shucks. When the field was depleted, the girls were either moved or supplemented accordingly.

mss....probably just a psychological thing more than anything on my part. I know the stalks, cobs, etc. will keep them full but so will rice hulls or some othe filler and they're cheap as well but not a lot of nutritional value. Course it doesn't make a lot of sense to cut grass, bale it and haul it to the barn then haul it back out into the field and feed it either but most of us do it. Apparently grazing the corn fields work or you folks wouldn't do it. Doesn't it require quite a bit of protein supplementation in order to maintain body condition and produce milk? Would like to know more about it.

 

[1982vett]

I think their is a huge difference in letting cattle browse cornfields and feeding the thrash that a baler can pick up. If I had cornfields, I probalbly would let them browse them, don't think I would put the wear on a baler trying to bale them. But then, in "06 a local farmer baled his thrash and probably made more off of it than he did on the corn itself. For sure it was a big boost to the bottom line that year.

 

[TexasBred]

I think their is a huge difference in letting cattle browse cornfields and feeding the thrash that a baler can pick up. If I had cornfields, I probalbly would let them browse them, don't think I would put the wear on a baler trying to bale them. But then, in "06 a local farmer baled his thrash and probably made more off of it than he did on the corn itself. For sure it was a big boost to the bottom line that year.

Vet..probably so, but when I look at it I just think "junk or filler".....but...the Maize stalks worked great during the drought in '06...very leafy and good protein level and they'e still green when cut..

 

[1982vett]

Vet..probably so, but when I look at it I just think "junk or filler".....but...the Maize stalks worked great during the drought in '06...very leafy and good protein level and they'e still green when cut..

That is why if I had any I would let them browse it instead of baling it. :nod: In a normal year I would rather the stubble go back into the soil... but then that is just me. Local farmer baled his corn stubble and sold it in '06. He probably made more off the stubble than he did off the corn that year.

 

[TexasBred]

Vet..probably so, but when I look at it I just think "junk or filler".....but...the Maize stalks worked great during the drought in '06...very leafy and good protein level and they'e still green when cut..

That is why if I had any I would let them browse it instead of baling it. :nod: In a normal year I would rather the stubble go back into the soil... but then that is just me. Local farmer baled his corn stubble and sold it in '06. He probably made more off the stubble than he did off the corn that year.

You got that right. I beleive I gave $45 a roll for maize stalks delivered...the milo crop was pretty bad but the farmer hit a homerun on the stalks. I really like tho see them shred it and then disc it back into the ground.