cornstalks

[tripleS]

I see and hear of cattle grazing cornstalks after the combines leave. What kind of protein are they getting from this. Do you have to keep them on hay or supplement them with feed? Best with steers and hiefers or will grown cows do alright on them too? Thanks for the information.

 

[Farmhand]

We bale brome grass bales and cornstalk bales. All our cattle run on the cornstalks after the combines leave at some point in their lives. Cows run cornstalks every winter. Fats run stalks until we are ready to finish and then come into a lot. Bottle calves stay in a lot in winter until they have a little size to them, then they go out too. I really don't know the protein content of stalks but think I have read about 9%. Have read about a guy who feeds nothing but stalks through the winter and says his cows do good. I can't quite bring myself to totally believe this though. We supplement anything on stalks with ground ear corn only if they come in at feeding time. There is usually some corn left out in the fields by the combines and cattle are real good at finding it. Also they will eat the grass on any terraces and headlands and waterways. We also watch the amount of snow cover and don't make them forage hard. Anything in lots get brome and stalks and ground ear corn. They will actually leave the hay ring to come eat the stalks so believe there must be something they like about them. There is also great scratch factor with stalks.

 

[tripleS]

thanks we drill wheat here behing corn so there wouldn't be but 2-3 months before we had to bring the cows off. That two or three months starting in September would be nice in order to let some fescue stockpile for the harder part of winter. I wean calves in september when corn comes off usually though. It would be nice to put the steers and replacements on cornstalks and some type of feed to get them ready for sale.

 

[joe]

I had my corn stalk bales tested, and they were at 9% protein. We put the cattle out after the combine, then when there is no corn in their manure, we put out protein lick tubs. When snow or cold weather hits, they get hay/silage mix, or hay/straw/#4 distillers, whichever I get the better price on. Bales usually sell for about $9, and make great bedding at calving time, especially if you grind them.