Corn Stalk Waste when Feeding Bales ?

[Stocker Steve]

What would you estimate as the amount of waste cows leave when they pick through a bale?

Any simple tips on how to reduce this waste other than grinding?

 

[Buck Randall]

25%, maybe. That's a rough guess because I've never weighed it, but they'll leave a pretty significant pile of stalks. Obviously bales that were made dry with a lot of leaf and husk material are best. I don't know of any way to make cows eat the bigger stalks. Even when shredded and put into a TMR the cattle do their best to try and sort them out.

 

[RDFF]

Steve, I'm unrolling my bales now on top of the snow, and it seems to practically eliminate all the waste. Built the unroller. Tracks on the skid makes it possible to get around in the deep snow. That area next to the skid loader is where I "bale grazed" a bale before this pic was taken. Here's a pic of what's being left on the "swath". These aren't corn stalks though.... however, I did make some bales that were winter rye planted no-till into standing, unchopped corn stalks, and some of them ended up with alot of stalks in them. Still not too much of a mat anywhere really.

 

[Till-Hill]

My cows eat all leaves and 20% of stalks when put in bale feeder. Shredded and perfectly dry when baled. I made some high moisture ones and wrapped once and would do again but same results, skirt of feeder has all stalks when they quit eating. Like another person said even grinding and tmr they still sort stalks out.

 

[sim.-ang.king]

~25% if that's all they got. 50% if you feed good hay also.

 

[Stocker Steve]

~25% if that's all they got. 50% if you feed good hay also.

I was planning to set out about half stalk bales, and grass/alfalfa hay bales. Is there a better approach?

 

[Buck Randall]

I was planning to set out about half stalk bales, and grass/alfalfa hay bales. Is there a better approach?

That can work as long as you can spread it out enough for all of the cows to eat the good hay at the same time. Otherwise your biggest, heaviest cows will dominate around the hay feeders and leave the stalks to the smaller and more timid cows, the opposite of what you'd want.

 

[sim.-ang.king]

I was planning to set out about half stalk bales, and grass/alfalfa hay bales. Is there a better approach?

Just don't feed any more hay till they have most of it cleaned up. Should get them to eat more of the corn stalks.

 

[Rydero]

Just don't feed any more hay till they have most of it cleaned up. Should get them to eat more of the corn stalks.

This. Alternate or if running enough animals to justify it roll out 10lbs of hay/day and the feed you want cleaned up in feeders.

 

[Beefeater]

I've been experimenting with this myself. High protein lick tub helps. I've put the last few bales out vertically and cut off the top half of net wrap. This has actually worked really well with just a few cows. Best so far with me has been this method on a cornstalk bale along with grass bale in skirted feeder.