Gage County
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News Column

Paul C Hay, Extension Educator

Fall Grazing Issues

When corn or milo stalks become available for grazing, several decisions need to be made. How soon can cows be moved to stalks? Most years you probably should start grazing stalks as soon as possible. The nutrient value of stalks declines the longer they are exposed to weathering. Grazing stalks right away will put more condition on cows and faster gains on young stock. Grazing green milo stalks should not be a problem. If milo stalks have been injured by frost and there are lots of young green shoots, then you might be better to wait until after a killing frost with the entire plant is dead. The concern is prussic acid which can build up in young shoots after a light frost injury and these shoots may be quite attractive to the cows.

Be sure to check fields for excess grain before grazing. Dryland fields with small ears or milo heads buried in the boot may have more grain loss than usual this year. Too much corn or milo can cause acidosis and founder. Adapt cattle to a higher grain ration before grazing if a problem is expected. You may even want to graze standing stalks where yield is so low that harvest is questionable. Be sure this is approved with your crop insurance agent. Be sure cattle are introduced slowly and strip grazing is best so you can better control grain intake which could be quite variable in pockets in the field, even when crop yields are very low.

How to graze is another decision. Strip grazing by giving animals from one or two days to two weeks worth of stalks at a time uses them most efficiently. This permits a higher stocking rate and provides a more uniform diet. However, if heavy snow or mud occur before you graze all areas, some good quality feed can be lost.

Leaving cattle in the same entire field for a couple months or longer is more common than strip grazing. Whole-field grazing permits fast early gains but more supplements are needed late in the season after all grain has disappeared. Be sure to provide salt and a good source of water. Once all the grain is gone, cows need about half a pound per day of an all natural protein to meet nutrient needs. This could be supplied with whole beans, alfalfa hay, or soybean meal.

An acre of corn or milo stalk pasture will generally provide grazing for a cow for a month. Rental value is usually in the $5 to $8 range for dryland stalks. The growth of stalks this year is close to normal even though grain yields are quite low. Growth is enough that nitrate problems not pose a problem except where cattle are forced to grub the lower stalks, and are not properly transitioned to the new feed source in stalk pastures.

Be careful of sudex, sudangrass, or forage sorghum grown in lots or near lots for summer grazing and/or winter grazing. Much of this is not planted until late and is in a high nitrate zone (manure). Both nitrates and prussic acid could be a problem. Delay introducing cattle to these forages until after frost has killed them (prussic acid) and make sure cattle have other feed sources like good quality alfalfa or grass hay so they don't tank up on the potentially higher nitrate in these stunted forages.

View other Gage County News Columns & News Letters: http://gage.unl.edu/news/news.htm

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