Baling cornstalks

PairOfLabs

PairOfLabs

Active member
Hey Engpointerman,
You've been baling cornstalks lately. I'm not sure if I just wasn't paying attention in the last few years but this year I've seen many more farmers baling cornstalks. Is this a new farming strategy? Did some new equipment make this more economical? What are some of the factors that a farmer will consider before deciding what to do with his cut cornfield? I thought that the traditional practice was to let cattle graze in there if he had any cattle and then till it under to help fertilize the soil-but I'm just a city boy moonlighting as a pheasant chaser in farm country.

After a field has been baled will pheasants still be able to find left-over kernals in there or will they tend to head for the non-baled traditional cornfields?

Thanks for any information you can offer.

PairOfLabs
 
If U are in the Yuma to Otis area and way North of Eckley area its me thats baling all of them. This is coming a more popular way to feed cattle the roughage requirements in the feedlots.Basically its cheap filler. The primary ingrediant these lots are using is distillers grains(ethanol byproduct.This is the main source of growing and fattening. Many of the fields I have done are going into sugarbeets next year. So they dont want the residue. Some of the strip till guys like this practice also because it makes it easier for the machine to work the ground in one pass for planting without much for residue.
 
Thanks EPman. Do those farmers using this practice have contracts with the feedlots to provide those corn bales?

That's where I was so I was seeing some of your work. And hunting north of the big feedlots by Yuma with a South wind made for some aromatic hunting. Whew!
PairOfLabs
 
engpointerman, I've got quick question for you. Just wondering how much does removing the stalks affect the level of nutrients that get back into the soil from the decomposing corn stalks? And if it does how do you replace those levels of nutrients?--1pheas4
 
I cant answer that question for sure. High plains journal had an article on that. Not sure its the truth or not. Roughly 40lbs of N and I dont remember on the other nutrients. Pretty much everything Im baling is going into sugar beets. Sugar beets do not require much N. The cleaner the field the better the stand is with beets. N grows to much foliage in beets and no beet and low sugar levels.
 
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