A:   Cornstalk bales can be a good forage source for beef cows. The challenge is to get a good package (bale) baled. Sometimes it is difficult to get the material dry enough that it doesn't heat. With all the moisture we have had lately, it will make it a little more difficult. The more husk and leaf amd the less stalk you get in the bale, the higher the nutrient quality. With that in mind, I would recommend that you sample the stalk bales and test it for moisture, % crude protein, and % TDN. This information will help when designing some rations. To get greatest utilization from the forage in the stalk bales, it would be best to grind and feed or grind and mix with other forages. If the bales are fed un-ground, there can be a lot of sorting by the cows. Cows will sort out the leaf and husk and for the most part not consume the stalks. This may be ok as the leaf and husk are the most nutritious. I don't think nitrates will be a concern especially if growing conditions were good and yeilds was high. As the plant matures, nitrates decrease. If growing conditions were good, any nitrogen fertilizer would have been properly used up.

Adding organic matter back to the field is important, so don't strip all the residue from the field.