The key to grazing drought-damaged corn fields is to control the amount of nitrates the cows will consume. Nitrates will usually be in the lower six to eight inches of the stalk. The most common situation where nitrates are a problem is when hungry cows are allowed to graze or eat feeds high in nitrates. Fill cows up with hay before turning them out to graze the corn field. Manage their grazing so that you don't force them to eat the lower part of the corn plant. The husk, leaves, and ears will contain very little if any nitrates. Cattle will typically select the upper part of the corn plant first and over time will slowly adapt themselves to nitrates. Once the cattle have been filled with hay and turned out to graze the corn field, have them stay out grazing until you are finished with the corn field. You may want to do some cross-fencing so that cattle don't trample a lot of the stalks and to limit the amount of the ears they consume, but again, don't force the cows to consume the lower part of the stalk. Founder isn't a major concern with only six bushels to the acre, but cross-fencing will also help limit the number of ears consumed.

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