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We will be moving a set of cows to a dryland cornfield that did not get picked this fall. The plants/stalks are small, short, and about 2 to 3 feet apart. The ears are very small, and most are 2 to 3 inches long. The cows will eat a lot of corn because there is not much else to eat. We are feeding some corn to the cows now. I have bicarb to add in the water. Water will be hauled, so the amount will be known. How much bicarb in the water do we add? This is a good idea, is it not?
Last Updated: February 19, 2008
There is always some risk when you have that amount of corn in the stalk field. Even though the ears are small, there is still corn for them to consume. The concern is when there are 7 to 8 bushels of corn per acre. To limit the amount of corn consumed, you could increase stocking rate or cross-fence the field. These two practices would limit the corn intake.
Bicarb can be used to buffer the rumen if they overconsume corn. If you can control where cattle get water, then this can help avoid acidosis. Remember, in the winter when there is snow available, cattle can get much of their water from snow. If you use bicarb, the information that we have is 2.5 lb of bicarb per 100 gallons of water.
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