Fall rains are usually welcomed despite the harvest delays they cause. Pastures and alfalfa benefit from extra growth and winterizing capabilities. Wheat and other small grains get well established as do any new fields of alfalfa or pasture. Building soil moisture reserves will also well serve next year's crops.
Unfortunately, heavy fall rains also reduce the feed value of corn stalks in several ways. Most easily noticed is how fast stalks get soiled or trampled into the ground when fields are muddy. Less noticeable are internal changes in nutrient content. Heavy rain soaks into dry corn stalk residue and leaches out some of the soluble nutrients. Most serious is the loss of sugars and other energy-dense nutrients, which lowers the TDN or energy value of the stalks. These same nutrients also disappear if stalks begin to mold or rot in the field or in the bale. Then palatability and intake also decline.
There is little you can do to prevent these losses. What you can do, though, is begin to supplement a little earlier than usual. Since weathering by rain reduces TDN more than it reduces protein, consider the energy value of your supplements as well as protein content. Weathered corn stalks still are economical feeds. Just supplement them accordingly.
Bruce Anderson
Extension Forage Specialist
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