Cows in the Cornstalks
These cows are quietly grazing amidst the stubble of cornstalks left after corn harvest. Don't worry, they didn't run loose from their pasture. This is a common site in the winter. There are several benefits from running cows in the corn fields. First, there will be some ears of corn that didn't get collected during harvest, so you're not letting it go to waste. Second, if the corn is left in the field it might try to grow again next year - when a plant grows from the previous crop it's called volunteer. Your first thought might be that volunteer crops save money for the farmer because that's one more plant to harvest from, right? Wrong. Volunteer plants are unwanted because the farmer buys a particular breed and the volunteers (being the next generation) may not carry the same desirable genes as the original crop. Farmers have to kill volunteers before they start the next crop in the field, so the cows are helping to minimize that problem. Third, the walking and grazing of the cows helps break-up the stubble so it's easier to plant the next crop. Fourth, the cows get fed.
You can see part of the irrigation pivot in the background. This field is irrigated by a center pivot sprinkler system. When you're in an airplane and look down on crop land you'll see the circles that these create (see an example here). The cows should be fenced into this circle by a temporary electric fence. After taking these pictures, I looked around and didn't see the fence between me and them . . . I backed away slowly because cows still make me a little nervous even though I know that 99% of the time they're harmless. That gave me the idea for future blog on fences! I know you're excited!
Posted by Susan at January 14, 2010 
Categories: Farming
Tags: eat circle stalk cow irrigation graze sprinkler volunteer corn pivot cattle crop
Categories: Farming
Tags: eat circle stalk cow irrigation graze sprinkler volunteer corn pivot cattle crop
Comments