"My cows won't eat cornstalk bales" is one of the most common complaints in cattle country — and it's usually a clue that the bales were made wrong, not that the cattle are picky. The producers who make stalk bales their cows actually prefer all do the same handful of things: they keep dirt out, they protect the baler from stumps, and they bale in the direction the stalks are leaning. Here's how to make clean, low-dust, high-feed-value cornstalk bales — and the one net wrap adjustment that keeps abrasive stalks from tearing the bale apart.
Quick answer: The cleanest cornstalk bales come from baling behind the combine — drop the chopper and spreader and bale that windrow, with no rake passes to drag in dirt. Expect about 2 bales per acre that way (versus ~3× more if you rake the whole field). Run stalk stompers/stompers on the rows and bale in the direction the stalks are pushed over to save baler teeth. If you do rake — especially behind a chopping corn head — bust the stumps first (a rotary rake handles stumpy fodder better than a wheel rake). Add one extra wrap of net: stalks are abrasive and the bale tends to tear when you dump it. Behind-combine bales are cleaner, less dusty, and cattle eat them better.
Why behind-the-combine bales are the gold standard: NO DIRT
The single biggest driver of stalk-bale quality is dirt — and the way to keep dirt out is to skip the rake. Bale the trash that comes out the back of the combine, not the whole field. A West-Central Iowa producer built a rig for exactly this:
"I have been baling behind the combine the last 2 years... I have the chopper on slow speed. I constructed a 'boot' to catch the stuff right behind the chopper and trash spreader. I get about 2bales per acre... Best stalk bales you will ever feed. NO DIRT."
— Albert, West Central IA · AgTalk thread 1070929
The simplest version doesn't even need a boot — just drop the chopper and spreader and bale the windrow they leave:
"Some guys drop there chopper and just let the husks and such drop behind the combine, then bale. Not as fast as a rake, but a lot less agressive."
— hoofer, Northwest Iowa · AgTalk thread 1070929
The trade-off is volume: you get fewer bales because you're only baling what runs through the machine, not the whole stalk.
"Works good, have done it some in the past. Will get about 1/3 the bales vs raking it first... We have stalk stompers on every row of our corn head. So bale the direction they are pushed over works great for saving baler teeth. Will have a lot better quality bales like stated above."
— farmernelson88, NE Nebraska · AgTalk thread 1070929
Protect the baler: stompers and bale direction
Cornstalk butts are hard on a baler pickup. Two cheap moves save your teeth. First, run stalk stompers (devastators) to lay the stalks down ahead of the baler:
"Put stalk stompers on the middle rows to protect the baler pickup, it'll make great bales."
— jd7520, South Central Iowa · AgTalk thread 1070929
Second, bale in the same direction the stalks are leaning so the pickup combs over the butts instead of fighting them — that's the "bale the direction they are pushed over" point above. Together they're the difference between a smooth run and a day of replacing teeth.
If you rake — especially behind a chopping head — bust the stumps first
Raking gets you more bales, but it's where dirt and equipment wear come from. Behind a chopping corn head (like a Deere StalkMaster) the stumps are the enemy of your rake:
"Deere heads cut about as fine as any one. Biggest problem with any processing head is the need to bust the stumps before raking or the stumps will soon destroy the rake tines... I've also found that processed stalks tend to dry down slower than unprocessed."
— Gearclash, Sioux County, NWIA · AgTalk thread 1125625
A wheel rake often can't get fodder through standing stumps — producers behind chopping heads reach for a rotary rake instead. And rolling the field first pays off twice:
"We roll them and come back 5 days later — having a roller seems to be better... it breaks the stalk butt and lets all the juice out — we have cut are rake teeth replacement by 80%."
— garvo, western Iowa, by Denison · AgTalk thread 1125625
For more on rake choice, see our rake selection guide.
The proof: cattle pick the clean bale every time
If you doubt that bale-making method changes how cattle eat stalks, one Iowa producer ran the side-by-side:
"One year I did some behind combine, and raked some on same field and same variety. I fed one of each on the same day. They finished the one baled behind combine, then bellered for a day like they had nothing to eat, then finally started on raked bale."
— paul2sd, NC Iowa · AgTalk thread 1070929
Same field, same variety — the only difference was dirt and dust, and the cattle voted with their mouths. He also tightens stripper plates to pull in a little more leaf, which is where the feed value is.
| Method | Bales/acre | Cleanliness | Baler wear |
|---|---|---|---|
| Behind combine (drop chopper/spreader) | ~2 | Cleanest, low dust | Low (with stompers) |
| Behind combine + boot | ~2 | Cleanest | Low |
| Rake whole field | ~3× more | More dirt/dust | Higher; bust stumps first |
| Behind chopping head, rotary rake | High | Fine-cut, dries slower | Stumps eat tines |
Net wrap: add a wrap for abrasive stalks
Cornstalks are hard on the bale itself, not just the baler. They're abrasive and the bale tends to roll and tear when you dump it. The fix is one extra wrap of net:
"Add an extra wrap of net wrap. The stalks can tear up bales when you dump them out. Remember, the bale will roll against the direction the stalks are leaning."
— RexxT, EC KS · AgTalk thread 1070929
So if you run 2.5 wraps on hay, go to 3+ on stalks — and more if the bales sit outside through winter. The full crop-by-crop breakdown is in how many net wraps per bale, and if you're baling stalks a little tough and wrapping them, see wet-wrapping cornstalk bales.
Where XES fits
Abrasive cornstalk bales are exactly where weak net shows up — a bale that's tight on the baler can still split when it rolls off the chamber or gets dumped at the feeder. That's why stalk balers add a wrap, and why the strength of each wrap matters. XES Extreme net wrap is DLG-tested (Report #7439) for break strength and full-width coverage, and UV-rated 12 months (tested to ISO 4892-2) for bales stored outside. Compare widths for your baler on the net wrap product page, or check fitment on the baler size checker.
The bottom line
Clean cornstalk bales aren't luck — they're method. Bale behind the combine to keep dirt out, run stompers and bale the way the stalks lean to save your pickup, and if you rake, bust the stumps (and reach for a rotary rake behind a chopping head). Tighten stripper plates to grab leaf, add an extra wrap of net for the abrasion, and you'll make stalk bales your cows clean up instead of refuse. The cattle can tell the difference — make the bale they'll eat.
Frequently asked questions
How do you make cornstalk bales cattle will eat?
Keep them clean. The biggest factor is dirt, so bale behind the combine — drop the chopper and spreader and bale that windrow instead of raking the whole field. Tighten stripper plates to pull in more leaf, where the feed value is. Producers who feed behind-combine bales next to raked bales report cattle clean up the behind-combine bale first every time.
How many bales per acre baling cornstalks behind the combine?
About 2 bales per acre baling just what runs through the combine, versus roughly three times more if you rake the whole field first. You trade volume for cleanliness and lower baler wear.
How do I protect my baler baling cornstalks?
Run stalk stompers (devastators) on the rows to lay the stalks down, and bale in the same direction the stalks are pushed over so the pickup combs over the butts. If you rake behind a chopping corn head, bust the stumps first — standing stumps quickly destroy rake tines — and a rotary rake handles stumpy fodder better than a wheel rake.
How much net wrap do cornstalk bales need?
Add at least one extra wrap over what you use on hay, so 3 or more wraps. Cornstalks are abrasive and the bale tends to roll and tear when dumped, and bales stored outside through winter benefit from another half-wrap.
Are behind-combine stalk bales better than raked bales?
For feed, yes — they carry far less dirt and dust, so cattle eat them better, and they are easier on the baler. Raking produces more bales per acre but drags in soil and wears equipment harder. Many producers bale behind the combine specifically for feed bales and rake only when they need bedding volume.
This guide is maintained by the XES Netting team — a bale net-wrap manufacturer. Every farmer quote in this post is verbatim with a thread link, so you can read the originals. Stalk-baling results depend on your equipment, corn, and conditions — these are producer-reported practices, not guarantees.
Related guides
Featured photo: Farmland, Shalbourne by Andrew Smith, licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
