Quick answer: Wet-wrapping cornstalks — baling them damp and sealing them in plastic to lightly ensile — can make noticeably better feed than dry stalks, but only when the stalks are still green, typically following high-moisture corn or earlage harvest, in roughly the 20–25% range. If you're baling for bedding or for dry storage with net wrap, you want the stalks dry; judge them by feel and by rocking the bale, keep the wettest ones for bedding or to feed right away, and use those first. Net wrap holds a dry stalk bale's shape — plastic wrapping is what preserves the moisture in a wet one.
Every fall the same question rolls through the forums: the combine's done but the stalks are still damp inside, rain is in the forecast, and you need bedding and feed. Do you bale them wet? And if you do, do you net-wrap them dry-style or seal them in plastic? The producers who do this every year have clear answers — and they hinge on why you're baling and how green the stalks are.
Why anyone wraps cornstalks wet
The payoff is feed quality. Dry, weathered cornstalks are low-value roughage; green stalks baled and ensiled are a different feed. One Iowa producer laid out exactly when it works:
"On field corn, it works best following high moisture corn or earlage harvest when the stalks are still good and green. At this point they make excellent feed, much better digestibility than dry corn stalks and from my experience the cows eat them much better as well."
— Ohio_farmer, all over Iowa · AgTalk thread 873328
That's the whole case for the practice: green stalks have feed value that dry stalks have already lost, and wrapping captures it. The producer who started that thread was after exactly this for his sheep:
"I'd like to try baling wet cornstalks for the ewes right behind the combine then wrapping them to ensile lightly. Curious if anyone has any tips/tricks?"
— milkman247, Watonwan County MN · AgTalk thread 873328
But it's not foolproof, and an honest counterpoint came from someone who'd tried it on sweet-corn residue:
"I've done it on 80 acres of sweet corn after Senica harvested the last 2 yrs. It never turns out as good as I thought it would. This yr I think we are going to let them dry out and bale them like our regular corn stalks."
— Beefbiz, Renville county mn · AgTalk thread 873328
The lesson: the greener and higher-quality the stalks going in, the better it works. Sweet-corn residue and over-mature dry stalks don't ensile into something special.
The moisture reality: damp inside, dry outside
The thing that drives producers crazy is that cornstalk moisture is uneven — the husks and leaves go bone dry while the stalk membrane stays wet, and a baler sensor jumps all over the field. One Iowa producer described it perfectly:
"combined the corn Saturday and Sunday avg 19%.. chopped stalks yesterday and today .. started baling this afternoon and my 605m would read 16ish all the way to 27 or 28.. so I quit .. membrane in the stalks is still damp.. husks are bone dry."
— huntfarms85, Renwick Iowa · AgTalk thread 814164
A day later, the stalks still hadn't moved:
"just looking again and hasnt changed a bit since yesterday .. guessing I'm gonna end up just starting to bale tmw and it will be what it is .. everything is popcorn dry except the inside of the stalk.. guessing a chopping head would have helped things dry easier.."
— huntfarms85, Renwick Iowa · AgTalk thread 814164
That damp-membrane/dry-husk split is the crux: a sensor reading the outside of the swath underreads what's locked in the stalk. It's also why a chopping cornhead helps — cracked, chopped stalks dry faster and ensile more evenly.
Wrap it (ensile) vs. bale it dry — the two camps
If the stalks are staying wet, the clean answer is to embrace it and wrap. One producer who wraps stalks every year reported zero spoilage doing exactly that:
"Not sure if wrapping is an option or not, but I like 20 to 25% stalks. Dry or wet, we wrap em here. Make them when the weather allows, some times a couple years worth. Never a moldy or musty one when wrapped."
— mafrif, Upper Midwest · AgTalk thread 814164
That's the dividing line. Sealed in plastic, 20–25% stalks ferment and keep for years; left as a dry net-wrapped bale, that same moisture molds. If you're going to net-wrap stalks for dry storage instead, get them dry and see net wrap for cornstalk bales for the tearing and wrap-count issues coarse stalks cause. For the dry-hay moisture limits, see baling moisture for net-wrapped bales.
The field test: feel it and rock it
Most stalk balers don't even run a moisture tester this time of year — they go by hand. The repeated advice is to bale a few and physically test them:
"We bale alot of stalks and in my opinion its getting to be that time of year were a guy better not get to picky. Bale a few and feel the bales, rock them back and forth and a guy can usually tell if there good enough for beddding or not."
— Helland, EC IA · AgTalk thread 816562
Another producer gave a concrete pass/fail version of the same test:
"Would be better than snowballs! I Figure if I can roll a big square by hand it will keep or at least rock it but if it won't move that's a use right away bale."
— moefarms, Southern Wisco · AgTalk thread 816562
If you can rock or roll the bale by hand, it's dry enough to keep; if it's a dead, heavy lump that won't budge, it's a feed-or-bed-now bale. Where the stalks came from matters too:
"We've had pretty good luck raking and bailing right after the combine rolls through with the chopping head. Seems like if the stocks are still standing, they tend to be a little drier than Stocks that I've had a chance to lay on the wet soil. Always kind a hard to know what to do this time of year, but I'd say go for it. Like you said, make sure they're the first ones you use."
— illinois1, God's Country (N.C. Ia) · AgTalk thread 816562
"Use the wet ones first" — the universal rule
Across every thread, the same risk-management rule shows up: when you're forced to bale some wet, sort them and burn through the wettest first. The producer who started the wet-fall thread already had the plan:
"I got a lot of them really dry so I will save those for feed and to keep through the summer and use the last ones I bale for bedding right away."
— Wilbur71, Dayton IA · AgTalk thread 816562
And the fallback when stalks come in too wet even for that — grind them and bed with them before they can spoil in storage:
"Used to make a lot of corn stalk stacks in the snow. I would bale and if to tuff, grind them up and push in a big pile. They may be moldy but still good bedding. I would rather bed with a grapple fork then roll them out. Even if they are dry."
— steincowboy, w. wi. · AgTalk thread 816562
The recurring theme is that a baled stalk — even a marginal one — beats none. As one producer flatly put it: "I would take baling wet stalks over having none baled as of yet" (crossbredFARMER, SE ND · AgTalk thread 816562). Just don't put the wet ones in the long-term stack.
Wet cornstalk decision guide
| Situation | Best move | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Green stalks, ~20–25%, want feed | Plastic-wrap (ensile) | Captures feed value; keeps for years sealed |
| Stalks damp inside, dry husks | Wait, or chop and wrap | Sensor underreads stalk membrane moisture |
| Dry enough to rock/roll by hand | Net-wrap or stack for dry storage | Will keep as dry bedding/feed |
| Heavy, won't budge, too tough | Feed or bed right away / grind | Won't keep; use before it molds |
| Forced to bale some wet | Sort and use wettest first | Keeps spoilage out of the long-term stack |
These are producer-reported practices, not lab specifications. Cornstalk moisture is notoriously uneven — judge each batch and watch the stack.
Where XES fits
Whether you net-wrap dry stalk bales or sleeve wet ones in plastic, the bale still has to hold its shape coming off a chopping cornhead's coarse, springy material. Our net wrap is DLG-tested (Report #7439) and built to grip coarse crops without tearing, so dry stalk bales stay tight and round for stacking and feeding. Compare widths and lengths on the net wrap product page, check your wrap count for coarse stalks, and if net is tearing on stalk bales see net wrap tearing when baling.
The bottom line
Wet-wrapping cornstalks is a real feed strategy, not just a salvage move — green stalks from high-moisture corn or earlage harvest, baled around 20–25% and sealed in plastic, make better feed than dry stalks and keep for years. The catch is that it only works when the stalks are genuinely green and you wrap (not net) them. For everything else, judge by feel, rock the bale, keep the wettest ones for bedding or immediate feeding, and always use those first. A marginal stalk bale beats no bale — it just doesn't belong in the long-term stack.
Frequently asked questions
Can you bale cornstalks wet and wrap them?
Yes — baling damp cornstalks and sealing them in plastic to lightly ensile is a known practice, and producers report it makes better feed than dry stalks when the stalks are still green (typically after high-moisture corn or earlage harvest, around 20–25% moisture). It only works well with green, good-quality stalks; over-mature or sweet-corn residue doesn't ensile into anything special.
What moisture should cornstalks be to wrap?
Producers who wrap stalks target roughly 20–25% and report no moldy or musty bales when sealed in plastic at that range. The tricky part is that cornstalk moisture is uneven — husks go bone dry while the stalk membrane stays damp — so a baler sensor reading the outside of the swath can read anywhere from the mid-teens to high 20s across one field.
Should I net-wrap or plastic-wrap wet cornstalks?
Plastic-wrap them. Net wrap only holds a dry bale's shape; it does nothing to preserve moisture, so wet stalks left as net-wrapped bales will mold. Sealing wet stalks in plastic ferments and preserves them. If the stalks are dry, net wrap is fine for bedding or dry storage.
How do I tell if cornstalk bales are dry enough to keep?
Bale a few and test them by hand — feel them and rock or roll the bale. If you can rock a big bale (or roll a big square) by hand, it's dry enough to keep; if it's a dead, heavy lump that won't move, it's a feed-or-bed-now bale. Stalks that were still standing tend to be drier than stalks that laid on wet soil.
What do I do with cornstalk bales that are too wet?
Use them first. Sort the wettest bales out and feed or bed with them right away rather than putting them in the long-term stack. If they're too tough even for that, some producers grind them and push them into a pile to bed with before they can spoil — a marginal stalk bale still beats none.
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 go read the originals. Moisture figures here are producer-reported practices, not lab specifications — cornstalk moisture is uneven, so judge each batch and watch your stack for heat.
Featured photo: Corn shocks, Forestville, Minnesota (2006) by Jonathunder, licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
