Grazing cornstalks and cover crops: What advisers need to know

Stalks, stover, fodder…by any name, corn residues are an important source of soil organic matter. But cornstalk grazing is also a cost-effective source of forage for beef and dairy producers.

Compaction questions

Compaction and soil trampling have long been concerns when grazing any lands. “What is needed is an animal that can graze with its feet off the ground,” stated a 1959 USDA Forest Service report.

Compaction concerns remain—even in regions where cow-calf producers have long depended on cornstalks. As recently as 2017, half of Nebraska corn producers said compaction was a concern for winter cornstalk grazing.

But research in Nebraska has established that there is “little impact on soil physical properties under normal grazing conditions during winter months.” A summary of research from the University of Nebraska–Lincoln (UNL) reports that soybeans planted into grazed cornfields do not suffer yield losses. A 16-year study with cattle grazing corn residue at Mead, NE, observed slightly improved soybean yields and no corn yield impact when cattle grazed cornstalks in a corn–soybean rotation on irrigated ground.

What about spring grazing? Nebraska research published in 2022 evaluated spring grazing cornstalks at different cattle stocking densities. Researchers put three 600-lb calves per acre on cornstalks for 45 days starting in mid-February. For comparison, nine 600-lb calves per acre grazed for 15 days starting in mid-March.

There was no difference in soybean emergence between the spring-grazed ground and the control fields. Yields even increased. “Spring grazing may cause minor compaction, and increase surface roughness but improves subsequent soybean yields in an irrigated, no-till, high yielding field,” states that research summary. The researchers acknowledged the study had been done to create a worst-case scenario for grazing in muddy conditions; yet there was still a soybean yield boost recorded in the grazed plots compared with the controls.

Research in other locations tells a similar story: Proper grazing management will avoid damage to soil structure on grazed cornfields. That does not mean to ignore possible compaction. Moving or rotating supplemental feeding and cattle watering locations, for example, is part of good grazing management at temporary sites.

One advantage in 2026 for cattle producers looking to utilize corn residues: current high beef profits may mean more capital for cow-calf producers to consider investing in ways that can help lower feed costs when cattle prices are lower. “Cow-calf operators should be using today’s income levels to set them up for sustained profitability in the future. Investing in a system that lowers feed costs going forward could put the operation in a better financial position to manage future calf price declines.”

Soil health, nutrient management

With proper management, grazing cropland in the winter and spring will have minimal impacts for soil health and future crop yields. The longest-term published research on grazing corn residues, the 16-year Nebraska study, suggests “no detrimental effects on soil properties even in the long term,” under the irrigated/no-till conditions.

Other research, conducted in Illinois in 2020–2021, shows grazing corn residues can provide potential nutrient management benefits. This is likely because cattle manure and urine return nutrients from husk and leaf back onto the soil surface in forms more easily utilized by future crops.

The Illinois study was the first documenting a decrease in phosphate-P leaching when grazing cornstalks. The ungrazed cornstalk plots had a phosphate-P leaching load of 5.2 lb/ac. Plots that were grazed had a phosphate-P leaching load less than 2 lb/ac. The researchers reported grazing “effectively retards the downward movement of P and recycles it to the surface.” They speculated this leads to  increased surface soil P levels for crop uptake.

But Corn Belt grain producers are usually not lining up to find cattle to graze corn residues. “It is very difficult to find crop producers that want cornstalks grazed in Illinois,” says Travis Meteer, who participated in that University of Illinois study. ”I hope that changes in some regards and potentially opportunities will come with virtual fence and other technologies.”

What about fences?

Although fencing can be perceived as limiting CC and corn residue grazing, temporary fencing equipment and materials have improved in quality, ease of installation, and portability. Experienced cattle producers often already own temporary fencing setups. Crop producers may want to quiz prospective cornstalk or cover crop grazing tenants about the reliability of their fences.

Virtual fence technology may offer even more nimble solutions for managing grazing, including on cornstalks and CCs. Animals in a virtual fence system wear GPS-linked collars. This lets the producer monitor cow location and set grazing boundaries. The collars provide sounds, electrical stimuli, and vibrations when the cattle approach the boundaries. There is a period of introduction and training for the collars, and physical perimeter fences are still recommended in virtual fencing systems. A virtual fence collar cost-share program open to Nebraska and Missouri producers will be coming this summer.

Understanding corn residue consumption and rental rates

If a local cattle producer and grain producer are talking about grazing cornstalks, crop advisers may find themselves fielding questions like, “No one around here has leased cornstalks forever. How do I know what to charge?”

Nutritional quality of the leaf and husk declines as corn yields rise. “Corn residue is a little bit lower quality, or a little bit lower energy, in higher-yielding fields than in lower-yielding fields,” says Mary Drewnoski, UNL beef specialist. Higher-yielding fields also have thicker residue, which cattle may trample before eating.

The old rule of thumb in Nebraska used to be one month of grazing per non-lactating cow for every 100 bu of corn yield. Beef specialists at UNL updated those recommendations in 2024 to 27 days of grazing per cow per every 100 bu.

Cornstalk grazing leases are often reported on a per acre/per month basis. The Cash Rental Rates for Iowa 2026 Survey reported per-acre rental rates for cornstalks from $9 to $21/ac/month, with $12 to $15 rates most common. Those per-acre rates are often based on a grazing charge per cow per day. For example, an 80-ac field stocked at two cows per acre would cost $15 to $30/mo/ac at a rate of $0.25 to $0.50/cow/day.

What about cover crops?

One-third of crop advisers surveyed in the 2024 National Cover Crop Survey expected grazing cover crops (CCs) to be an emerging trend. Grazing is feasible on cereal rye and triticale, the most common winter annuals planted after corn and before soybeans across the Corn Belt.

Compaction is also a concern when producers consider grazing CCs. Grazing under proper moisture conditions and stocking rates also minimizes compaction when grazing cover crops, according to an Agronomy Journal article published in 2023 by soil scientists from Nebraska and Kansas. Even under proper soil conditions and stocking levels, soil compaction indicators do increase after winter grazing CCs. That increase, however, “generally remained below the root growth threshold level.”

Research on grazing CC plots in upstate Missouri, published in Agronomy Journal in 2022, also documented increased compaction after cattle grazing. That study reported slightly lower corn yield on grazed ground (about 6 bu/ac) compared with the controls. There was no soybean yield impact after grazing CCs compared with the control plots. 

The Illinois research that documented lower phosphate-P leaching on grazed cornstalks also evaluated impacts of grazing cover crops planted after corn harvest. Decreased phosphate-P leaching also occurred after cattle grazed three cover crops or cover crop mixes planted into corn residue: cereal rye, cereal rye plus clover, and triticale plus clover. Using only triticale resulted in a higher, but variable, phosphate-P load. Results of that study identified cereal rye with crimson clover as the CC option that least penalized soybean yields regardless of grazing.

Spring grazing cover crops can be challenging. Some cattle producers will plant a winter annual or cover crop mix with the intention of mechanical harvest to aid cover crop termination. “Triticale many times leads to a higher quality feed product when harvested as baleage or hay silage, mainly because cereal rye can mature so quickly,” notes Travis Meteer. He recommends Illinois Extension’s Quick Guide to Cover Crops for Forage for producers thinking about grazing or possibly leasing land for grazing.

Crop insurance and government programs generally allow grazing cover crops if the grazing meets the soil and nutrient management goals. There may be restrictions on mechanically harvesting cover crops, depending on program participation.

Nationally, dairy operations are more likely than beef operations to mechanically harvest annuals for forage, according to a 2024 USDA report. The practice is more common on dairies in Ohio and the Northeast, especially Pennsylvania. Researchers at Penn State, publishing in the Journal of Dairy Science, reported reduced soil erosion and less P lost when corn acres were double cropped. The best economic case for double cropping a forage with corn is during periods of average to high dairy feed prices, according to that analysis.

Researchers from the University of Illinois probably say it best, in an article published in Applied Animal Science evaluating the impact of grazing cornstalks on cattle performance, residue characteristics and subsequent crop yield: “Utilization of crop residues for cattle grazing could lower feed costs in the livestock enterprise without negatively affecting grain production in the crop enterprise.”