A week ago we moved the cattle out onto a field of cornstalks. The corn was harvested last year, but the cows can eat the dried husks and stalks left behind! This is a great way to reduce the amount of hay we have to feed and to better utilize the land. The cows get sustenance from the corn husks and stalks, and then their poop adds nutrients back to the soil. As organic farmers who don't use any chemicals or fertilizers on our fields, we rely on this natural cycling of nutrients (just like would happen in nature) to keep the soil healthy, and animals on the land are an important part of that. They have many benefits for soil health and their manure and the microbes in it should benefit our crops that will be planted soon.
These pictures show us walking the cattle through pastures to get to where the cornstalks were and the cattle enjoying the cornstalks!
