section_path: Uses/Animal feed
section_name: Animal feed
paragraph_text: Animal feed
  
  Maize is a major source of animal feed. As a grain crop, the dried kernels are used as feed. They are often kept on the cob for storage in a corn crib, or they may be shelled off for storage in a grain bin. When the grain is used for feed, the rest of the plant (the corn stover) can be used later as fodder, bedding (litter), or soil conditioner. When the whole maize plant (grain plus stalks and leaves) is used for fodder, it is usually chopped and made into silage, as this is more digestible and more palatable to ruminants than the dried form. Traditionally, maize was gathered into shocks after harvesting, where it dried further. It could then be stored for months until fed to livestock. Silage can be made in silos or in silage wrappers. In the tropics, maize is harvested year-round and fed as green forage to the animals. Baled cornstalks offer an alternative to hay for animal feed, alongside direct grazing of maize grown for this purpose.