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When a corn plant is stunted, or not growing normally, nitrates can build up in the plant. Typically nitrogen that is taken up by the corn plant is converted to amino acids — the building blocks of protein — but in the stressed plant this conversion does not occur. And that's why producers need to know how to handle and feed drought-damaged corn in silage form, according to Steve Ensley of Iowa State University's Veterinary Diagnostic and Production Animal Medicine (VDPAM) department.