The production of cotton plant stalks is estimated to be 43.5 million tons per year. Cotton stalks contain about 46 per cent of alpha cellulose and about 26 per cent lignin. The current use in Vidarbha region is restricted to pelletization and as a biomass-fuel. The third consecutive drought year in Maharashtra has brought tremendous stress on the availability of animal feed. Therefore converting cotton stalks as animal feed can bring in the required value addition for the framers in stress. The current best value addition through biomass fuel utilization fetches a price of Rs 6000/ton. Animal-feed opportunity is beyond Rs. 20,000/ton. Any secondary revenue to the farmers will go a long way in the financial sustenance of the small farmers. Additionally, the drought faced in the successive third year in Maharashtra has created stressful-living. The amelioration of cotton-stalks as feed will improve animal nutrition and influence milk-availability for the local communities. Poor degradability by the rumen micro-organisms is suggested as the main obstacle to using cotton straw as animal feed. Unlike the Gramineae straws, the permanganate-lignin content of which is in the range of 5-10 per cent, cotton straw may contain up to 22 per cent lignin. The combined effect of bio-chemical and physical methods are needed to convert agri-residue into animal feed and for the `in-vitro’ testing of the nutrition impact of pre-treatment of cotton-stalks. Out of 40 million tons of the available cotton-stalk, even if 5 per cent gets converted into this value-added `animal-feed’ it will provide financial sustenance relief to cotton growers.