Chopping wheat straw

Mr Tree · May 30, 2022

Hi

We’ve always been a straw selling farm.

systems are changing fertiliser more expensive but so is diesel!!

what are the pros and cons of just turning the chopper on ?

Who chops and who sells? ( I understand mixed farmers will need their own straw)

Im thinking of chopping all the wheat straw .
What fertiliser contribution will it give over time ?

Cheers

curlietailz · May 30, 2022

We always chopped
But after reintroducing barley back into the rotation we bale all the barley and chop much of the wheat
Personally I’d rather chop
The OM is needed on our clay soil and in a wet time the rain delay and compaction caused outweighs the cost of chopping

we do muck for straw now so the pig man gets as much as he needs but I’d still prefer the simpler life of chopping everything !

Mr Tree · May 30, 2022

I’m moving to a stewardship/spring system for various reasons.

what nutrition value have you worked out that a 3 3/4 crop of wheat puts back in the soil?

7610 super q · May 30, 2022

How much extra diesel does a combine use with the chopper switched on ? I bet it's less than baling, loading, carting, stacking, reloading......... ( assuming it's done by the grower that is ).

ollie989898 · May 30, 2022

I would bale the lot, even OSR haulm. However I would want some form of dung or the like coming back. On clay ground you cannot beat a heavy dose of FYM.

Mr Tree · May 30, 2022

ollie989898 said:
I would bale the lot, even OSR haulm. However I would want some form of dung or the like coming back. On clay ground you cannot beat a heavy dose of FYM.

That’s the problem
I’m struggling to get manure now
We went out of cows a few years back to concentrate on other business areas which has certainly in our case been the correct decision.

However we have a reasonably sized arable farm and predominantly clay/opencast that needs organic matter

Thats why I ‘want’ and need to put stuff back on and the easiest is chopping but I wanted others opinions on the benefits etc

My plan is to chop leave to rot and mineralise and leave fallow until the following cropping year

only chopping wheat and removing barley straw

Mr Tree · May 30, 2022

7610 super q said:
How much extra diesel does a combine use with the chopper switched on ? I bet it's less than baling, loading, carting, stacking, reloading......... ( assuming it's done by the grower that is ).

Not sure
That’s why I asked as it would be a relatively new system chopping wheat to me
I’m wanting the nutrition benefits for the next following straw crop

ollie989898 · May 30, 2022

Mr Tree said:
That’s the problem
I’m struggling to get manure now
We went out of cows a few years back to concentrate on other business areas which has certainly in our case been the correct decision.

However we have a reasonably sized arable farm and predominantly clay/opencast that needs organic matter

Thats why I ‘want’ and need to put stuff back on and the easiest is chopping but I wanted others opinions on the benefits etc

My plan is to chop leave to rot and mineralise and leave fallow until the following cropping year

only chopping wheat and removing barley straw

Would putting in forage crops and the like not suit our very own Unlacedgecko?

I do think straw chopped and going back is useful, particularly for people on land like yourself but it can be difficult in terms of establishment some seasons.

D14 · May 30, 2022

Mr Tree said:
Hi

We’ve always been a straw selling farm.

systems are changing fertiliser more expensive but so is diesel!!

what are the pros and cons of just turning the chopper on ?

Who chops and who sells? ( I understand mixed farmers will need their own straw)

Im thinking of chopping all the wheat straw .
What fertiliser contribution will it give over time ?

Cheers

Very roughly if you chop wheat straw you are putting back about 5-7kg/ha of P, 40-50kg/ha K and 5-7kg of Mag for a 8-10t/ha wheat crop. Nitrogen is none existent because you need nitrogen to break the straw down into organic matter so whatever the straw leaves your using anyway if not a bit more out of the soil.

ollie989898 · May 30, 2022

D14 said:
Very roughly if you chop wheat straw you are putting back about 5-7kg/ha of P, 40-50kg/ha K and 5-7kg of Mag for a 8-10t/ha wheat crop. Nitrogen is none existent because you need nitrogen to break the straw down into organic matter so whatever the straw leaves your using anyway if not a bit more out of the soil.

Agreed. Chopping the straw is fine but would go far better if sewage sludge or digestate was available locally as well so there is some residual N in the system to help break down the straw.

solo · May 30, 2022

Chopping used to use about a gallon an acre on the old combine but not sure on the current one.

snarling bee · May 31, 2022

Don't they say the chopper takes 100HP on a big combine, thats 20% of power so 20% of fuel . 5l/ha??
On a power hungry rotary it doesn't half reduce your output when chopping.

thorpe · May 31, 2022

snarling bee said:
Don't they say the chopper takes 100HP on a big combine, thats 20% of power so 20% of fuel . 5l/ha??
On a power hungry rotary it doesn't half reduce your output when chopping.

glad ive not got a big combine then! tucano 430 here chopping dosnt seem to put it about much!

Flatlander · Jun 1, 2022

I’ve chopped virtually everything for the past twenty years The soil here can get very tight without organic matter incorporated into it. I believe chopping straw does use N to breakdown for a couple of years but once the cycle get up and running the organic matter will release N once soil temperature raises going into late spring. Also my soil works easier and doesn’t get as compacted with the higher OM. The fuel used to chop is a small price to pay fir the long term soil health rewards.

snarling bee · Jun 1, 2022

thorpe said:
glad ive not got a big combine then! tucano 430 here chopping dosnt seem to put it about much!

Profi did a video of a Lexion 600 vs 3 x Averos or whatever they are. Each Avero was 1/3 size of the Lexion in HP, width, fuel use, output, etc etc. but per tonne or acre they were the same.

Its all relative.

I'm sure the chopper on your Tucano uses 50 HP but you only do 1/2 the tonnage in a day etc etc.

I would happily have 2 300 HP 20' combines, rather than one 600 HP, 40', but the logistics just don't make sense. And I would need another driver.

Flatlander · Jun 1, 2022

snarling bee said:
Profi did a video of a Lexion 600 vs 3 x Averos or whatever they are. Each Avero was 1/3 size of the Lexion in HP, width, fuel use, output, etc etc. but per tonne or acre they were the same.

snarling bee said:
Don't they say the chopper takes 100HP on a big combine, thats 20% of power so 20% of fuel . 5l/ha??
On a power hungry rotary it doesn't half reduce your output when chopping.

it would draw the 100hp. On my lexion chopping straw take a good drop of fuel each day. You can really notice then the crop get very dry. Wheat at 11 12 % fuel is less fir sure. Modern combines do actually chop straw too not like the tickle and spread of yesteryear.

JT Thomas · Jun 11, 2022

Bale it, then get the next crop in asap. Grow a cover crop of oats or rape and graze it with sheep. Then put the next cash crop in winter or spring . It’s way we do it in NZ and works very well.

Daniel · Jun 11, 2022

We’ve some dreadful 2nd wheat where we chopped the straw, where we baled and removed the straw it looks good.

Chopping wheat straw

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