Large amount Coppiced hedgerows for Biomass-- Value???

[Goweresque]

if you can afford to burn the very stuff you sell (carbon) then carry on

Have you not heard of the carbon cycle? All the carbon in biomass comes from the air, from the CO2 in it, not from the soil. And as we are repeatedly told, there's an excess of CO2 right now.

https://www.canr.msu.edu/news/where_do_trees_get_their_mass_from

So me burning a load of brushwood merely returns carbon to the atmosphere that the trees had extracted from it in the first place. And leaves me with some nutrients in the form of the ash.

 

[Farmersdaughter]

Have you not heard of the carbon cycle? All the carbon in biomass comes from the air, from the CO2 in it, not from the soil. And as we are repeatedly told, there's an excess of CO2 right now.

https://www.canr.msu.edu/news/where_do_trees_get_their_mass_from

So me burning a load of brushwood merely returns carbon to the atmosphere that the trees had extracted from it in the first place. And leaves me with some nutrients in the form of the ash.

Yes but carbon in the soil has all sorts of benefits. The carbon is been taken from the air, but has stored the sun's energy in the wood. If you just burn it you are wasting that energy. If you can return that carbon to the soil it can improve soil structure, help water infiltration, provide food and a home to soil microbes which will help make nutrients available to your crops.

 

[Clive]

Have you not heard of the carbon cycle? All the carbon in biomass comes from the air, from the CO2 in it, not from the soil. And as we are repeatedly told, there's an excess of CO2 right now.

https://www.canr.msu.edu/news/where_do_trees_get_their_mass_from

So me burning a load of brushwood merely returns carbon to the atmosphere that the trees had extracted from it in the first place. And leaves me with some nutrients in the form of the ash.

...... where to start !

I’m well are of the carbon cycle, I even won some “soil carbon farmer of the year” thingy a couple years ago I also aware of climate change and the contribution co2 is making ..... .But in summary

Carbon in the air is a bad thing

Carbon in the soil is a good thing

As farmers we can do a lot tot help but not by lighting bonfires that’s for sure !

 

[Kevtherev]

I’ve asked many folk do they want the timber from tree shears work and hedge saw work.
No one seems to want it.

 

[woodworm]

Would be very interested if there was such a machine. We have very big hedges that have not been cut for over 15 years. They are too big now and would like to reduce them. There is a lot of biomass there and ideally I would like to try composing with the slurry from the dairy to add organic matter to land. Allowing hedges to grow bigger and havesting there biomass is something that could be useful on a lot of farms if the right machinery is available. It would also benefit the wildlife compared to hedges that are constantly bashed by standard hedge cutters.

Certainly a service we can supply at Suffolk Woodchips - as long as we dont have to deal with mile upon mile of barbed wire and chicken mesh fencing!

 

[woodworm]

Totally useless unless dried as chopped green wood in large amounts will self combust.

Not the case when done properly

 

[woodworm]

why do you say that? Plenty will take chip for a few £ / ton. If its dried then it has a value to some but not many boilers - your average chip boiler will not want hedgerow clippings! they like the centre of each log with no bark / leaf / twig content and the perfect shape with no fines or long thin bits, or big bits...

someone with a batch boiler will burn it dry though.

We'd take it green if its not too far away and there is enough of it

 

[woodworm]

Even in smaller quantities the green wood will warm and go mouldy. Only real way of dealing with it properly is to dry and season pre chipping but who wants it littered across their fields???? Not me anyhow

We buy large quantities of fresh chip and dont give it chance to go mouldy

 

[renewablejohn]

I’ve asked many folk do they want the timber from tree shears work and hedge saw work.
No one seems to want it.

Pity your not nearer me as I would take all I could get my hands on. As woodworm says there is ways of using it and the process I use is one of them.

 

[farmerm]

Nooooo ! That’s carbon your burning

Compost and spread it !

It amazes me that as farmers we often can’t see we have the perfect mechanism to turn “waste” into something “financially viable” when I see a fire like that I juts see a big heap of really rich soil being thrown away

How do I you compost it? I had a large pile sitting 12 months before I burnt it and it had done chuff all composting.

 

[farmerm]

Pity your not nearer me as I would take all I could get my hands on. As woodworm says there is ways of using it and the process I use is one of them.

Does it involve burning dry material in order to dry it, then using it to dry the next pile, whilst all the time claiming RHI payments for all the carbon you are saving...

 

[renewablejohn]

Does it involve burning dry material in order to dry it, then using it to dry the next pile, whilst all the time claiming RHI payments for all the carbon you are saving...

Not at all its all solar themal drying totally renewable and no RHI anywhere.

 

[akaPABLO01]

Do you lot know what?

I’m sick of all this isolated bulls**t

Get together, create an app for biomass clearance or is everyone too selfish to work together?

We have a farmer @rollestonpark who has depth with computer knowledge. Can you create an app to harness a need of biomass clearance?

Yes I’ve ad a few brewskis hehe, seriously though.

 

[Clive]

How do I you compost it? I had a large pile sitting 12 months before I burnt it and it had done chuff all composting.

Chip or shred it and mix it with some FYM if avaible

Article about compost by @Simon C in the next issue of Direct driller magazine that’s well worth a read

 

[Clive]

I’ve asked many folk do they want the timber from tree shears work and hedge saw work.
No one seems to want it.

If closer I would have it all to compost

 

[B R C]

So are clippings from tree surgeons worth having?

 

[Farmersdaughter]

So are clippings from tree surgeons worth having?

All the tree surgeons around me have found a somewhere to sell there's so they must be worth having. I would like to have some but not organised enough to start trying to buy in.

 

[Jameshenry]

I've always thought if hedgewood could be somehow bailed up it would be a lot more useful as a product, i know there are brash bailers used in softwood forestrys, not sure they would work on hedgewood though, if it would ever be cost effective is probably doubtful,

 

[renewablejohn]

Do you lot know what?

I’m sick of all this isolated bullpoo

Get together, create an app for biomass clearance or is everyone too selfish to work together?

We have a farmer @rollestonpark who has depth with computer knowledge. Can you create an app to harness a need of biomass clearance?

Yes I’ve ad a few brewskis hehe, seriously though.

Why reinvent the wheel if you go on Arbtalk which is the tree surgeon equivalent to TFF they have an App that does precisely that. Obviously tree surgeons know that I provide the service within 25 miles of my farm and we have share farming agreements in place to make it work.

 

[renewablejohn]

I've always thought if hedgewood could be somehow bailed up it would be a lot more useful as a product, i know there are brash bailers used in softwood forestrys, not sure they would work on hedgewood though, if it would ever be cost effective is probably doubtful,

Most useful recent invention for processing hedges is the branch logger but still requires relatively clean hedge material but will handle the odd staple whereas a chipper suffers badly from the normal farm habit of securing wire to the hedge rather than a fence post.