With P & K fert prices is it worth baling straw

bankrupt

Member
Location
EX17/20
Question the agronomist brought up yesterday
With a 0:24:24 ish type blend at c£475
Is it worth baling or should we chop chop chop
Your agronomist should have given you an answer rather than a question.

At £475//ton there's a simple break-even point at around £100/acre for straw value which the slug effect upon the subsequent crop may reduce to below zero
 
Last edited:

fudge

Member
Arable Farmer
Location
Lincolnshire.
Some soils can maintain high yields and K indices without any application of k fertilizer. Baling causes a large amount of compaction in a wet year zero compaction in a dry year. Reliable people do pay sufficient for me to continue selling in most years. Best to decide on a field by field/season by season basis really. Personally I view straw sales as a “bonus” rather than an integral part of a budget.
 

tr250

Member
Location
Northants
We bale every acre but we have livestock that need every acre. If I was you I’d probably chop for simplicity’s sake unless you have a livestock man next door who you get on with. And or maybe he gets desperate enough for straw that he can afford to pay more than you can for ground so then it may become his choice
 

curlietailz

Member
Arable Farmer
Location
Sedgefield
Your agronomist should have given you an answer rather than a question.

At £475//ton there's a simple break-even point at around £100/acre for straw value which the slug effect upon the subsequent crop may reduce to below zero

we bale all the winter barley straw
Local lads bale and cart it immediately and clear the field
We have a straw for muck deal on some of the winter wheat straw where the muck boy gets as much straw as he needs and we get all his muck back
Rest or wheat, spring stuff and rape is all chopped

so I think that’s a good balance
A bit of everything

agronomist wants to convince me it’s best to chop everything
 

Steevo

Member
Location
Gloucestershire
Depends what price you can sell your straw for, and what price you put on vehicles removing the straw and vehicles applying replacement nutrient.

According to PDA:

A hectare of winter cereal straw from an 8 t/ha wheat crop is estimated to contain:

  • 8 (t/ha) x 0.6 = 4.8 kg P2O5/ha
  • 8 (t/ha) x 4.8 = 38.4 kg K2O/ha
  • 8 (t/ha) x 0.6 = 4.8 kg MgO/ha

An application of 0.24.24 at 160kg/ha would supply all the K and 8x the P. At £475/t then that's £76/ha, or £30/ac in product value, minus spreading cost.
 

Renaultman

Member
Arable Farmer
Location
Darlington
we bale all the winter barley straw
Local lads bale and cart it immediately and clear the field
We have a straw for muck deal on some of the winter wheat straw where the muck boy gets as much straw as he needs and we get all his muck back
Rest or wheat, spring stuff and rape is all chopped

so I think that’s a good balance
A bit of everything

agronomist wants to convince me it’s best to chop everything
Definitely a no brainer on the muck for straw deal. On the sale stuff I'm thinking if I can buy poultry muck and sell the straw with a decent margin in my favour I would do that.
 

e3120

Member
Mixed Farmer
Location
Northumberland
Depends what price you can sell your straw for, and what price you put on vehicles removing the straw and vehicles applying replacement nutrient.

According to PDA:

A hectare of winter cereal straw from an 8 t/ha wheat crop is estimated to contain:

  • 8 (t/ha) x 0.6 = 4.8 kg P2O5/ha
  • 8 (t/ha) x 4.8 = 38.4 kg K2O/ha
  • 8 (t/ha) x 0.6 = 4.8 kg MgO/ha

An application of 0.24.24 at 160kg/ha would supply all the K and 8x the P. At £475/t then that's £76/ha, or £30/ac in product value, minus spreading cost.
The bit I've highlighted in the middle has confused me. I read it as an 8t grain crop would contain.... The straw yield is more likely to be circa 4t, halving the nutrient removal and replacement costs. But I don't immediately recognise 'PDA' so don't know the context.
 

Steevo

Member
Location
Gloucestershire
The bit I've highlighted in the middle has confused me. I read it as an 8t grain crop would contain.... The straw yield is more likely to be circa 4t, halving the nutrient removal and replacement costs. But I don't immediately recognise 'PDA' so don't know the context.

That’s the figures for the straw only from an 8t/ha grain yield crop. Grain and straw together would be a lot more.

PDA are Potash Development Association.
 

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