Baling corn stalks

[Paul N]

I had a neighbor ask me to round bale some corn stalks for him, which I've never done before. I've heard that it's hard on a baler, so I'm kind of reluctant. The owners manual doesn't mention corn stalks. Does it take a different pressure setting than alfalfa, grass, or straw? Anyone out there have any advice? I have a NH BR7060 with net wrap.

 

[Tx Jim]

I've baled corn stalks with my JD 467 with no problems. I cut the stalks with a 15 ft batwing and then raked then with a 14 wheel rake. I've heard baling stalks causes premature wear but my baler still bales hay just fine at 17,000 plus bales.

 

[bjr]

What is the end purpose of baled cornstalks? Do they make animal feed? Or are the just easier to get off the field? bjr

 

[Paul N]

bjr, cornstalks are used primarily for bedding, but can be fed if your desperate. They have very low feed value.

Tx Jim, do you change the pressure setting on the belts?

 

[Tx Jim]

No I left the pressure the same. The corn stalks I baled were substituted for roughage during a drought.

 

[powerpace]

The corn stalks can be rough on tires. When we used to disk them under under they had to be soft. The R1 tires have a soft sidewall and the stalks would gouge the rubber. If you are running the rows it may not be as bad.

 

[kevin37b]

Biggest problem is keeping the pickup out of the dirt .

 

[Tx Jim]

Biggest problem is keeping the pickup out of the dirt .

Keeping pickup teeth out of dirt isn't a problem on my JD 467 as it has gauge wheels on both ends of pickup plus a crank height adjustment plus a hyd cylinder to raise/lower pickup.

 

[Paul N]

Keeping pickup teeth out of dirt isn't a problem on my JD 467 as it has gauge wheels on both ends of pickup plus a crank height adjustment plus a hyd cylinder to raise/lower pickup.

New Holland has the same setup, but there is still the stubble, and ridges left from combines and tractors, wagons etc. With today's GMO corn, those stalks are pretty tough. I decided to pass on this job.

 

[sixdogs]

I see the stubble as one of the greater issues. You aren't dealing with radials on your tractor or "stalk stompers" to flatten out the remaining stalk ahead of the tractor and will likely see some tire damage however little you do. Modern stalks are bred to be tough as nails so they stand a long time if harvest is late and don't blow over during the summer. Come spring around here nearly all of the stubble is still standing.

 

[new jersey mike]

Newbe here, Can corn stalks be sold as biomass material to a local processor?

 

[farmer2009]

Newbe here, Can corn stalks be sold as biomass material to a local processor?

They can as long as you have a processor close by. I would call and ask before baling any. Removing corn stalks from a field(baling or grazing) greatly increases the P&K removal of the crop so make sure you are replacing the removed nutrients.
Vermeer's manual has some adjustments to make to baler. One is the throat clearance and the other is to run PTO at 75% of rated. There maybe some other so check with the manual.

 

[AGRIMAN]

It you think corn stalks is bad, try baling peanut hay.

 

[Paul N]

It you think corn stalks is bad, try baling peanut hay.

None of us northerners are familiar with peanut hay. I would like to hear about it.

 

[Tx Jim]

Peanuts are grown in very sandy(sugar) soil. The vines are tough combined with the sand is very abrasive on a baler.

 

[Soggy Bottom Outdoors]

Okay here goes. Using the slid rule for "nutrient removal", which is what we use when making fertilizer recomendations, removing the "stover" or stalks from 180 bushel per acre corn will remove 66lbs of N, 14lbs of P2O5, and 60lbs of K2O. Using Urea, DAP, and Muriate at current prices (and rounding a bit). To replace the N removed will cost $30 per acre, to replace P2O5 will cost $5 per acre, and the K2O will cost $22 per acre. Of cost if the corn yielded more the replacement cost will be more and vice verse. So basically you will need to add $55-60 per acre of fertilizer to bring you back to where you were AND THEN ADD the fertilizer needed for next years crop.

 

[Paul N]

Add to that the cost of chopping, raking & baling. It makes me wonder if it's worth it. You will also be depleting the organic matter over a period of time. It's perfectly fine when it's used as bedding for your own livestock, and it ends up being spread back in your own field.

 

[AGRIMAN]

None of us northerners are familiar with peanut hay. I would like to hear about it.

As I'm sure you know, peanuts must be dug and flipped over to dry. The process for digging peanuts basically leaves the ground in a plowed state. After a few days in the sun, the peanuts are picked/combined and the hay is ready to bale. Just imagine running your baler through a 3 day old plowed field.

Sometimes you cannot see the baler behind the tractor, the PTO shaft just disappears into a cloud of dust. There no way to keep it totally out of the dirt, so you do end up running a lot of dirt through the baler. The hardest hit area is the pickup, but most of the newer belt balers handle it very well (you don't want to use an old chain baler). Peanut vines are tough and years ago we always square baled it, so you can imagine the amount of dirt on the knotters. It still did let damage to the baler than it did to you hauling it.

Peanuts "straw" makes excellent cow hay and I have often heard that it's close to alfalfa in its nutrient value, but I never really looked it up to confirm. I can tell you from personal experience that if you put a bale of your best coastal hay and a bale of peanut hay in same pasture, a cow will eat the peanut hay and lick the ground clean before even thinking about the coastal.

 

[AGRIMAN]

Peanuts are grown in very sandy(sugar) soil. The vines are tough combined with the sand is very abrasive on a baler.

Jim, I agree with you on the vines being tough and the dirt being abrasive, but in our part of the world very few peanuts are planted in sugar sandy soil. Maybe there’s a difference between our views on soil types, but in GA we have a lot clay.

From your picture, that was a nice size peanut field.

 

[Tx Jim]

I don't recall ever seeing peanuts grown in any other type soil other than sand here where I live. Back in the 60's - late 80's when I worked for a JD dealer a lot of acres of peanuts were grown but not very much now. I agree on the excellent quality of peanut hay. I remember sq peanut bale handlers wearing leather chaps to protect pants/legs from extreme abrasive stalks.