How agriculture works thread

[Creamer]

I see the three farm owned machines have stripper headers. Very interesting header when you are thinking about combines.

 

[ArlyA]

I see the three farm owned machines have stripper headers. Very interesting header when you are thinking about combines.

One of the videos I postd this week (I believe in Indiana) they used strippers, then in the same field and at the same time they were cutting and baling the wheat straw.

 

[sixdogs]

Hillside combining in Switzerland. That is really, really some hills they are doing! Or paste this onto Ytube

Wheat Harvest on the abyss Cabview | Special Combine Harvester Deutz-Fahr M35.75 ​

Those are some serious slopes.

 

[sixdogs]

Most likely the price. I have no idea what people do with wheat straw.

In the old days of 10 years ago the straw sat sunbaked in the field for a few weeks and then was begrudgingly baled into small squares and almost given away to get rid of it. Some burned it in the fields if they could.

These days we have much shorter wheat varieties to deal with so straw production is minimal and it is often just left in the field or maybe baled into small squares for the landscape industry or for animal bedding.

 

[sixdogs]

Wheat field fire in Montcalm County, Michigan just a few days ago caught on a drone cam.

Amazing video. I wonder if the TIER4 tractors with their forced regeneration cycles have started many crop fires?

The big fear around here is corn stubble, meaning the stuff left after the harvest. it is very flammable and a fire in that is hard to put out because of the residual corn stalk stubble. They have to burn to a road and hope that holds it. Even bean field stubble can burn and I almost had one get away from me last year. Caught it just as it was gaining momentum.

 

[buckeyefarmer]

Wheat field fire in Montcalm County, Michigan just a few days ago caught on a drone cam.

They were hurrying to get it picked ahead of the fire.

 

[ArlyA]

They were hurrying to get it picked ahead of the fire.

They of course are combining, not picking.

 

[ovrszd]

In the old days of 10 years ago the straw sat sunbaked in the field for a few weeks and then was begrudgingly baled into small squares and almost given away to get rid of it. Some burned it in the fields if they could.

These days we have much shorter wheat varieties to deal with so straw production is minimal and it is often just left in the field or maybe baled into small squares for the landscape industry or for animal bedding.

And there is a lot smaller demand for animal bedding with the new confinement method of stock care.

 

[5030]

They of course are combining, not picking.

Picking refers to vegetable (truck farming) You harvest cereal grains as well as field corn. Everything is in the descriptive terms.

 

[5030]

And there is a lot smaller demand for animal bedding with the new confinement method of stock care.

However, the demand for baled wheat straw (usually in rounds) is still quite good because cattle farmers and dairy operators use wheat straw with the addition of other grains in their tub grinders to make feed. Tub grinders aren't just for shredding old tires... Wheat straw in rounds is easily introduced into a tub grinder. Like I said previously, one guy down the road does nothing but round bale wheat straw in net and sells it to local cattle ops and dairy ops. He's especially busy in the winter months delivering it by the semi load. He contract bales everything, owns very little ground himself.