The Process for baling straw . . .

mark.r · Mar 6, 2008

For those of you that bale straw as well as hay, what is your process? Meaning I know the difference between the two (hay and straw) but when you bale your straw so start out from the beginning with goal of baling straw? For example, do you plant oats, wheat, etc. and then are your renting that field out to someone with a combine who harvests the product? If so what'st he next step in the process, it's already been cut so is raking the next step etc.

What's the process for baling straw (or mulch hay for that matter)?

Farmwithjunk · Mar 7, 2008

Straw is the leftover by-product from combining cereal grains. (Wheat, Barley, Oats, ect) It's reached a stage of "dryness" while standing, in order to get a dry grain product. Typically, the combine will be run WITHOUT employing a straw chopper when baling is planned. Straw choppers are at the very tail end of the combine. They shred what is coming out the back of the combine to speed in decomposition when that leftover ISN'T going to be used. In a few instances, folks will bale after chopping, but that yields a poorer quality straw.

"Mulch hay" is typically over-ripe hay, hay that's been rained on and isn't of sufficient quality to be used as feed, or baled weeds. In other words, junk hay.

Generally speaking, straw is cut with the plant already dried while standing, while hay is usually cut while the plant is growing and has some moisture,(also some nutrient value) then allowed to dry while laying on the ground.

Usually there isn't much, if any raking to be done. The straw exits the combine and falls in a windrow that is sufficient to bale "as is".

mark.r · Mar 7, 2008

Farmwithjunk said:
Typically, the combine will be run WITHOUT employing a straw chopper when baling is planned. Straw choppers are at the very tail end of the combine. They shred what is coming out the back of the combine to speed in decomposition when that leftover ISN'T going to be used. In a few instances, folks will bale after chopping, but that yields a poorer quality straw.

Usually there isn't much, if any raking to be done. The straw exits the combine and falls in a windrow that is sufficient to bale "as is".

Thanks! This is where I was getting confused since I can't remember ever seeing an harvester running an not shredding. But I guess that probably wasn't always the case. I must have assumed that since the "left-over" was coming out the back that it was all the same.

So in order to bale straw specifically, you really need to find a local farmer who is going to be harvesting some sort of grain and make an agreement to team with him?

Farmwithjunk · Mar 7, 2008

mark.r said:
So in order to bale straw specifically, you really need to find a local farmer who is going to be harvesting some sort of grain and make an agreement to team with him?

That would be one way. Many farmers bale the straw themselves. There's usually a good market for it. However, in many cases where it ISN'T baled, farmers choose to shred it and let it decompose as a sort of "cheap fertilizer". Good chance you'll have to pay that farmer something in return for baling his straw OR bale on shares, leaving a percentage of it for his own use/sale. A few years I grew wheat when wheat prices were a joke. I grew it because baled straw was a better "commodity" to sell. (I had a couple landscape contractors that bought every bit I had)

Robert_in_NY · Mar 7, 2008

Just to add to what Bill said, there are two types of harvesting processes employed by combines. The original style is a walker while the new style that everyone has gone to is a rotary. Rotary machines tend to chew the straw up but give a cleaner grain sample and get more of the grain then a walker will. However, a walker will give you nice long straw that is easy to bale and usually more desireable for buyers.

Egon · Mar 7, 2008

Another footnote:

Some agricultural areas have shorter growing seasons. In these areas a swather with usually a crimper is used to cut the grain and lay it down in windrows for drying. When dry a combine with a pickup attachment will harvest the swaths.

Note: These swaths make great hiding places when hunting geese and ducks in the fall!

mark.r · Mar 7, 2008

Thanks for the replies. Robert, what have you been doing for your source of straw to bale in your area?

jimg · Mar 7, 2008

IIRC Robert I thought you put in oats for straw very recently b/c some of your customers were asking for it.

Robert_in_NY · Mar 7, 2008

jimg, you are correct. I planted oats a couple years ago as that is what the mill wanted. Last year I didn't have the time to plant any straw crop. And I am not sure about this year either given my back right now

Mark, I plant, harvest and bale my own products. I do bale my friends straw for him every year also but I do not harvest his rye. He has another friend with a modern setup harvest for him.

jimg · Mar 7, 2008

Robert,
Did you work on a contract basis w/ the mill or was the planting speculative? Id be interested in details like who paid for seed & fertilizer. Was it spelled out who got what part of the crop?

Robert_in_NY · Mar 7, 2008

jimg said:
Robert,
Did you work on a contract basis w/ the mill or was the planting speculative? Id be interested in details like who paid for seed & fertilizer. Was it spelled out who got what part of the crop?

I asked the mill what product they wanted as I didn't want to plant wheat like everyone else and not have a strong market when I went to harvest because everyone else was harvesting their wheat also. Barley is the one crop the mill really wanted but Oats suited my operation better.

I bought my seed thru two different mills and by doing so was locked in to sell to either of them. I paid for all the expenses myself including fertilizer and trucking. But when the time came to sell the oats I asked both mills what they were paying and sold to the closest dealer which was paying a fraction less but was 30 miles closer.

jimg · Mar 7, 2008

Thanx! How did you find out about the mills needs? How many acres did you plant and was that dictated by the mill? Were the oats used for feed or something else? Did you pass on the barley b/c of the straw characteristics or something else?

Robert_in_NY · Mar 7, 2008

I asked the mill what they wanted. We buy our feed from them as well as seed and a few other items. I planted 30 acres and that was because that was the land I had available at the time. The mill doesn't have much to do with what I farm. I only asked them because I didn't want to plant a crop they didn't need or want. The oats most likely went into feed there as they are a feed mill mainly. The reason I passed on doing barley is for a couple reasons. First, the potential income from the grain was higher then barley. Second, oat straw was more desirable then barley straw. Barley straw has some uses and a lot of people have started using the straw in ponds for algae control but that is a very limited market.

If this is something you are interested in go to your local mill and talk to them about it. You will need a buyer for your crop and if you buy your seed from them they will (well around here they will) buy your crop. If you do not buy from them or have no other dealings with them they will only buy your crop if they need it and after their regular customers crops are in. The mill will tell you what they are looking for and from there you can do the reserach into what varieties will grow on your ground and what type of yields you can expect. Do the math and figure out what works best for you and the mill.

Mickey_Fx · Mar 7, 2008

Bailing straw is big business in this area. No disagreement with prior comments but wanted to add, "straw" can be more than left overs from harvesting grain.

Oregon is a MAJOR producer of grass seed and the residue left over after running through the combine is baled and much of it is exported to the far East. This "straw" can be thought of more like a over mature grass hay crop. Wheather exported or not, part of the grass seed production process is to burn the field after harvest. State no longer permits to just set the field on fire (too much smoke) so all grass straw is bailed. For that not sold it will be stacked the the stack set on fire (burns hot and fairly quick without a lot of smoke). Fields are very dry, a field burner has been run over the field to sterialize/shock the field and within 2 weeks you will be seeing the field turning green again and no irrigation has taken place.

The grass is cut with a swather, left to dry for a few days before the combine comes in and runs through the field. A similar process is done for the sugar beet seed crop.

jimg · Mar 7, 2008

Robert,
Thanx for the details. Im not familiar w/ any feed mills around here but Im sure they exist. I looked at wheat briefly and the mill calls all the shots/supplies inputs...much like raising chicks. IIRC they also set the price and penalties for producing less than x BU/ac. That was the reason for most of my questions...to see how similar it was to my only exposure to grain production.

I think being a local source for straw would be a BIG advantage. The part Im not sure about is what to do w/ the grain. I also thought some about oat hay. In the end I think that would be easiest and most profitable(?) b/c I can do the harvest myself and theres a more than ready market.

Robert_in_NY · Mar 7, 2008

jimg said:
Robert,
Thanx for the details. Im not familiar w/ any feed mills around here but Im sure they exist. I looked at wheat briefly and the mill calls all the shots/supplies inputs...much like raising chicks. IIRC they also set the price and penalties for producing less than x BU/ac. That was the reason for most of my questions...to see how similar it was to my only exposure to grain production.

I think being a local source for straw would be a BIG advantage. The part Im not sure about is what to do w/ the grain. I also thought some about oat hay. In the end I think that would be easiest and most profitable(?) b/c I can do the harvest myself and theres a more than ready market.

You sell the grain to the elevator or mill which ever you have close and wants to buy it. Usually your seed dealer will be able to tell you about your area and who buys so you can go talk direct to them and make sure you have a market before you plant.

mark.r · Mar 7, 2008

Great information, I simply wanted to know how the hole straw process begins and it turn into quite a little classroom session. Good stuff.

Robert in your situation or someone similar who only plants a relatively small amount, what do you use to harvest? I can't see running a combine being the most economical solution. I remember a while back they use to make those pull behind harvesters but I haven't seen those for years. I only see corn choppers in that variant now.

I'd also like to get a good hand on where the local construction/contractor companies are purchasing their straw/mulch hay in my area. I need to start doing some snooping.

Robert_in_NY · Mar 7, 2008

mark.r said:
Great information, I simply wanted to know how the hole straw process begins and it turn into quite a little classroom session. Good stuff.

Robert in your situation or someone similar who only plants a relatively small amount, what do you use to harvest? I can't see running a combine being the most economical solution. I remember a while back they use to make those pull behind harvesters but I haven't seen those for years. I only see corn choppers in that variant now.

I'd also like to get a good hand on where the local construction/contractor companies are purchasing their straw/mulch hay in my area. I need to start doing some snooping.

I run a John Deere 3300 combine to harvest my grain. You can usually hire someone to harvest but most custom guys are running rotary machines now which chews the straw up. You can find older combines in good condition fairly cheap. I paid $1k for my 3300 with a 10' platform and a 2 row corn head. I brought the platform home myself and hired a lowboy to get the combine. So I have roughly $2k tied up in it right now. The going rate for custom harvesting has climbed over $40 an acre now so at that rate my machine will easily pay for itself and I can harvest when I want to not when the custom guy can get to me. Plus my 3300 is a walker machine so it doesn't chew the straw up making nice long straw for baling. The rotary machines are a little harder to bale behind if you are trying to get the best sample possible as it will chew the straw up to almost a powder. If you back the settings off so you don't get as much grain you will get a little better straw but still not as good a straw as the walker.

The pull type machines died off a while ago. There is a small International on Ebay right now (I think it is on Ebay still). But the problem with most of the pull types is making sure there are parts available for them.

Farmwithjunk · Mar 7, 2008

mark.r said:
Great information, I simply wanted to know how the hole straw process begins and it turn into quite a little classroom session. Good stuff.

Robert in your situation or someone similar who only plants a relatively small amount, what do you use to harvest? I can't see running a combine being the most economical solution. I remember a while back they use to make those pull behind harvesters but I haven't seen those for years. I only see corn choppers in that variant now.

I'd also like to get a good hand on where the local construction/contractor companies are purchasing their straw/mulch hay in my area. I need to start doing some snooping.

See if any local farmers would be interested in renting a few acres from you, growing a wheat crop, and you bale the straw.

If you're interested in a pull-type combine, either the Allis Chalmers ALL CROP, or most of the John Deere models still have most parts available. You'll have to have a way to handle the harvested grain. (truck/trailer/gravity wagon/ect)