| Chopping
your stalks while combining:
- Eliminates
a secondary chopping operation
- Does
a better job of chopping each stalk as it is harvested
- Allows
easy decomposition of stalk material during winter
- Exposes
corn borer in cut stalks to killing frost
- Promotes
even warm-up of soil
- Enhances
moisture retention in dry areas
- Allows
plug-free planting
European
farmers have long been faced with the need to chop
their higher moisture corn stalks to accelerate decomposition
of large amounts of residue. The late harvest season and the
rainy after-harvest weather complicated the secondary operation
to chop the stalks. This chopping operation incurred additional
costs: operator, fuel, chopper maintenance, depreciation and
wear and tear. So the European farmer requested a one-pass
operation - harvest and chop together. Our factory joined
the rescue team, and now the majority of corn heads sold in
Europe are equipped with integral stalk choppers.
No-til
farmers in the U.S. comment on the ease of planting
into decomposed stalks that have been shredded. Soil moisture
retention is enhanced when chopped stalk material is spread
unifomly over the ground, allowing spring sunshine to warm
the soil evenly. Borers can be exposed to killing cold temperatures
in stalks that are chopped.
|
Left
side of photo shows chopped
stalk material evenly spread
across the harvested corn rows.
The right side shows a field
harvested with a conventional
competitive corn head. Time
required for the decomposition of
organic material is greatly
reduced by finely chopping.
|
