Need help from a farmer

[pyrocyz]

What is stover?

corn stalks, cobs and leaves


Basically what is left after you harvest the corn from a field.

[yoteforever]

So I am trying to estimate the number of jobs and workers it would take to harvest corn stover for a biomass application.

How many acres can someone harvest in an 8 hour day? How many acres of hay, large bales, (and number of bales bales) can you get through in an 8 hour day (this can be hay or stover)?

Thanks

Average sized combine and head = 6-7 acres / hour

I am assuming when you say large bales you mean the round bales, and not square. In an 8 hour day I bet you could bale up to 50 bales. That doesn't allow time to move them.

[yoteforever]

Average sized combine and head = 6-7 acres / hour

I am assuming when you say large bales you mean the round bales, and not square. In an 8 hour day I bet you could bale up to 50 bales. That doesn't allow time to move them.

Also, you will bale stover at a faster pace than hay. Not sure if you needed the hay number

[FarminCy]

Ok, rough estimate: 24 row corn head and a good day about 20 ac/hr.

Not even an option, Lexion has made a 20 row head but i'm not aware of any 60 foot corn heads.

My basic rule of thumb is 20 foot head will do on average 60 acres a day, when averaging good and bad days.

So start with that and go up from there for bigger head sizes, i.e. 12 row head will do 90 etc.

[FarminCy]

Basically when it comes down to it, most economics being run on corn stover collection say that it will cost approximately $70/ dry ton. Lets assume that it is a dry year and your stover is sitting at 30% moisture. That equates to about $53/wet ton and a lot of people think that you could remove between 1.5 and 2 tons per acre sustainably. At 1.5 tons/acre you are looking at about $80/ acre for a farmer.

The challenge in my mind will be a wet year when farmers are hard pressed to get their corn out. Then you will have to pay a premium to convince them to go back and get the stover. Thats where single pass bailing could be an asset (which by the way ISU is developing a couple different technologies on how to implement this). That way you could collect your stover while you are harvesting your crop.

Which I have yet to meet a fellow farmer who thinks this is a good idea. Count me as one who thinks it would be a logistical nightmare to do this and would slow down harvest more than what it would benefit.

[cowboycurtis]

Just got the skinny from my buddy down the road. You got me curious on this also. He gets $12 dollars a bale. He can bale 20-25 bales in an hour and gets 2 bales an acre pulling of around 75% of the stover on unchopped corn stalks. If the stalks were chopped you would be looking at 90% of the stover removed. He gets $10/acre for windrowing the stover.

Any other questions?

[pyrocyz]

Thanks for all of the help. I appreciate being able to get opinions from people on this site.

I don't know whether or not Corn Stover will become a new commodity, but selfishly I hope that it does. There is a lot that can be done with it (other than burning it or making fuels out of it). I think that if we could find a way to make it work economically and logistically then it could be a good second source of income for the farmers in Iowa.

[RandomFan]

Not even an option, Lexion has made a 20 row head but i'm not aware of any 60 foot corn heads.

My basic rule of thumb is 20 foot head will do on average 60 acres a day, when averaging good and bad days.

So start with that and go up from there for bigger head sizes, i.e. 12 row head will do 90 etc.

My apologies, I speak in 15" rows.

[cowboycurtis]

Wheat harvest in Austraila video. Baling wheat straw behind the combine. Kinda cool.

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=anqGtsl29R0&feature=related]YouTube - Harvest Glenvar 2007 - Wheat Australia big lexion[/ame]

[FarminCy]

My apologies, I speak in 15" rows.

I thought about that after posting. We are all 20 inch so when I throw row numbers around sometimes people look at me weird too and then I say we are 20" and all confusion is cleared.

[chadm]

Wheat harvest in Austraila video. Baling wheat straw behind the combine. Kinda cool.

YouTube - Harvest Glenvar 2007 - Wheat Australia big lexion

The picking up of the bales is an amazing way of doing that. Very clever person to create that machine.

I am assuming that the baler behind the combine is self-powered? And the tank on the back is for fuel?

As for the origianl post. It would be good to get some use from the stover, but I don't see cellulose ethanal working.

[Cyfan4good]

What is stover?

Hope this helps. I guess he's out in a cornfield somewhere from what I can gather from all this....

[pyrocyz]

The picking up of the bales is an amazing way of doing that. Very clever person to create that machine.

I am assuming that the baler behind the combine is self-powered? And the tank on the back is for fuel?

As for the origianl post. It would be good to get some use from the stover, but I don't see cellulose ethanol working.

I have my doubts as well and that's why I am making other things out of the stover.

[Boxerdaddy]

Wheat harvest in Austraila video. Baling wheat straw behind the combine. Kinda cool.

YouTube - Harvest Glenvar 2007 - Wheat Australia big lexion

That's pretty slick. Doesn't take very long to fill up that bale wagon. I'd like to know how fast he was driving that thing...looks like he was hauling ace.