Decades ago, nearly all farmers would run some sort of flail chopper or heavy spindle mower over their freshly combined corn fields. Why? It made them look neat, and it reduced the length of some of the corn stalks so that when the plows hit the fields in the spring (and sometimes in the fall), the operation of chisel or moldboard plowing was more easily accomplished. Fields looked "clean"! Is it still necessary to mow or chop corn stalks?
A few facts about the costs of stalk chopping should be obvious. It takes a fair amount of labor to accomplish, it adds wear and tear to the tractor and the implement being used to chop stalks, and it burns diesel which is increasingly expensive. Further, field surfaces with chopped stalks are more prone to loss of some of that shredded fodder, along with topsoil and fertility nutrients, during heavy rainfall events, a more common occurrence than decades ago.
One farmer commented recently that leaving corn stalks standing has numerous benefits for him. Non-chopped corn stalk fields often already have plenty of residue on the soil surface to protect it from winter water erosion, and the taller stalks can catch leaves and husks that might otherwise be blown off fields. With many of the tougher and thicker stalk bases remaining vertical until planting, there is less residue on the field surface for the drill or planter to have to plant through.
Source: psu.edu
Photo Credit: gettyimages-klosfoto
Categories: Pennsylvania, Crops, Corn