Location, tillage practices and crop rotations play a role in corn residue management needs.
Higher corn plant populations and tougher stalks can result in an overabundance of plant material, adding corn residue management to producers’ harvest-time activities.
Dustin Bollig, farmer and vice president of sales and marketing for Dragotec USA, says residue management decisions producers make in the fall can help set the stage for planting season.
“As more residue is broken down, more soil will be exposed in the spring, which helps increase soil temperature and may allow you to get in the field sooner,” Bollig says. “Smaller residue sizing helps bacteria break down tough stalks — especially in northern areas of the Corn Belt where temps are cooler and microbes have less time to work.
“Reducing excess residue also decreases your risk of yield-robbing diseases and pests that can overwinter there.” Proper corn residue management can also improve seed placement, emergence and uniformity across the field.
Handling corn residue at harvest
During harvest, the corn head functions as the front-line for controlling residue by processing stalks and limiting the amount of stover entering the combine. The combine plays a key role in the distribution of residue. It’s just as important to limit residue entering the combine as to limit the piles of residue left behind.
“In the past, fields that needed to be chopped required an operator, a tractor, a flail shedder and an additional pass across the field,” Bollig says. “Using a chopping head to shred and size stalks during harvest saves fuel, labor and time of an additional pass, as well as the depreciation, maintenance and cost of an additional machine.”
However, Bollig clarifies a chopping corn head isn’t for everyone. He says it’s an investment that requires careful consideration of climate and tillage practices.
“Many no-tillers shy away from this option. If corn residue isn’t mixed in with tillage it can blow away, or the residue can act like a mat and prevent soil from drying out in the spring,” he explains.
“Secondly, if you are in a warmer climate, chopping may be less necessary because higher temperatures accelerate the breakdown of stalks compared to cooler climates.”
Corn head residue management
According to Bollig, the key factor to consider when comparing chopping heads is the design of the unit.
“The most important job of any corn head is to harvest everything in the field no matter the condition, and the reality is we run into a lot of different conditions such as poor ear retention, leaning stalks or worse — down corn,” he says.
“At Drago, our motto is ‘yield first.’ That’s why we use a controlled chopping design with chopping blades placed just behind the knife rollers. This placement ensures that rollers have a firm hold of the plant before it comes in contact with the blades,” says Bollig. “Other designs place choppers in front of the rollers, striking and cutting the plant and potentially dropping ears before they can be processed.
“This can leave large amounts of yield on the ground, especially in poor field conditions.”
He points out that in a 30-inch row operation, one average-sized ear found along 174 feet of the row is the equivalent of 1 to 1.5 bushels of corn. “If this occurs in every row behind a 12-row corn head, that could equal a 12- to 18-bushel per acre loss.
“This potential for yield loss is the biggest reason our chopping heads do not start the chopping process until the stalk is well into the stalk roller,” Bollig says.
Currently, Drago offers two chopping options. The Twin Chop+, available for the Drago GT, is a patented industry first, featuring two counter-rotating blades that split and size residue lengthwise for better breakdown. This blade configuration delivers maximum chop quality while allowing the knife rollers to run slower, reducing the amount of shelling that can occur compared to other heads with excessive stalk roller speed.
Drago also offers the Single Chop option on Drago Series II and GT models. It performs quality chopping while requiring the least amount of horsepower. For producers who desire more flexibility depending on the field or crop rotation, the Single Chop option on the Drago GT model can be disengaged for areas that don’t require corn residue management.
Bollig says the horsepower needs of the Twin Chop+ are much less than producers may think. The reason, he says, is the arrangement of gears driving the choppers.
“Instead of using two separate gearboxes that would require two gear splines, the Twin Chop+ has one gearbox driving power off a single spline while using spur gears to bring the power forward on both sides,” he says. “This efficient drive design dramatically reduces the horsepower needed to run counter-rotating blades.”
“We pride ourselves in offering more flexibility in residue sizing than the competition,” he adds. “In addition to offering two chopping options, we also offer a non-chopping option that can be modified into a Single Chop, Twin Chop+ and vice versa — without trading corn heads.”
What’s best for your farm?
Bollig says corn residue management needs are unique to each farm. “In many cases, the knife rollers themselves may provide enough stalk breakdown to meet a producer’s needs. And residue still attached to the roots can help reduce wind erosion and capture snow.”
Producers must evaluate corn residue management needs based on their soils, tillage practices, crop rotations, insect pressures, climate and location.
“Chopping and burying residue, for example, may help reduce the number of overwintering insects, but the practice can create erosion issues,” he says. “Check with your area extension or crop scouting services to determine what’s best for your farm.”
To learn more about the Drago GT or Drago Series II chopping options, contact your local Drago dealer.