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Windrow Chute Boosts Value Of Straw
Daniel Prough is a wheat producer in an area where not a lot of wheat is grown. But he's discovered there's quite a market for the straw to the growing hobby farm and landscaping market in his area.
"Sometimes the straw is worth more than the grain," he notes. "With the popularity of rotary combines, which brea
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Windrow Chute Boosts Value Of Straw COMBINES Accessories 27-2-6 Daniel Prough is a wheat producer in an area where not a lot of wheat is grown. But he's discovered there's quite a market for the straw to the growing hobby farm and landscaping market in his area.
"Sometimes the straw is worth more than the grain," he notes. "With the popularity of rotary combines, which break up the straw more, customers have realized the more finely processed straw absorbs moisture better, is easier to spread by hand, easier to fork into spreaders after being used as bedding, and goes through manure spreaders better - especially the ground-driven ones used by the Amish in Prough's area.
"I couldn't justify buying a new rotary combine but I still wanted to be competitive in the straw market so I developed an adjustable chute for my Deere 6600 conventional combine that makes it easy to windrow the straw. By adjusting the knives on the chopper I've found I'm able to produce even better straw than comes out of a rotary because sometimes that straw is chopped up too much.
"After I developed this chopper chute, I became known locally as the Straw Man and soon had more orders for straw than I could produce, even though I was charging a premium over other producers. Buyers compare it to wood shavings only cheaper and safer for mares and foals at berth. Landscapers prefer it because it eliminates the dust and noise of chopping at the job site and because it's so much easier to spread.
"The straw chute is made of heavy, galvanized steel that mounts directly to the deflection plate at the rear of the combine's straw chopper. The spreading vanes are removed, the chute bolted on, and then the two outside vanes are reattached in reverse position to force chopped material into a windrow. The chute deflects anything the vanes miss.
"One bonus of this idea is that I no longer have to remove the straw chopper each year to windrow straw for baling. It works so well I made one for a neighbor's 9000 Series Deere in exchange for a deal to purchase his extra straw."
Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Daniel Prough, 1320 South 950 East, La Grange, Ind. 46761.
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