Harvesting Both Corn Grain and Stover in Adverse Weather

by Cole Gustafson, Thein Maung and David Ripplinger (Ethanol Producer Magazine/North Dakota State University) If cellulosic biofuel development remains on track, several commercial firms will be contracting for corn stover in 2012. How will farmers balance the field workload of harvesting both feed grains and corn stover in a year like this one when the crop is late and field days before winter are limited? How much incentive will cellulosic firms have to offer producers to ensure feedstock collection is a priority?

The research team at North Dakota State University in Fargo recently completed a Sun Grant study, sponsored jointly by the USDA and the U.S. DOE, that addresses the impact of limited fall harvest field time, the availability of new corn cob and stover harvesting machines, increased farm sizes, and alternative tillage practices. A large, mathematical program model of a North Dakota farm with 2,000 acres of 144-bushel-per-acre corn to harvest considers 1) corn grain harvest only, 2) simultaneous corn grain and stover, one-pass harvest, and 3) separate corn grain and stover, two-pass harvest options. READ MORE