We use a turbomax for vertical tillage and it basically leaves the field looking the same. Really only works the top inch of soil and leaves the previous crops roots in the ground. We've seen healthier soil and better erosion control. I'd love to see a weekly installment of Ethan's Agronomy Corner!
Ethan, have you watched the three videos on UA-cam about Herman Warsaw from the 1980’s? He set many yield records and was a firm believer in sizing and incorporating residue after harvest. On my own farm, between the cornhead and running a disk and rolling basket in the fall, leads to a huge advantage in the spring field prep. Keep up the good work and do what works for you.
I know it gets old explaining things repeatedly but I'm glad you have the patience to do so for the ones who don't know that's why I watch your channel because you do explain things thoroughly. Keep up the good work and please keep your patience thanks for all you do!!
I'm not a farmer but enjoy watching your videos especially like the repair videos as you fix it right and dont cut corners on your repairs. I like how informative you are on your process and why you do what/how you do it. You can put 10 disclaimers in a video and still end up with people still complaining lol.
I've done it both ways and you're absolutely right! Chopping stalks makes a hell of a difference when spring chiseling. Remember those fields at Rantoul after the pickers went through, pretty tough to even moboard plow without Chopping first!
Well put Ethan, that’s the key, do what works best for you. There’s a ton of ways to reach the same end results. Stay safe and take care, keep em comin🇺🇸💪🏻🇺🇸
Interesting perspective on residue management. Years ago with continuous corn, some folks shredded stalks, soaked them with liquid hog manure, and deep chiseled to incorporate the residue and manure. The basic principles are the same, but through experience everyone learns what works in their soil type, e.g. timber vs prairie soils and tillage tools used.
Great vid kiddo! I would add one other observation. Corn hybrids have changed too. On our own farms we have gone back to chopping stalks even with knife rolls etc. on corn heads. Mostly because the "stacked" hybrids don't break down as fast as hybrids of even 5 years ago. Even though we no-till our beans into last year's corn stalks. We tend to get more even warm up of soils across the profile when the corn residue is sized. There by more even and better over all soybean stands. I hate spending the money to chop corn stalks but have found it beneficial to do so. I won't tatk about corn/corn benefits of chopping stalks. Again, great vid kiddo!
Thank you for explaining the reason you were chopping the corn stalks. Fairly new to u-tube so I have not seen many of your previous videos. Here in central Indiana, I believe the last time I saw any of the Farmers around me cutting corn stalks was in the Seventies and Eighties, that is also about the same time you could still see fields actually plowed, now its chisels and discs to prep for seed. Still like the sound of a tractor working hard pulling a plow especially an Old JD A like my Grand Dad's. Thank you for posting your videos and love to hear the Oliver sound off when pulling. Have a great day
Thanks for researching and sharing, I've noticed the improvements on corn heads over the last 20 years with chopping and residue sizing. They're no longer a simple threshing machine.
I initially came to this channel to see the Olivers but stayed because I learn a thing or two- I was not aware how technology of harvesting machinery has changed to chop stalks more or what the importance is. Now where I grew up but left in mid 80's, everyone now bales the stalks for beef cattle bedding. I guess they just add extra chem fertilizers to compensate? Nobody chopped or baled stalks in the 80's, though a lot of corn was chopped as silage thus no big residues. And at 45* lattitude we get freeze and snow before you do too likely so fall tillage might not happen.
Absolutely right we chop all are stocks some ground gets chisel and some gets ripped. I don't mess with bean ground it gets fertilizer sprayed then soil finisher ran on it then planted to corn next spring . Very well explained. From turkey creek farms be safe n thankful
You answered every question I had about corn stalks,thank you. I live in western Canada and that’s exactly why we developed and use straw chopper to cut up the straw that goes through the combine.
Also another thing in recent years along with chopping corn heads and chopping rolls is the popularity of vertical tillage which makes the field look kinda similar. Just like having it all in one pass with the corn head, I think that also phased out stalk choppers because they can cover ground pretty quickly provided the tractor pulling has enough horsepower and they are heavy as hell
Very interesting and informative information. In my part of the country we’ve got to leave residue. Otherwise we get dirt blowing. I always wondered why people would chop stocks because again in my part of the world you will almost always see cattle out on the stocks in the winter. I can understand why people would chop them and with your explanation it kind of makes me wonder if chopping them still wouldn’t make sense because it’s not like you would lose anything and it would break down quicker like you said, and it would be smaller, so the cattle could probably eat it better, but maybe I don’t know what I’m talking about. I don’t know.
Worked for a local BTO with all the big HP stuff and modern tillage equipment and when I started farming on my own had to completely rethink how I got things done with 50 year old equipment. Can match yields with anyone but certainly need to approach it different.
Definitely a good explanation of it. In our area a lot of us have gone to vertical tillage in fall just to size the material and help the decomposition. We do have erotion problema here so we like to have some trash on top n just the top layer opened up for drainage n frost prenatration.
Great job explaining.i have a 643 corn head.i farm sand and clay.on the clay if I don't cut ruts I'll no till drill beans into the stalks then no till wheat and moldboard and land level.on our sand you have to stalk chop the stalks.it stays cold in the spring.without chopping stalks can't mix up enough with chisel plow to work with cultivator in the spring.alot of arm chair farmers comments make me laugh.take care and good luck with rest of harvest 🍻
Don’t let people like that get to ya, that’s why I really enjoy you tube so much to see what everyone does differently. Hell, I do things differently than my closest neighbor. The way I look at it, if I am paying for it then I’m going to do it the way I want to!!
Excellent video explaining the WHY to post harvest stalk chopping and the benefits of doing so. It is interesting about similar but yet different reasons for similar treatments with maize forage harvesting where chopping the whole above ground plant to short length and cracking each kernel open is the aim so that more tons of material can be stored in the tower or clamp. Short chopped material compresses better in store and this encourages better fermentation for long term storage. When it is fed to cattle (mainly) is is digested in the gut system quicker and more completely and the starch in the kernel is readily available for digestion. More mature crops at harvest time have the stalks cut higher as they are almost lignified in to wood and are virtually undigestible to cattle. Dan
Mature crops have higher nitrate content in the lower stalk which can be deadly to cattle. That’s the biggest reason for cutting higher as the plant matures.
I never understood burning it off. I know cane makes a lot of residue but seems like there would be a more environmentally friendly way than a field fire.
Two neighbors and myself still chop stalks, the rest of the neighbors no-till or don't chop. I like that we can make one pass for spring tillage and get the seed bed we want. It takes me far less diesel to chop than to run the field cultivator twice.
Good job on the history and current. We used yo disc them in the fall, then spring moldboard. Same reason. Any thoughts on vertical tillage. It came along after I was done farming.
I couldn't get a plow through mine so usually ran the disc over since I don't have a chopper. Only issue here with chopping is the mat of residue in the spring keeps it too wet and cool. We're in a much shorter heat unit area though. Neighbor has a high speed disc setup an a pass in the fall and one in the spring does a great job on stalks but expensive machine!
Dad talked about a machine that broke the corn stalk down , $o they could turn it under with a plow. It was like a rolling packer , pulled with a team of horses.
@@Oliver66FarmBoy I don't know what a reel chopper is. This belonged to my grand father. Dad described this machine as weights dropping on corn stalks. I ask how the horses reacted. Dad told me they got use to it. What started this conversation with dad was he had found a company that still made them. He ordered one to pull with a tractor. The company quit making the machine or went out of business before dad got his. The machine i'm telling you about was probably made 90 to 100 yrs ago. Young man you are rite !!!
The corn nowadays is made in a genetic company. They make the corn tougher to stand up to weather. If it's not broken down planting will be very difficult. You gotta work with the tools you own. Tgat summed it up
The guy saying “a chisel will do the same thing”… a chisel won’t size a darn thing. A disc chisel will to some extent, but not like a VT tool will. I have always hit mine with a batwing before running a chisel or ripper through it, otherwise I get a lot of trash buildup on either tool.
I can tell you at least from my prospective here in my little corner of Iowa that the farmers don't apply 28% in the fall. That'd be a waste of money. So I don't know where ISU came up with that nonsense LOL.
Those who do regenerative ag think everyone who does tillage is wrong. You need to lower your yields down to there level so they feel good about themselves. Bullshit do it how you want to it's your money.
Not really. Hardly leaves the field. To many things for it to catch on before it can move very far. It’s not like the fodder is laying on a glass sheet. And in a normal year when things aren’t a muddy mess the chisel plow isn’t more than a few days behind anyhow.
I was just teasing. If I do corn on corn I usually disc it to size residue then plow or chisel. I’m a no tiller at hart but I have a field I want to go back to corn this next year and I’ll probably bush hog it plaster it was cow shit out of the old barn we’re having torn down and then have a buddy rip it for me. I know on corn on corn getting the stalks broke down quickly also helps with diseases. Enjoyed the video for the record lol I think part of the other reason they were so popular was back in those days was to make all that trash left from the old pickers and corn heads flow through the mold board plows back then. I know my grandparents always used to say they hated plugging up the plow with stalks. Then they had better corn heads and better clearance plows and now minimal tillage fancy corn heads and no till. I should mention I saw you at Rantoul but didn’t get to meet you. I’m not far, Lima-Findlay area in Ohio. Dated a girl up your way a long time ago. Waldron Michigan
It appears to be a fairly standard flail mower. Those are used for many things. Sometimes you have to mow or chop before you plow/plant to avoid plugging or dragging residue.
Evidently he must have only ever run new equipment and never had to moldboard plow corn fields that hasn't been bush hogged or had a chopper run over it. We chop it the same day we have the combine in the field and come back as soon as we're done with corn and plow it under it makes it nice that way. I've actually been thinking about taking my old Farmall M and Farmall stock chopper to rantul for the next show
![Lp. Сердце Вселенной #30 ДВА В ОДНОМ [Один человек]• Майнкрафт](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/nrXy15orKhY/mqdefault.jpg)
You are very good at sharing your knowledge and most of us appreciate your sharing. Do not worry about the few who have it all figured out.
Well explained!
We use a turbomax for vertical tillage and it basically leaves the field looking the same. Really only works the top inch of soil and leaves the previous crops roots in the ground. We've seen healthier soil and better erosion control. I'd love to see a weekly installment of Ethan's Agronomy Corner!
Those are nice tools.
@@Oliver66FarmBoy Appreciate the content. Don't see many farmers on youtube talking about the finer points of their operation.
You are doing it exactly like I do with corn stalks! Keep up the good work! Forget the haters!
Ethan, have you watched the three videos on UA-cam about Herman Warsaw from the 1980’s? He set many yield records and was a firm believer in sizing and incorporating residue after harvest.
On my own farm, between the cornhead and running a disk and rolling basket in the fall, leads to a huge advantage in the spring field prep.
Keep up the good work and do what works for you.
I saw a couple. His home farm sold a couple years ago.
I know it gets old explaining things repeatedly but I'm glad you have the patience to do so for the ones who don't know that's why I watch your channel because you do explain things thoroughly. Keep up the good work and please keep your patience thanks for all you do!!
Thanks
I 120% agree with stalk chopping. I'm a firm believer in sizing residue. Keep up the great work!
Paid for the fertilizer. Midas well get it back in the ground so you can use it again.
Very educational very interesting thank you for your time explaining we are Corn Growers up here in Ontario
I'm not a farmer but enjoy watching your videos especially like the repair videos as you fix it right and dont cut corners on your repairs. I like how informative you are on your process and why you do what/how you do it. You can put 10 disclaimers in a video and still end up with people still complaining lol.
Thanks
Excellent presentation, very informative!
I've done it both ways and you're absolutely right! Chopping stalks makes a hell of a difference when spring chiseling. Remember those fields at Rantoul after the pickers went through, pretty tough to even moboard plow without Chopping first!
Well put Ethan, that’s the key, do what works best for you. There’s a ton of ways to reach the same end results. Stay safe and take care, keep em comin🇺🇸💪🏻🇺🇸
Thanks.
Interesting perspective on residue management. Years ago with continuous corn, some folks shredded stalks, soaked them with liquid hog manure, and deep chiseled to incorporate the residue and manure. The basic principles are the same, but through experience everyone learns what works in their soil type, e.g. timber vs prairie soils and tillage tools used.
Yep. Manure helps because it comes with its own microbes.
You're right, I still do it old school with a Woods rotary chopper
Great vid kiddo! I would add one other observation. Corn hybrids have changed too. On our own farms we have gone back to chopping stalks even with knife rolls etc. on corn heads. Mostly because the "stacked" hybrids don't break down as fast as hybrids of even 5 years ago. Even though we no-till our beans into last year's corn stalks. We tend to get more even warm up of soils across the profile when the corn residue is sized. There by more even and better over all soybean stands. I hate spending the money to chop corn stalks but have found it beneficial to do so. I won't tatk about corn/corn benefits of chopping stalks. Again, great vid kiddo!
Thank you for explaining the reason you were chopping the corn stalks. Fairly new to u-tube so I have not seen many of your previous videos. Here in central Indiana, I believe the last time I saw any of the Farmers around me cutting corn stalks was in the Seventies and Eighties, that is also about the same time you could still see fields actually plowed, now its chisels and discs to prep for seed. Still like the sound of a tractor working hard pulling a plow especially an Old JD A like my Grand Dad's. Thank you for posting your videos and love to hear the Oliver sound off when pulling. Have a great day
I enjoyed the educational video.
Thanks for researching and sharing, I've noticed the improvements on corn heads over the last 20 years with chopping and residue sizing. They're no longer a simple threshing machine.
Yep
Makes common sense to me small piece. Will rot before large piece. Catch you on the next one thank you Ethan
Very good explanation on why we do chopping I have been chopping corn stocks and milo stalks for years
Thanks
Outstanding delivery of important information. Well done.
Btw, as one of the early subscribers, nice to see the growth over 23,000. Congrats
I initially came to this channel to see the Olivers but stayed because I learn a thing or two- I was not aware how technology of harvesting machinery has changed to chop stalks more or what the importance is. Now where I grew up but left in mid 80's, everyone now bales the stalks for beef cattle bedding. I guess they just add extra chem fertilizers to compensate? Nobody chopped or baled stalks in the 80's, though a lot of corn was chopped as silage thus no big residues. And at 45* lattitude we get freeze and snow before you do too likely so fall tillage might not happen.
Absolutely right we chop all are stocks some ground gets chisel and some gets ripped. I don't mess with bean ground it gets fertilizer sprayed then soil finisher ran on it then planted to corn next spring . Very well explained. From turkey creek farms be safe n thankful
You answered every question I had about corn stalks,thank you.
I live in western Canada and that’s exactly why we developed and use straw chopper to cut up the straw that goes through the combine.
Yep
Also another thing in recent years along with chopping corn heads and chopping rolls is the popularity of vertical tillage which makes the field look kinda similar. Just like having it all in one pass with the corn head, I think that also phased out stalk choppers because they can cover ground pretty quickly provided the tractor pulling has enough horsepower and they are heavy as hell
Yep
Very informative. I’m not a farmer very well explained
Thanks
Very interesting and informative information. In my part of the country we’ve got to leave residue. Otherwise we get dirt blowing. I always wondered why people would chop stocks because again in my part of the world you will almost always see cattle out on the stocks in the winter. I can understand why people would chop them and with your explanation it kind of makes me wonder if chopping them still wouldn’t make sense because it’s not like you would lose anything and it would break down quicker like you said, and it would be smaller, so the cattle could probably eat it better, but maybe I don’t know what I’m talking about. I don’t know.
If it’s just going to get grazed anyhow probably just a wast of time.
@@Oliver66FarmBoy maybe I just always hear about chopping food up so that the cows utilize it more so I figured the same principle would apply here
Worked for a local BTO with all the big HP stuff and modern tillage equipment and when I started farming on my own had to completely rethink how I got things done with 50 year old equipment. Can match yields with anyone but certainly need to approach it different.
Definitely a good explanation of it. In our area a lot of us have gone to vertical tillage in fall just to size the material and help the decomposition. We do have erotion problema here so we like to have some trash on top n just the top layer opened up for drainage n frost prenatration.
Same principle. Just accomplishing 2 things in one pass.
Great job explaining.i have a 643 corn head.i farm sand and clay.on the clay if I don't cut ruts I'll no till drill beans into the stalks then no till wheat and moldboard and land level.on our sand you have to stalk chop the stalks.it stays cold in the spring.without chopping stalks can't mix up enough with chisel plow to work with cultivator in the spring.alot of arm chair farmers comments make me laugh.take care and good luck with rest of harvest 🍻
Thanks
Don’t let people like that get to ya, that’s why I really enjoy you tube so much to see what everyone does differently. Hell, I do things differently than my closest neighbor. The way I look at it, if I am paying for it then I’m going to do it the way I want to!!
Yep
Excellent video explaining the WHY to post harvest stalk chopping and the benefits of doing so.
It is interesting about similar but yet different reasons for similar treatments with maize forage harvesting where chopping the whole above ground plant to short length and cracking each kernel open is the aim so that more tons of material can be stored in the tower or clamp.
Short chopped material compresses better in store and this encourages better fermentation for long term storage. When it is fed to cattle (mainly) is is digested in the gut system quicker and more completely and the starch in the kernel is readily available for digestion.
More mature crops at harvest time have the stalks cut higher as they are almost lignified in to wood and are virtually undigestible to cattle. Dan
Mature crops have higher nitrate content in the lower stalk which can be deadly to cattle. That’s the biggest reason for cutting higher as the plant matures.
Great information in this video. Thank you for sharing
Thanks
One of the first jobs on the farm for me was chopping stalks with a 66 diesel and a vintage new idea brush hog
Done that before. Just with my 66.
@@Oliver66FarmBoy that little 66 diesel just sipped fuel, could chop stalks for 8 hours before I ran out
Thank you for Explaining The process very interesting .👏👏
Thanks.
Very good explanation of residue. Listened to it twice makes so much more sense. You have good farming practices. Thanks for your time and sharing.
Thanks
It also helps to chop corn stocks so when you doing spring tillage you don’t put a corn stock through your tires
Thanks seals the deal finally have half correct conditions for fall tillage now I will make it a point and do some experimenting
Ethan, great explanation. Thanks Michael
Thanks
Looking good buddy be safe out there your buddy from Nebraska
Thanks
I like everything you do thanks for what you do
Very well explained. I use a deere 608 chopping head and love it!
Heads have come a long ways.
Very cool Ethan. Class dismissed!!
Great video! I wish in western ks we had half as moisture you guys have to put those practices in place.
You can take some.
WoW so well explained , you know your stuff ,
Thank You .
reminds me of the cane burn offs in Queensland OZ , what a waste !!!
I never understood burning it off. I know cane makes a lot of residue but seems like there would be a more environmentally friendly way than a field fire.
Two neighbors and myself still chop stalks, the rest of the neighbors no-till or don't chop. I like that we can make one pass for spring tillage and get the seed bed we want. It takes me far less diesel to chop than to run the field cultivator twice.
Very good explanation and good info. You probably should just get a quadtrac and a VT and knock it out. I know a place...😅
If you can get it in Steiger green. Lol
great video, u covered all the big points
Even though I'm no till, I'm thinking of getting a stalk chopper. My Dad used a 2 row New Idea stalk chopper behind his Farmall M.
Makes sense good to know.
I run a case 4406 head non copping but it does a great job on breaking down the stalk
Heads have come a long ways.
Thank you for that explanation.
Very well said good video good to see you
Good job on the history and current. We used yo disc them in the fall, then spring moldboard. Same reason. Any thoughts on vertical tillage. It came along after I was done farming.
It has a place.
Lets look back at this field in the spring and see the residue level. its gonna be a shock.
Thank you for the great explanation it makes total sense.
Thanks
Timmycornpicker and Onelonefarmer have also just put out videos on crop residue (in New Jersey).
I couldn't get a plow through mine so usually ran the disc over since I don't have a chopper. Only issue here with chopping is the mat of residue in the spring keeps it too wet and cool. We're in a much shorter heat unit area though.
Neighbor has a high speed disc setup an a pass in the fall and one in the spring does a great job on stalks but expensive machine!
VT tools and had’ dare the modern equivalent.
Spot on
Thanks for the highly uneducational information, i didnt take notes. Lol good video
Thanks
Good lesson
Thanks
Great content Ethan😊😊😊😊
Well said.
Thanks
Dad talked about a machine that broke the corn stalk down , $o they could turn it under with a plow. It was like a rolling packer , pulled with a team of horses.
Reel chopper.
@@Oliver66FarmBoy I don't know what a reel chopper is. This belonged to my grand father. Dad described this machine as weights dropping on corn stalks. I ask how the horses reacted. Dad told me they got use to it. What started this conversation with dad was he had found a company that still made them. He ordered one to pull with a tractor. The company quit making the machine or went out of business before dad got his. The machine i'm telling you about was probably made 90 to 100 yrs ago. Young man you are rite !!!
Lots of farmers chop and bale stalks for bedding.
The corn nowadays is made in a genetic company. They make the corn tougher to stand up to weather. If it's not broken down planting will be very difficult. You gotta work with the tools you own. Tgat summed it up
The guy saying “a chisel will do the same thing”… a chisel won’t size a darn thing. A disc chisel will to some extent, but not like a VT tool will. I have always hit mine with a batwing before running a chisel or ripper through it, otherwise I get a lot of trash buildup on either tool.
That’s why I think he wasn’t actually a farmer.
I can tell you at least from my prospective here in my little corner of Iowa that the farmers don't apply 28% in the fall. That'd be a waste of money. So I don't know where ISU came up with that nonsense LOL.
I'm here to learn. I don't understand the people who played farming simulator one time and think they know everything now.
Internet things.
I’m Penn state alumni 😊
Those who do regenerative ag think everyone who does tillage is wrong. You need to lower your yields down to there level so they feel good about themselves. Bullshit do it how you want to it's your money.
Every practice has its place.
What’s a steering wheel holder???
Well still chop all 200 acres of our corn ground every year plus it helps keep from plugging our disk ripper
Yep
So that way they can blow across the road to the neighbors first big wind event!
Not really. Hardly leaves the field. To many things for it to catch on before it can move very far. It’s not like the fodder is laying on a glass sheet. And in a normal year when things aren’t a muddy mess the chisel plow isn’t more than a few days behind anyhow.
I was just teasing. If I do corn on corn I usually disc it to size residue then plow or chisel. I’m a no tiller at hart but I have a field I want to go back to corn this next year and I’ll probably bush hog it plaster it was cow shit out of the old barn we’re having torn down and then have a buddy rip it for me. I know on corn on corn getting the stalks broke down quickly also helps with diseases. Enjoyed the video for the record lol
I think part of the other reason they were so popular was back in those days was to make all that trash left from the old pickers and corn heads flow through the mold board plows back then. I know my grandparents always used to say they hated plugging up the plow with stalks. Then they had better corn heads and better clearance plows and now minimal tillage fancy corn heads and no till.
I should mention I saw you at Rantoul but didn’t get to meet you. I’m not far, Lima-Findlay area in Ohio. Dated a girl up your way a long time ago. Waldron Michigan
I pick my corn with a jd 227 mounted picker .I chop my stalks and disk the field
I’m sorry you have to explain it to people I farm in Florida but I mow cotton stalks
Comes with the territory
Is that Chopper made solely to chop stalkey crops for clean up?
It appears to be a fairly standard flail mower. Those are used for many things. Sometimes you have to mow or chop before you plow/plant to avoid plugging or dragging residue.
@MostlyInteresting I wondered if there ever used for harvesting or Bush hogging your stuff. I'm pretty sure they're not, just curious
It’s designed specifically to chop stalks. It’s not a flail mower.
@Oliver66FarmBoy That's what I thought
It’s a fact
Ill leave my stalks standing, the ground will dry and warm up faster in the spring with them standing.
Whatever works for you.
No 28 fall spraying in southern Illinois
Every single reference I found about came out of either Iowa or Illinois. Don’t know what to tell you. 🤷♂️
Evidently he must have only ever run new equipment and never had to moldboard plow corn fields that hasn't been bush hogged or had a chopper run over it. We chop it the same day we have the combine in the field and come back as soon as we're done with corn and plow it under it makes it nice that way. I've actually been thinking about taking my old Farmall M and Farmall stock chopper to rantul for the next show
They are always screaming for more choppers.