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Colby, Kansas | I'm in agreement with everything Jon, Josh, and Phil have already said. To add a bit to Jon's discussion on selecting a head height, there are several reasons you don't want to go any lower than you have too, header loss can become an issue not only because the "wall" of wheat is missing but in varieties prone to shattering if you run the nose of the hood too low so that the heads are above it you actually force the wheat to do a double bend, it bends towards the combine when it first comes into contact then has to bend back around the nose of the hood, then rapidly snap back upright prior to hitting the rotor. I've seen the mechanics of this cause a great deal of shatter before the wheat ever gets to the rotor.
Most header loss comes from running excessive rotor speed and too slow of ground speed. Only run the rotor as fast as you need to, the head as low as you have too, then drive fast. When conditions are good the field should look almost a little shaggy behind. If you are removing the entire head then you are either running the rotor too fast, the head too low, or a combination of both.
In regards to the agronomic aspects, I have heard other stories about DC soybeans. One possible theory for the depressed yields is the effect the tall stubble has on branch and pod initiation which physiologically are influenced by light and the spectra (wavelengths) present in that light. Tall stubble alters that. We have seen some interesting things with grain sorghum and are investigating the effect of tall stubble on tiller initiation.
With regard to row crops into stripped stubble, attached below is some recent work I've been involved with, some other data going back to 2001 is mentioned as well. I have similar data to this from multiple locations in western Kansas and SW Nebraska. In a nutshell, we pick up 5 bu/ac in corn going from short cut stubble to tall cut stubble, then another 5 bu. going from tall cut to stripped.
Based on what your trying to do with your rotation and your rainfall, etc. I think a stripper would be an excellent fit for your operation.
Good Luck,
Lucas
The attached article is taken from the Southwest Research-Extension Center 2009 Field Day Report of Progress #1014. The complete document can be found here.
http://www.oznet.ksu.edu/library/crpsl2/SRP1014.pdf
Edited by LHaag 7/2/2009 02:34
Attachments
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 Field Day Stubble.pdf (117KB - 1058 downloads)
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Shelbourne stripper head pros/cons
