Corn stalks... tall or short?

Rich Iowa · Oct 17, 2012

Driving around I see harvested fields with corn stalks of varying heights. I see some that are harvested with those new corn heads that chop the stalks and looks like the field was brush-hogged. Other fields the stalks are mostly still standing. How high do you guys your corn heads? Tall enough to just get the corn and minimize trash going through the combine, or low as you can get?

Mike Aylward · Oct 17, 2012

I run my corn head as low as the points will allow me without running them on the ground. That way, if a stalk is down and I see it coming I can get right under it. Amount of stalk going through your machine is not determined by how high you run the corn head but by how tight you have your deck plates. Mike

Bob Bancroft · Oct 17, 2012

Same here. I don't have a header with the little individual rotary choppers, but the "knife" rolls do an amazing job on anything that goes down through them.

jd6620 · Oct 17, 2012

In good standing corn, I keep the snouts just below the ears. This keeps the stubble longer. When I no till beans the following spring, the tractor tires push over the long stalks vs. running over short "spikes" if I would cut lower. The field doesn"t look so pretty in the fall, but my tires have held up well.

Anonymous-0 · Oct 17, 2012

I agree with Mike, sometimes there's some low ears you can't always see, stalk height is more related to moisture of the stalk and weather conditions, I run a Massey head and sometimes it grinds them off a foot off the ground and other times it leaves them standing like a corn picker, we often see a difference from running at night versus during the day, I sometimes no-till beans so longer is fine or I can make a pass with the stalk chopper and they are cut off 4-6 inches if I plan on tilling

jm42 · Oct 17, 2012

around me you see the same thing, a lot of this could be the size of the drought stalk, speed of the combine and or speed of the head. I have a nieghbor that has a new combine and head and after he is done the stalks are still standing, he has an automatic header height on the head and runs it very low, he tells me he just travels very fast causing some stalks to stand.

Dalet · Oct 17, 2012

Some heads don't chew up the stalk as much as others. My JD 643 will look like a corn picker went through the field, where as my NH head chewed them up better.
For No-Till, I prefer to have more standing than on the ground.

Anonymous-0 · Oct 17, 2012

Have a chopping head but still run as high as possible. This year the highest possible was pretty close to the ground; too many down/broken stalks

fixerupper · Oct 18, 2012

When the stalks are dry the non-chopping head doesn't take them down as far. If they're wet the head chops them more. Thin stalks don't chop as well. In the older heads the Deere 43 series with the old rolls with staggered flutes don't chop much but IH 1000 series heads with the sharp flutes that almost butt each other do a better job of chopping. Some of the heads from the 50's and 60's had the option of snapping rolls or less agressive rolls and strippers so the stalk was purposely left standing. The theory for that was so the standing stalks could be chopped or harvested for fodder. Jim

tomNE · Oct 18, 2012

I have mine cut as high as possible (read i have my corn custom picked) i discuss the height every year even if it's the same operator as previous year. the more stalk still attached means more of the stalk stays in the field.

Corn stalks... tall or short?

Rich Iowa

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Mike Aylward

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Bob Bancroft

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jd6620

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Anonymous-0

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jm42

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Dalet

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Anonymous-0

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fixerupper

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tomNE

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