bean straw oops

With a bad wheat crop this year, i needed more straw. I took the chopper off the combine planning to bale the bean straw. Well with crappy weather and now snow on the ground, i didn't get the straw baled. Now I've got about 40 acres of windrows to deal with.

What would you do? I would like to plow that field but not sure ifmy 4x18 plow with coulters will work or just plug up. The combine only has a 13 foot head so its not like the w indrows are huge.

I would find a forage harvester with a pickup head and blow it back on the ground. We did that to a couple of fields last year.

I've plowed under a lot of bean stubble from my old Allis 60 combine with a 3-16 JD #55 plow. Good functioning colters are a must, try to plow it when it is as dry as possible so the fodder breaks up easy. Might try discing first if you have trouble.

I agree with NY, think you will have a mess if you try to plow a windrow under.

The bean residue will plow under just fine, but you will have strips in the field with high residue compared to the rest of your soil. That may cause your next crop to grow uneven.
Loren

Know anyone with an offset plowing disc? Real heavy one, like White 281, or similar. Heavy frame, blades over 2 feet dia., cuts 6-8 inches deep. Would roll right thru that.

If you have or know someone that has a flail type silage chopper you can use it to pick up and chop the bean stubble and just let it blow out on the field. BTDT and it works, I have even done this after shelling corn. Just an idea. Bandit

Working at an angle would spread the residue even more.

When the field can be entered, use a hay rake set to top the windrows and spread it into the stubble. Jim

How about throwing it around with a tedder?

I don’t think you will be able to plow it under as it is with a good result. Chopping it with a silage chopper before plowing would be best but spreading it out with a tedder could also be a way to go, maybe followed by discing if necessary.

Any chance of still harvesting it in the spring?

Glenn F.

with flax straw, I just burn the windrows in fall, or if too wet then in the spring.

Steve,, 3 Options as I see it!
#1..Wait till Spring and Set fire, and Burn to it all! then plow up as you didn't get to fall plow!
#2..Break out your Bat-wing shredder and shred the whole field. But even then You still may need to Burn to get rid of the windrow residue.
#3..Some combination of #s 1&2!
Note..Depending on your Local, Soil type, Amt of Wind, Soil moisture, needing the residue to keep land from Blowing, if Burning is a good option or Not for you.
Hope this helps.
Later.
John A.

Next spring, I would rake it into single windrows to fluff it up. Then go out with your stalk chopper and chop it. A bush hog would be a chopper substitute as well and it would spread it a bit.

He's already got snow on it so the bean straw is near to being matted on the ground. It will take a fine tooth pickup head to get that up I hate to say. If he is lucky the field is not full of stones. If he has stones they are probably not cleaned out of the field such as when a hay seeding is going in.

NY986, I have Read and ReRead the entire post 4 times and what ever your point is...Evades Me!
Depending on winter moisture received, and Assume it stays too wet to do ANYThing with these windrows of straw till spring. His only option then as I see it is to Shred the windrows, perhaps burn what will, and disc the ever-lovin pi$$ out of that 40 acres, Then Plant as usual! Have I missed something that is unique to his area?
Later,
John A.

Thanks for the replies folks, just some more info.

Burning will not happen, period.

The reason I mentioned plowing is that im still plowing wheat ground under. We currently have just enough snow to cover the grass so not deep yet and not any frost.

It would be nice to bale it in the spring but im worried about getting it picked up without taking a lot of dirt with it.

Rotary mower is also an option in the spring.

The OP had mentioned he had snow on the field and in many areas of the North so far this fall that has amounted to several inches. The crop most likely has matted to the ground. Under these circumstances from what I have seen raking and flail mowers/choppers will have minimal effect unless he can run into the soil which would be a big issue if rocks are present. If his soils are clay based there will be issues having the soil dry enough to disk without compaction under the windrow. A modern forage harvester with pickup head teeth close together will pull wet material up with minimal problems and the amount will not differ much if the material had just come out of the back of the combine. A cut and blow machine will handle wet material well enough plus a slight breeze will help with the dispersion of the chopped wet material. If the OP does not have access to a forage harvester or farms in an area where they are not found then he will have to figure out an alternative. There are plenty of reasonably priced older machines out there and he can turn right around and resell it when he is done if he so chooses. Such an operation can be done readily this time of year and make use of time that might otherwise be less than valuable for work versus adding another operation or two in the spring. I hope my first response did not come across as a personal attack as that was not my intent. Just wanted to pass along some personnel experience in a brief manner.

NY986, IT DID! And I will keep a civilized Tongue in my Head! Even Now.....
My Observation, HE Asked for our Best thoughts!
#1..Main Crop is Harvested,
#2..That crop residue is in windrows (He wanted more Straw to bale since he was short on wheat straw)
#3..It has Snowed! Residue is wet and Frozen to the ground, Probably a Loss as of Now! It is 11-29-14 WHAT would I Do?
+
Bottom Line is He does have Mess on his hands!
+
I Suggested to burn the windrows Even though I am not totally up to date on a normal winter Moisture pattern in his area! Thinking that may be a possibility. He later posted that burning Isn't an option!
So what to Do? As other have said run their Large Forage Harvester over the Crop pick up what he can and blow it out back on the field. Great Ideal till one thinks What happens when a rock enters the Crop cutting chamber, Knives and Plates Don't fare too well.
Someone said Buy a cheap machine to do this operation so not to have to use a good Expensive Machine.
Why, What the H3LL for when he Probably already owns a shredder of some kind???!!
Big heavy machine packs the field, and cause other tillage problems
Last and Best option! "This operation may not take place till prior to Spring tillage."
I said a 100 hp tractor and a batwing or even a lt wt 40 to 60 hp tractor and 7ft 3pt shredder.
Like I said to begin With....Break out a 100 hp Tractor and 15 ft Batwing shredder IE Rhino SR-15, JD 1815 Set the skid (""ON THE GROUND"") and shred the windrows the best he can. IMO Even it he has a LOT to some rocks a set of shredder blades are cheap as compared to the Internal parts of the cutting chamber on a forage harvester.
Shredders are built for just this sort of operation!
I don't Know If you Know it are Not... I am Know to Pushing a Batwing shredder to the point of failure!
I can tell you the Weak point on a SR-15 are the Blade Bolts when using a SR-15 as a Chain Saw on Cedars with bases the size of a tire on Your pickup, Or as a Power Rake, level off out an area that was Bulldozed, where crap brush, Cedars had been growing in amongst huge majestic Live Oaks here in Central Texas and eating Rocks is a Given! Just part of it!
In Farming There are Do are Die times and This Fellow still has a fair amount of time between Now ans start of spring field work Before that happens.
I heard from His statement and Question what is he going to need to do to get this 40 acre field ready for next year!
I still stand by my First post #2 and what I reenterated on my 2nd post. minus any burning!
IMHO He will have to push some points and do something he doesn't usually do or get out of his Norm or comfort Zone to get this problem alleviated. The shredder is his simplest solution. He may not have a 15ft batwing, a 7ft 3pt shredder on a 65 Massey LP will do the Job just fine too! just take a little longer. Also it is a light wt set up not much tracking in the field!
Rocks!, Rocks don't Scars us None! We had the Corner on the Rock market long ago and have been dealing with them since Noah got off the Ark!
Do or Die time is Approaching, it is not on top of him yet there is 60 to 90 days before that happens.
I will Bet a Big Red Sodawater He has some sort of a Lt wt 40/60 hp tractor and a 3pt shredder to get the job done with! that is already in his line up without going into extra debt! My thoughts
Later,
John A.

I can say I've never seen two people argue so much over something so stupid.

I can honestly say I've never seen two people argue so much over something so stupid.

What are you planting next year? Corn? If it were me Id do what ny986 said. Find a chopper with a hay head and blow it In the air. A good notil corn planter would likely plant right through it unless they are super super heavy windrows. I've got a neighbor that rolls down heavy cover crops and plants right through it with a 7200 Deere with all the best notil gingerbread. A decent brush hog would probably do it and so would a flail chopper. I think there is lots of ways to skin this cat.