Axial Flow Combine Converted To Self-Propelled Straw Chopper

Axial Flow Combine Converted To Self-Propelled Straw Chopper COMBINES Conversions 23-6-2 The time is coming when growers will no longer be allowed to burn small grain and grass seed residue left on the field after harvest. In some states, burning has already been banned. But Craig Pope is ready for that time in Oregon. The Monmouth welder and fabricator modified an old International 1480 rotary combine into an efficient straw chopper. "It works better than flail choppers, especially for perennial grass seed crops. Since it does not contact the soil, it can't damage the crowns," he says. Pope's modified combine can no longer function as a harvest machine. Its sole purpose, he says, is to chop straw. It's equipped with a finger pickup header to gobble up straw and residue from a 14-ft. direct cut header or swather. "As long as the straw is not spread, we can pick it up," he says. Pope modified the combine's rotor to change it from a thresher to a straw chopper. He says the axial-flow machine lends itself to grinding straw without a lot of major changes. Not only does the modified combine cut up the straw, it pulverizes it into small pieces, most under an inch in length, that are spread over the soil surface and are easily worked in with tillage. Even in no-till, the straw is no longer a detriment. The smaller pieces break down much more rapidly than whole straw left by the combine. Pope is using his first conversion for custom straw chopping, charging $25 an acre. He says the machine can handle about 40 acres a day. His main goal, though, is to convert combines and sell the rotary straw choppers. He figures a converted machine will sell for between $50,000 and $60,000. Contact FARM SHOW Followup, Craig Pope, Agriweld, Inc., 13000 S. Pacific Hwy. W, Monmouth, OR 97361 (ph 503 838-3960).

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