Header Attachment Windrows Stalks During Harvest

Header Attachment Windrows Stalks During Harvest COMBINES Accessories “The idea just popped in my head back in 2006 when we were demonstrating a chopping corn head ” says Jim Straeter of Rochester Ind “It occurred to me that since the combine could harvest as well as chop stalks it could also put those stalks in a nice windrow ”
    After 5 years of designing building testing and tweaking Straeter’s patented “Cornrower™” invention is now on the market
    The Cornrower gathers stalks from under a chopping corn head before they hit the ground reduces the particle size and makes a clean windrow of stover directly behind a combine The rowed stalks are free of dirt and rocks or even snow when there’s a late harvest The implement runs off the variable speed combine drive so no additional power source is needed
    During the past two years Straeter has thoroughly tested and improved his prototype model that was 3 years in the making “After 5 harvest years I think we’ve got the bugs out ” Straeter says In optimal conditions harvest speed is typically 3 5 mph in 200-bu corn with 20 percent grain moisture and 40 percent stalk moisture Field speed is less in higher moisture corn in stalks that are damp or frozen or if snow is on the ground
    The Cornrower uniformly deposits stover in a straight row under the center of the combine Cobs and leaf residue land on top as the combine discharges it Because the Cornrower slices and cuts the stalks Straeter says they dry down quickly so bales are roughly 20 percent more dense than those done with a conventional chop rake and bale system
    Straeter says the Cornrower produces “baler-friendly windrows with cleanly cut short stubble that’s easy on pickup tines Baled stover from the Cornrower can be used in a TMR mixer to produce high quality feed for livestock ” One Indiana farmer added hydrated lime to his Cornrower stover last fall then chopped it with a forage harvester and packed it in a standard bunker silo with corn silage Feed trials by Iowa State and the University of Nebraska show that lime treatment increases digestibility and significantly reduces the cost to feed beef cattle Lime softens the stover and makes the sugars more digestible Ethanol plants are also looking at bales from the Cornrower because the stalks are clean and dirt-free
    Field tests have shown that baler intake bale density and bale shape with Cornrower stalks are all improved over conventional chopping and raking
    “My first prototype had a single row of sickle sections mounted on a rotor shaft and that didn’t work too well I modified that with a single housing and put it on the outside left row of an 8-row corn head I ran one row at a time and made adjustments until I finally got a configuration I thought would work ”
    In the fall of 2009 Straeter built a setup for all 8-rows on a 99C chopping head and used it for the first time on a warm Sunday afternoon He says he was excited to see a nice uniform windrow and baled those stalks later that afternoon “We tested those bales for moisture content and dirt and the results were very positive ” Straeter says “The stover was clean and the bales stored very well without overheating ”
    In addition to time labor and fuel savings the Cornrower eliminates the need for a stalk shredder a rake and a tractor to run those implements Windrows behind the combine can be picked up by any large round baler large or small square bale or forage harvester
     Straeter has tested the Cornrower on New Holland CR and Case IH 8010 combines He says New Holland machines have to be 2008 or newer because they have the stronger header drive “The Cornrower will work on older CR combines but the variable speed drive isn’t as strong and belt life is unacceptably short ” Straeter says the rig will work on CIH 7010 8010 and any of the newer 7000 and 8000 series combines based on the 8010 tests He expects to test the Cornrower on other combines in the fall of 2012
    Straeter says running the Cornrower takes about 3 gal more fuel an hour than just a chopping corn head but overall savings on equipment labor and additional passes are probably $15 to $18 per acre The Cornrower is being manufactured by Craig Welding of Mentone Ind
    The price for an 8-row Cornrower is $18 000 fob Rochester Ind installed on the header A 12-row Cornrower will cost about $27 000 Parts will be available from the dealership in Rochester Straeter hopes to have additional dealers by 2013 and is also looking into teaming up with chopping corn head manufacturers
    Contact: FARM SHOW Followup Jim Streater New Holland Rochester Inc 1260E 100S Rochester Ind 46975 ph 800 327-5936; dealer@newhollandrochester com; www newhollandrochester com

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