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What Do I Do After My Straw Has Retted? by Lee Pengilly, Saskatchewan Flax Development Commission Once retting is complete, the straw needs to be collected so that it can be raked and hauled to a processing facility or other use. Raking is one way to collect the straw into rows for more efficient baling. Many large V-rakes have a four foot gap in the center where the windrow is formed. However, if the straw in this not raked, it will not be picked up during baling because it is touching the ground and not sitting up on stubble. If it is not picked up it will cause problems during subsequent seeding operations. Hence V-rakes with such center gaps need to have extra rake wheels added in the center or the operator has to overlap about 50% more to make sure no straw is left unraked; another option is to add extra wheels in front of the tractor. For more information, see Beneficial Management Practises for Flax Straw onwww.saskflax.com/flaxstraw_BMPs.html, or contact SaskFlax head office for a print copy: Saskatchewan Flax Development Commission |
