Effective Flax Straw Management: Review and Update

According to the Flax Growers Survey, the most common problem flax producers face is in dealing with the straw after harvest. This information has been reinforced at flax meetings, field days and is a regular topic in conversations with producers.

In many growing areas the world over, unwanted crop residue has a history of being burned. However changing times and a greater attention to environmental issues has seen the practice largely banned in many places. Burning creates emissions that have the potential to affect public health and negatively impact the environment particularly air quality. At a time when reducing greenhouse gas emissions is becoming an evermore pressing issue at both the personal and political level, greater constraints are going to be placed on agricultural producers to look at alternatives other than burning to effectively manage straw.

Saskatchewan producers have long been mindful of the shortcomings of burning albeit a quick and easy method of dealing with the frustrations of flax straw. Through improved harvest technology, research generated by leveraged check-off dollars and the leadership of the Saskatchewan Flax Development Commission, producers have been able to and respond to alternate methods of dealing with it. In order for any strategy to be accepted by producers it has to be financially viable as well as environmentally and socially acceptable. In other words, it has to be sustainable.

At the present time, SaskFlax, through the Agricultural Environmental Group Plan is in the process of developing Beneficial Management Practices that will meet that criterion. Some management practices will focus on methods that will return the straw to the field where it can breakdown naturally increasing the health of the soil. Others will look to generating a profit from oilseed flax straw requiring a new suite of management practices that would supply a consistent and dependable source of flax fiber in a variety of value-added opportunities.

Chopping and Spreading According to David Larsen, Soil/Nutrient Management Specialist with Saskatchewan Agriculture and Food, a straw chopper is the primary tool for managing flax straw in Saskatchewan. Larson goes on to say, “In order to get the desired results the producer needs to have an effective well maintained straw chopper and a combine with sufficient power to run it properly. There are a number of choppers that are effective for flax and have the ability to spread the straw over the entire width of the swath.”

Although most combines come with a straw chopper, many producers choose an “after-market” chopper to better meet their needs. Saskatchewan manufacturer, Redekop Manufacturing operating out of Saskatoon, is a leader in straw and chaff management specializing in products that meet the challenges of producers. For more information go to their website at www.redekopmfg.com or call them at 1.866.733.3567. They will also be represented at many Trade Shows over the fall and winter including Agribition in November.

SaskFlax Board Member, Chris Hale has been chopping and spreading flax straw for the past 18 harvests. Currently he is using a John Deere combine equipped with a two-part Redekop Kit. Chris feels that combination is doing a good job on his operation in the Regina area. He admits the straw grows a little shorter there as compared to other places in the province and that helps. He does not find it necessary to desiccate his crops and with his management system including attention to his crop rotations he hasn’t had straw problems in the following spring.

Gregor Beck, also a SaskFlax Board Member stresses the need to keep your chopper in good operating order. Given the volume of material that is fed through the chopper, the blades need to be sharp and there are two methods of doing this – either by removing the blade and having it professionally sharpened or by upgrading to the self-sharpening option.

Provincial Soils Specialist, Ken Panchuk confirms that chopping and spreading straw and chaff is a critical first step in a zero-till or min-till seeding system. “A well maintained straw chopper is the key to crop residue management.”

Stripper Header Technology Recent market surveys and on-going research indicate there are many potential products that could utilize flax fibers to complement or replace glass, synthetic and cotton fibers. There is growing optimism that Saskatchewan flax fiber will evolve from a “troublesome waste product” to an economically positive stream of additional income for those willing to take the additional time and effort and make the necessary financial contribution in managing their flax straw crop. According to Alvin Ulrich out of Saskatoon based Crop Fibers Canada, “Current research projects are hoping to prove that Saskatchewan producers have the ability to produce higher quality straw on a consistent basis. Positive results have been seen on small scale plots, but now it’s time to see if those same results can be achieved on a full field scale and throughout our growing region.” Demonstrations carried out with three producers from different regions in the fall of 2006 and the spring of 2007 have shown that it is possible to manage flax straw under a variety of stand conditions to improve the type of fiber and shive that can be extracted.

Lyle Simonson has been using stripper header technology for the past three years on his flax crop in southwestern Saskatchewan and sees many advantages in using one. He relates, “When we looking at dates for harvest, typically in this part of the country we’ll harvest our flax well into September or it’s been into October. The last three years where we have had the experience with the stripper header we’ve started harvesting our flax as early as the beginning of August. The flax [bolls] are dry and ready to harvest and the flax straw is anything but ripe to cut, but it works out well with the stripper header. This is probably a month earlier than we would normally be doing it with a conventional header.”

When asked about the merits of purchasing a stripper header Lyle feels the biggest consideration is what to do with the straw still standing in the field after the seed has been harvested. “To properly manage the straw takes a bit of work after it has been harvested. On our operation we have “worked with cutting and baling, or rolling, raking and baling so there are different options to look at.”

According to Mark Stumborg with Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada’s Swift Current Research Station, there is a number of economic advantages to using a stripper header. The biggest one is to further diversify and improve a producer’s stream of income. Farmers can look at additional possible economic returns from an acre of flax other than the seed. That being said, farmers have never had to worry about straw quality in the past but in order to access those higher end fiber markets new management strategies will have to be implemented to achieve those market demands. In addition, changing the header technology and reducing the amount of material going through the combine reduces wear and tear as well as allowing the combine to move through the field more quickly.

The most important feature beyond making sure that the flax field is clean and uniform, is getting the straw to ret. Retting takes time, moisture, and the appropriate temperature and assorted other variables, but the biggest problem is time. Using a stripper header opens up a much broader horizon for retting to occur given the earlier seed harvest time and very positive results in the area of field retting are being seen.

In Alvin Ulrich’s words, “We have shown that large scale commercial retting of traditional oilseed flax is possible in Saskatchewan if certain nontraditional agronomic, harvest and straw management practices are carried out.”

Other Stripper Header Straw Management Options
In a perfect world, all of Saskatchewan’s flax fiber would have the option of moving into higher end markets, but as realists we know that there will always be some that doesn’t make it. It could be for any one of several reasons including a want to return the straw to the soil for added ground cover and fertility, unfavourable weather conditions, a field that has too much second growth or an infestation of undesirable plants.

For producers in this situation, or those that have trouble managing flax straw in the spring, Wayne Kalthoff, Territory Manager for Saskatchewan based Schulte Products recommends producers consider the use of a rotary cutter. Their newest release Model FX742 is said to be the world’s largest rotary cutter giving a 42-foot cutting width.

For any producer with an interest in shredding crop residue this Saskatchewan made line of products may provide some answers. According to Kalthoff, “It’s our Fixed Knife Technology with strategically placed baffles that gives us the ability to shred crop residue and spread it evenly behind our cutter better than any rotary cutter on the market today. Field finish is what we aim for. A farmer can zero-till into it without any more field passes.” He goes on to say, “As more areas restrict or ban the burning of crop residue, including straw, corn and cotton stocks, we see a need to respond to a world wide demand for methods to deal with it. These areas encompass large tracts of land in many regions and our technology is a natural fit.” For more information on Schulte products in particular Schulte’s Fixed Knife Technology go to www.schulte.ca or call 1.306.287.3715.

Source: N. Lee Pengilly, Saskatchewan Flax Grower, Fall 2007, pages 2-3.