The current economic conditions at the farm gate are such that not only should we be focusing on achieving higher grain yields, we should also be finding innovative ways of reducing costs. We must maintain a strong focus on lowering our unit costs of production, and not necessarily by producing more grain. The development of the one-pass direct seeding and fertilizing system is an example of a technology that has resulted in reduced production and capital costs and reduced labour requirements, as well as the soil and water conservation benefits. We can now observe large acreages being seeded with one operating unit.
One area of the production system that has received very little attention in more recent years is harvest management. Harvest management encompasses swathing, the actual grain harvesting operation, straw chopping, chaff spreading and any other relevant post harvest residue management such as baling, heavy harrows and mulching.
The current harvesting technology is getting more expensive and more energy consuming and yet still is a very time consuming process relative to the seeding operation. We should strive to develop a harvest management system that parallels what has been attained with direct seeding i.e. similar capital costs and performance in terms of acres per day.
Another aspect that also needs to be considered is the potential future uses of crop residues for industrial purposes such as building materials (strawboard) a source of pulp for the paper industry, as a source of energy e.g. co-generation plants using straw for creating electricity, converting cellulose from straw into ethanol. For instance, in North America, government officials are predicting a shortage of wood fibre for paper production, hence the opportunity for crop residues as a substitute for wood fibres. Assuming that these opportunities for new uses for crop residues do materialise over time, there is a window of opportunity to critically review our current harvest management systems and to start developing technologies to take advantage of these possibilities.
If you have any ideas to share, I would be very happy to receive them and use them in the development of a strategy to bring about changes in harvest management. You can send your ideas via email at the following address (lafond@em.agr.ca) or fax them to me at (306) 695-3445.