Growing straw
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|Choice of land and cultivations
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Fertility
Traditionally, wheat was grown for 1-2 years following a crop of legumes, or after a grass ley, with a break of at least three years before another wheat crop. Nitrogen levels can be too rich after a long ley, so it is wise to grow a root crop immediately after the ley followed by one or two thatch crops, and then barley or roots before the field is returned to ley. The risk of ‘take all’ disease (Gaeumannomyces graminis) increases greatly in year three, and continuous production should be avoided as it has a negative impact on soil health and forces growers to use fungicides and a high-input approach.
A light dressing of manure can be ploughed under prior to planting, but fields should not be heavily dunged. Farmyard manure should be spread as evenly as possible to encourage even growth. Experienced growers find that small, regular inputs of well-composted farmyard manure improve soil texture and provide a steady source of nutrients for plant growth throughout the growing season. When composted manure is not available, green manures and legume crops should be grown in rotation and ploughed down.
Some growers insist on a light seedbed dressing of artificial phosphorus and potassium (P-K) fertiliser to encourage the development of healthy stems and roots. This would normally be applied at no more than 30 units (37 kg/ha) of P and 50 units (63 kg/ha) of K, although some growers double these values if no FYM had been applied the previous year. Unfortunately, added phosphorus will greatly reduce the activity of root myccorhiza, and in the long run reduces the natural health of the soil. Applying artificial fertiliser ‘down the spout’ at sowing time is not recommended on healthy soil, as anything that reduces the early development of a strong root system that can gather nutrients from a large ‘rhizosphere’ will have a negative impact.
For growers who insist on a conventional route, at sowing time no more than 20 units (25 kg/ha) of nitrogen should be applied to an old variety such as Little Joss, or 35 units (44 kg/ha) to a modern variety such as Maris Widgeon.
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Sowing
Wheat tillers in the spring, and too dense a planting will encourage strong competition between shoots and encourage the production of tall, fine, weak straw that is prone to lodging. Older varieties tiller more than modern varieties at low planting densities and in low nitrogen conditions. Most growers plant at 1.5 cwt/acre (188.2 kg/ha). It is better to sow thinly than thickly (in the autumn) in order to discourage disease and increase stem diameter. The seed rate should also be adjusted for reductions in germination rate.
Thatching wheat is normally planted in 15-20 cm (6-8″) rows depending on soil conditions and sowing date. Some organic growers prefer 25-30 cm (10-12″) spacings which allows for inter-row cultivation, and improves air circulation which reduces the incidence of mildew and other diseases. Modern drills can place seed at a standard 1.1-1.6″ (3-4 cm) depth so that the crop emerges evenly. A field is then be rolled with a Cambridge press roller, which removes air pockets and improves establishment. Conventional growers will apply a pre-emergent herbicide to kill weed seeds and seedlings immediately after sowing.
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Spring treatments
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Weed control
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Disease control
Diseases generally strike more heavily in lush crops with a dense leaf canopy. Powdery mildew (Erisphe graminis), for example, can be reduced by sparser planting which improves air circulation. This will also reduce the rate of spread of pests such as aphids which open the plant to fungal attack. ‘Take-all’ disease (Gaeumannomyces graminis), which bleaches ears and stems and prevents plants from setting seed, is spread by a soil fungus that increases in virulence over a 3-4 year cycle. The best defences are to avoid continuous cropping of wheat, ensure that fields are properly rotated with disease-resistant crops, and not to plant too early.
Wireworm can devastate a wheat crop that is sown immediately after the break up of a grass ley. The ley should be broken up in the summer and worked up several times before planting in order to reduce the risk of infection. Stubble and trash should also be ploughed down as soon as possible after a straw harvest, unless conditions allow the rapid establishment of a clover ley. Every effort should be made to ensure that no volunteer plants survive to provide a ‘green bridge’ for disease to spread from year to year.
Many conventional growers apply at least one fungicide spray early in the growing season to help reduce the risk of fungal attack, but fungicides can interfere with natural wax production on leaf and stem surfaces, and thereby increase the plant’s susceptibility to further attack. Less wax will also reduces the straw’s water shedding ability and longevity. Growing mixtures of resistant varieties will slow the spread of viral and fungal diseases and help reduce their impact.
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Lodging
The risk of a crop lodging increases when the soil is compact and contains little organic matter. Varieties also differ in their resistance to lodging: large diameter stems with thick walls will not buckle as readily as narrow stems with thin walls. Dense planting, high fertility, and poor weed control will also encourage stems to grow quickly and increase the risk of lodging. A new grower should plant shorter varieties where there is a risk of lodging, and move on to taller, higher quality varieties or mixtures once he has greater experience and soil nitrogen levels have been reduced. Mixtures containing a proportion of short, lodging-resistant varieties can also provide a useful buffer on soils of uneven fertility. No matter what precautions are taken, a perfect crop can be flattened by strong winds and rain just before harvest.
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Field records
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Processing straw
Cutting & stooking
The timing of the straw harvest is critical. A common saying from the last century still applies: “if you think it’s ready to cut it’s a week too late.” Quality will plummet if the straw is left to ripen only two days beyond its prime. In the West Country, CWR will usually be ready to cut in early-mid July depending on the weather. It must be harvested several weeks before it would be considered ripe enough to combine so that the straw remains flexible. Growers look for a ‘rainbow’ of colours, or a residual band of light green tissue on the upper internodes, but varieties differ in how this colour-ripening phase progresses. A little moisture should come out of the stem when a thumbnail is forced up along the upper internode. The grain must be ‘yellow ripe’ or ‘cheesy’ (in the middle of the ‘dough development stage’), whereas grain producers combine their crops only once the grain is ‘dead ripe’. Grain will ripen perfectly well in the stook and in storage. Older varieties and mixtures ripen more unevenly and slowly than modern wheat, which can be a advantage in hot weather. Growing several different varieties will also stagger ripening times and allow the harvest work to be spread over several weeks.
The cutter bar of the reaper-binder is usually set to leave a 8-13 cm (3-5″) stubble, but can be raised is the soil is stoney, uneven or full of short weeds. The binder should tie sheaves into bundles no more than 20-25 cm (8-10″) in diameter so that they dry out quickly in the stook. A traditional reaper binder requires two people – a tractor driver and someone operating the binder. Assuming no breakdowns in machinery and good weather, an experienced operator can cut c. 7-10 acres of straw in one day.
Sheaves are placed in a stook to dry, and an experienced worker can stook at least two acres of wheat in a day. The heads of the sheaves must be locked securely together, but in a way that allows the wind to blow through them. The crop is left in stooks to dry for 1-3 weeks to ensure that it is as dry as possible before it goes into storage.
According to tradition, the best quality thatch was obtained from wheat that had been kept in a thatched rick until Christmas. Storage in a rick allows moisture to dissipate, and ‘conditions’ the straw making it easier to comb and thresh. PVC sheeting prevents the straw from ‘breathing’, and a good crop of straw can be ruined in just a few weeks if it is not stored properly. Most growers store the harvest indoors, usually in round bales compressed using a specially built ‘bundle clamp’. Straw should always be stored on pallets, and storage areas should be well-baited to reduce rodent infestations.
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Threshing (for long straw)
Threshing requires a team of at least five people: one person to load straw onto the upper box, a second to pass this straw to the feeder, the feeder who drops the straw into the mouth of the drum, a fourth to keep the thresher in working order and tie off full sacks of grain, and at least one more person to clear and stack the threshed straw. Feeding the thresher so as to minimise damage to the straw while maintaining a steady throughput is an art, and sets the pace for the entire operation. The straw is fed into the drum almost horizontally in order to minimise damage to the straw, and a drum less than 54″ wide is too narrow to cope with the longer-stemmed varieties used by thatchers.
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Combing (for combed wheat reed)
As with threshing, at least five people are required for an efficient combing operation and a larger team is recommended. An efficient team can comb over 1,000 14 lb (6.4 kg) bundles of combed wheat reed in a day. Straw is easier to comb after it has been stored for several months in a rick or a well-ventilated barn, and the key to good combing is to feed the straw into the mouth of the comber at a smooth and steady rate.
Several straw producers have built their own machines in recent years from detailed plans issued by the Rural Development Commission in the 1980s, but building a comber is an expensive and laborious undertaking and is not recommended for new growers. A portable combing machine has recently been developed which would allow smaller producers to comb their own combed wheat reed.
Some growers harvest their crops with a header stripper and swather. The header stripper strips the grain off the ripening stem while it is still standing in the field. The stripped straw is then cut, swathed and round-baled, and sold as either long straw or combed wheat, even though it has not gone through a threshing drum and has not been combed. Grain must be well-ripened in order for the header-stripper to work efficiently, and any delay in cutting the stripped straw will allow it to ripen even further and become very brittle. Many experienced thatchers and growers believe that header-stripped straw does not perform as well as traditional CWR or LS, and straw produced in this way should not be marketed as if it were the traditional product. Similarly, the drum of a modern combine harvester is too narrow to produce good quality LS, and will not remove grain as efficiently as a threshing machine.
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Yield
Three 14 lb (6.4 kg) nitches of combed wheat reed will cover one m2 of weathered thatch, and 29 nitches (406 lbs/185 kg) are required to thatch a traditional ‘thatcher’s square’ (Tsq) of 100 ft2 (9.3 m2). New work is applied a little more thickly at a rate of c. 4.6 nitches per m2, or 43 nitches (595 lbs/270 kg) per Tsq. Few thatched roofs are smaller than 6 Tsq (= c. 1.5 acres of straw), and additional straw is required for replacing stripped eaves and gables and for ridging. The figures for long straw are comparable. In practice, coverage will vary depending on the length of the straw, its taper, and the thickness to which the thatch is applied. A ton of Maris Huntsman provides greater coverage than a ton of Squareheads Master, and many thatchers will prefer to use a modern variety even though an older one may be more durable.
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Selling & buying straw
Large growers and dealers are now heavily involved in the production and marketing of both combed wheat reed and long straw throughout the UK, and can ship straw to any part of the country at short notice. Much of the combed wheat reed now used ‘up country’ is produced in Devon and Cornwall. Large West Country grower-dealers have helped smaller local producers find an outlet for their crop, and playing an important role in buffering seasonal fluctuations in price and availability. A new grower may decide that it is simpler to sell his crop to a local dealer, who will work with him to ensure the crop is grown and processed to a high standard. Many smaller growers prefer to sell their standing crops to a local dealer in order to avoid having to process, store and sell the straw themselves.
Read more...Combed wheat reed grown in the West Country sold for £ 800-1000 per ton (delivered) in 2008, but fell slightly to more normal levels in 2009. Long straw sells for £ 550-750 per ton in East Anglia.
Thatch is a low-input, but labour intensive, crop, but much of this labour may already be available on the farm or can be exchanged for goods or labour within the local economy. A recent survey indicated that an average crop of combed wheat reed can generate a net profit of £300-400/acre, not including the sale or farm use of grain and combings. Net profits can be higher than this on farms that have found ways of reducing labour costs and improving efficiency without compromising straw quality. A new grower must undertake a careful cost/benefit analysis before deciding to become a straw producer. Given the current state of agriculture and the prognosis for the future, the advantages will outweigh the disadvantages for many small and medium-sized growers, and particularly for those with storage facilities and cereal growing experience and equipment.