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U.S. Department of Energy
Office of Scientific and Technical Information

Agricultural crop residue collection costs

Technical Report ·
DOI:https://doi.org/10.2172/5755009· OSTI ID:5755009
Five different systems for collecting agricultural crop residues are examined: conventional bales, big round bales, big rectangular bales, stackwagons, and loose chop. The stackwagon system had the lowest costs per ton for both a 400-acre corn harvest and a 750-acre wheat harvest. Big round bales are less expensive than the stackwagon system under certain circumstances. Big rectangular bales are competitive when larger acreages are harvested. Conventional bales appear competitive on small acreages where on-farm labor is not a constraint. Loose-chop harvesting systems are not feasible unless transportation distances are short. Custom rates for three systems (conventional bale, big round bale, and stackwagons) are examined to confirm the ordinate ranking of system costs. The custom rates and cost estimates are based on farms located in central Iowa and central Oklahoma, the sample farming situations that are examined in other research in the Analysis Division of SERI. Costs only represent costs for new equipment. These estimates do not represent average charges for the existing stock of harvesting equipment and do not reflect opportunity costs for other farm activities.
Research Organization:
Solar Energy Research Inst., Golden, CO (USA)
DOE Contract Number:
EG-77-C-01-4042
OSTI ID:
5755009
Report Number(s):
SERI/RR-353-354
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English