Residue management

Leaving straw on the field:

• Creating a layer of mulch and suppressing weeds

• Adding high C:N ratio material to soil and thus increase SOM

• Feeding soil organisms

• Difficult to drill into thick layer of straw

• Bigger nitrogen requirement due to decomposition of straw

• Uneven layer of straw on the field might need extra pass with straw rake before drilling

• Combine’s straw chopping and spreading settings must be correct

• Harvesting time restrictions (can't harvest through night due to humidity)

Removing straw:

• Taking away a good carbon source

• Baling and transporting bales is time consuming

• Rain during harvesting period postpones baling (need to wait for the straw to dry, might need extra pass with tedder to aerate the straw and speed up the drying)

• Every extra task connected to baling postpones drilling date of cover crops or main crop