Better And Better

If you don't draw yours, I won't draw mine. A police officer, working in the small town that he lives in, focusing on family and shooting and coffee, and occasionally putting some people in jail.

Thursday, June 12, 2008

Harvest time.

We tend to associate the term with autumn, but it's now harvest time on the north Texas prairie. Quarter-million dollar combines churn through the fields, taking up to 45 bushels an acre of golden grain. In an area where wheat fields are routinely several hundred acres apiece, there's some serious Wonder Bread potential going on around here.

I stopped a grain hauler for a minor equipment violation, and as men who are a little bored of an afternoon will do, we got to chatting.

"What're y'all doing with all that wheat straw that I'm seeing baled out in the fields?" I asked him. "Surely there's no nutrition in it for hay?"

"Naw-- it wouldn't make very good feed," he guffawed. "It's the damndest thing, though-- we're getting $22 a large square bale for it, plus $12 just to haul it!"

"Okay. . . what are they using it for, then?" I pondered.

"Two things: they use it in mushroom farming, so long as it's clean and never rained on, like this straw," he said, gesturing toward the field of giant square bales next to the road.

"Okayyy.... and?"

"And they've got this plant --you're never gonna believe this-- where they make insulation out of it," he said.

"For what?" I actually was surprised.

"Mobile homes and trailer campers," he said. "Now I know what you're wondering, and I asked the same thing."

"Yeah: isn't that about the most flammable insulation a person could put in their walls?!?" I asked.

"Like I said, I thought the same damn thing. Apparently, they've got this process where they compress it into wafer boards, and affix a fire-proof coating on it, and if a spark ever does get inside, it's so starved for oxygen, it can't burn. They claim that it can last for 8 hours to a wood flame and not catch," he said.

"No kidding. I never would've guessed," I proclaimed.

"Me neither. And for us, it's like selling trash off the ground. This stuff was just cast aside or tilled under, before, and now it's a supplemental crop," he said.

"Does it make any difference with the quality of the earth, now that it's not being tilled under?" I asked.

"Naw. We quit tilling, anyhow, " he said. "We've got this new method that drills the seed in and covers it up. That way, the soil holds water better when it's dry out."

You can learn a lot from a farm trucker, if you'll take the time to listen. I'd never heard this stuff before.

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7 Comments:

At Thursday, June 12, 2008 4:37:00 PM, Blogger Rabbit said...

http://www.balewatch.com/

You make houses out of it.

We've thought about doing such. It's a superinsulator.

Regards,
Rabbit.

 
At Friday, June 13, 2008 1:02:00 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

Didn't know about the insulaion uses, but as far as the no-till planting, that's starting to catch on a lot. Advantages are, you still have the stubble (with attendant root structure) from the past crop to hold the soil and reduce erosion, as well as helping to keep the soil from drying out, thereby helping our soil structure. You also don't end up chopping up your earthworms into little pieces. From an environmental standpoint, it's a "friendlier" way to plant crops. They're using it a lot more up here in PA--the state Extension Office is really promoting it.

 
At Friday, June 13, 2008 4:25:00 PM, Blogger Arthur said...

If the they ever get cellulosic ethanolCellulosic ethanol working profitably, there's gonna be some cold double-wides.

 
At Saturday, June 14, 2008 1:23:00 AM, Blogger Larry said...

And if Bell Bio Energy is successful, they will make oil out of it.

 
At Saturday, June 14, 2008 12:30:00 PM, Blogger Rogue Medic said...

This is not the solution to your lawn mowing problems. :-)

 
At Thursday, June 19, 2008 5:28:00 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

Yeah..... all these folks saying biofuels are not economially sound do not take into acount all the by-products coming out of the ethanol and bio-diesel plants: Everything from distillers grains, to flooring and adhesives......

 
At Thursday, June 19, 2008 7:53:00 PM, Blogger Matt G said...

I'm pretty sure that biofuels are NOT something to hang your hat on as a rescue for national/world energy problems. It is worth adding into the mix, but growing acres of corn simply to crank out through your engine.

Using the excess, like wheat straw, is genius. But thinking one can replace oil with corn squeezin's is wasting yet another resource.

Not to throw the baby out with the bathwater, though.

 

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