2000 - Volume #24, Issue #6, Page #16

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He Likes Roto Chop Stalk Chopper

He Likes Roto Chop Stalk Chopper COMBINES Accessories 24-6-16 Chopping corn stalks while harvesting corn is an idea that makes a lot of sense. But does it work? FARM SHOW recently talked with David Sather, Franklin, Minn., who has used a "Roto Chop" header-mounted stalk chopper for a number of years (Crary Co., Box 849, West Fargo, N.Dak. 58078 ph 800 247-7335 or 701 282-5520; fax 9522; E-mail: sales@crary.com; Website: http://www.crary.com). "I've used the Roto Chop for seven years now to chop more than 5,600 acres. I couldn't be happier with it," Sather says. "The 10-in. chopper blades mount under the header and are chain-driven off the combine jackshaft. I used them this fall on my Deere 9550 combine equipped with a new 6-row 30-in. corn header. This header has sharp knife rollers that chew up the stalks a little, and the Roto Chop blades do the rest. I leave the chopped stalks on the ground over the winter to reduce soil erosion and don't do any fall tillage at all. The following spring I go over the field with a field cultivator. My soybeans averaged about 50 bu. per acre this year so the system is working for me. My only maintenance cost was to replace a gearbox that got damaged by a rock. I use an offset grinder to keep the blades sharp. The blades are reversible. A set of blades can be expected to last about four years. "I paid about $1,200 per row for the blades and I think they're worth it, considering the expense of running an extra tractor and fuel for operating a pull-type chopper and also the expense of fall tillage work. It also saves a lot of time."