Comparison of wet and dry corn stover harvest and storage

Corn stover has great potential as a biomass feedstock, but harvest and storage of this material is challenged by weather conditions at harvest; material moisture; and equipment shortcomings. Field drying characteristics, harvest efficiency and rate, product bulk density, and storage characteristics were quantified for stover harvested and stored in wet or dry form. Only in one case did stover reach dry baling moisture (∼20%) in the first 4 d of field drying. Conventional hay and forage harvesting equipment (shredder, rake, forage harvester, round baler, and square baler) produced an average harvested yield of about 30% of the total available stover mass. Harvesting capacity of this equipment was limited by difficulty in gathering shredded stover. The density of chopped or baled stover was less than that typically expected with hay and forage crops. Losses of wet stover ensiled at 44% moisture averaged 3.9% with low levels of fermentation products. Dry stover losses were 3.3% and 18.1% for bales stored indoors and outdoors, respectively. Harvesting wet stover right after grain harvest was timelier and resulted in a greater harvesting rate and yield compared to dry stover harvest. Storing wet stover by ensiling resulted in lower losses and more uniform product moisture compared to dry stover bales stored outdoors.