Advantages Created by Stripper Headers

1. By not pulling as much straw into the combine we are able harvest the crop faster while burning less fuel per acre saving us money and lowering our fossil fuel use.
2. By leaving the straw standing we capture more moisture in the winter producing more yield in the summer. We also create a better micro-climate for the young developing plants sheltering them against excess wind, heat, and cold. creating less stress for the plants producing more grain while limiting our environmental footprint by using less inputs per bushel than rival farming systems.
3. Long straw and high residue created by this system presents some unique challenges, mainly seeding though the high amount of residue created. Seeding systems that use shanks moving through the ground struggle to seed through the long straw left behind from our stripped headers. To solve this issue we have chosen to seed with a disc drill. Disc drills are able to cut through the residue and place a seed accurately at high speeds. Disc drills even in a conventional farming system are some of the most accurate seeding systems available on the prairie. The high accuracy of a disc drill improves yields and reduces environmental impact by creating less soil disturbance.
4. Water use efficiency is better as plants are shaded by tall stubble and better protected from the wind hard rains and many other adverse nature conditions.
5. Peas and other vine crops following wheat can climb onto last year's cereal stubble standing better and getting more airflow through the canopy keeping disease at lower levels, and improving harvest ability.

Disc seeders in conjunction with high residue left by the stripper heads, will often make it hard to tell if land has been seeded or not. Often from the road the plant has to grow to 2 or 3 inches tall before you will be able to tell that we actually seeded a crop.