Straw For Sale - What Is It Worth?

Straw value is determined mostly by supply and demand. At what price is the straw better left in the field? Soil nutrient value of straw is at least 1.0 ¢/lb. This price should be at least 2.0 ¢/lb if nitrogen, organic matter and soil structure are a high priority for the field.

The sale of straw should at least recover the fertilizer replacement value. Fertilizer replacement value depends on the straw yield and cost of fertilizer, but there are also other factors to consider. Some of the reasons for removing straw may include:

• potential yield reductions caused from difficulties of no-till planting into straw residue,
• existing soil fertility levels are high and/or manure or red clover are returned to the field on a regular basis,
• additional trips or field operations are required to uniformly spread or incorporate straw and chaff, and
• low supply of straw resulting in higher demand and higher return.

Determining Wheat Straw Yield

With current wheat varieties there is a tremendous range of straw yield. The traditional rule of thumb was that one bushel of wheat grain produced one small square bale (35 lbs). That would translate into about 1.25 tonnes/ac straw for an 80 bushel crop. Realistic straw yields range between 1 to 1.75 tons/ac and are closely tied to wheat variety and grain yield. A straw yield of 2 tonnes/ac would be very optimistic, but not impossible. Table 1 shows the relationship between grain and straw yield based on variety.

Determining Straw Value

If selling the straw off the field is the best option, then as a minimum the price should reflect the fertilizer replacement value of the straw. The values of straw types estimated in Table 2 are based on average nutrient removal and average fertilizer prices. These values do not include organic matter value or micro nutrients. Many growers feel that the organic matter value far exceeds the nutrient replacement value. Organic matter value is significant, but will depend on many factors differing for each field and is definitely an individual decision.

Source: Potash and Phosphorus Institute – 1998
¹ Commercial Fertilizer Value: N= $0.50 P₂0₅= $0.40 K₂0= $0.30
² Value based on 3000 lbs/ac straw yield; 4000 lbs corn stover yield

Should Nitrogen Value be Considered in Straw Value?

The nitrogen contained in straw is not returned to the soil in the year following the wheat crop. For this reason some people only consider the phosphorus and potash value. Straw has a high carbon to nitrogen ratio, which means that soil nitrogen may actually decrease while the straw is broken down. The nitrogen in the straw is utilized by the microbial populations in the soil and becomes an important part of the soil organic matter. However, this process occurs over the longer term. This means that the nitrogen in straw will be more valuable from a soil quality perspective in a field that does not receive regular manure applications or does not have forages or red clover in the rotation.

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