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The economics of collecting chaff

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  30 October 2009

M. R. Olfert ,
Mark Stumborg ,
Wayne Craig  and
R. A. Schoney
M. R. Olfert
Affiliation:
Lecturer, Department of Agricultural Economics, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, CanadaS7N 0W0;
Mark Stumborg
Affiliation:
Energy/ Design Engineer, Research Station, Research Branch, Agriculture Canada, P.O. Box 1030, Swift Current, Saskatchewan, CanadaS9H 3X2;
Wayne Craig
Affiliation:
Manager of Rural Development Division, Saskatchewan Research Council, 15 Innovation Boulevard, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, CanadaS7N 2X8;
R. A. Schoney
Affiliation:
Professor, Department of Agricultural Economics, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, CanadaS7N 0W0.
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Abstract

Chaff, a by-product of cereal and oilseed production that is largely treated as waste product, may have significant economic value as a ruminant feed, and its collection and removal may reduce herbicide usage and tillage. We surveyed fifty farms located throughout the Brown, Dark Brown, and Black/Grey Wooded soil zones of Saskatchewan to determine the costs and benefits of their chaff collection systems. Benefits measured or estimated included both the feed value of chaff and agronomic benefits in the form of reduced tillage and herbicide requirements. Costs measured were for equipment and machinery ownership, maintenance and operation, including labor. The survey responses showed that, regardless of the type of collection system utilized, feed-related benefits outweighed the costs under the stated assumptions about prices and methods of assigning costs. Agronomic benefits alone also were sufficient to offset chaff collection costs. The net benefits of chaff collection are related to both the quantity of chaff collected and the distance the material is transported.

Keywords

chaff collectionchaff feedeconomics and chaffagronomic benefits of Chaff
Type
Articles
Information
American Journal of Alternative Agriculture , Volume 6 , Issue 4 , December 1991 , pp. 154 - 160
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1991

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References

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