Do Hand Samples Accurately Estimate Harvestable Corn Stover?.

Corn (Zea mays L.) stover can be a sustainable bioenergy or bio-product feedstock provided a sufficient amount remains to protect against wind and water erosion, sustain soil organic matter and support other critical functions (e.g. aggregation, structure, food  webs, etc.). To ensure that corn stover harvest is sustainable, accurate estimates of above-ground biomass will be needed to guide stover harvest operations. This study compares hand-sample estimates with the amount of corn stover collected using a one-pass combine harvesting system for several studies near Ames, IA.