Pay Attention to Equipment, Operation to Reduce Soybean Harvest Losses
Pay Attention to Equipment, Operation to Reduce Soybean Harvest Losses
10/9/06
Contact: Laura Probyn
EAST LANSING, Mich. -- Maintaining equipment and operating it with care during harvest may seem unimportant, but when not taken into account, can contribute to soybean yield losses of up to 15 percent -- an expense no farmer can afford in these days of high input costs.
With careful management, such as avoiding shatter losses at the header, yield losses can be held at 3 percent or less. The best way to prevent shatter losses is to harvest as much of the crop as possible before the moisture level in the beans falls below 13 percent. When soybeans undergo repeated wetting and drying cycles after initially drying below 13 percent moisture, the pods become more brittle and easily shatter.
The following recommendations will help farmers prevent harvest losses and get more of their 2006 soybean crop to market.
** Keep knife sections sharp and tight, and make sure that all guards, wear plates and hold-down clips are in good condition and properly adjusted. Consider replacing standard knife sections with narrow knife sections to reduce shatter losses.
** Operate the cutter bar as close to the ground as possible.
** Keep the ground speed at 3 miles per hour or less.
** Adjust your reel to run about 25 percent faster than your ground speed. For a 42-inch diameter reel, this is about 10 to 11 revolutions per minute, per mile per hour of ground speed (i.e. 30 rpm for 3 mph).
** If the crop is standing well, position the reel axis 6 to 9 inches ahead of the cutter bar and adjust the reel height so that the tips of the fingers operate about 12 inches above the ground. If the plants are tangled or lodged, position the reel axis 9 to 12 inches ahead of the cutter bar and adjust the height so that the reel runs about 1 inch above the ground. Raise the reel if plants are riding over its top.
** Take advantage of conditions that create damp pods, such as dew, light rains or high humidity, to reduce shatter losses when pods become dry or brittle.
** Maintain the slowest cylinder speed possible that produces complete threshing.
** Remember that you are losing one bushel per acre for every four beans per square foot you find on the ground.
For more soybean harvest season tips, as well as other information about variety trials, management practices or research updates, visit the Michigan State University (MSU) Field Crop Team Web page at www.fieldcrop.msu.edu.
This article was produced by the Soybean 2010 project. Soybean 2010 was developed to help Michigan growers increase soybean yields and farm profitability. Funding for Soybean 2010 is provided by MSU Extension and the Michigan Soybean Promotion Committee.
To learn more, visit www.michigansoybean.org or contact Mike Staton, Soybean 2010 coordinator, at 269-944-4126 or by e-mail at staton@msu.edu.
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