Minimizing Soybean Loss During Harvest

Sep 16, 2014

A farm production advisor with Manitoba Agriculture, Food, and Rural Development wants to help producers better manage their soybean harvest.

Terry Buss was a guest speaker at a crop tour in the Steinbach area last week and talked about the importance of setting the cutter bar at the correct height.

"A big part of harvesting soybeans is getting as low as we can go," he said. "Laying a finished 2x4 on its side gives you a height of about an inch and a half, that's how low the cutter bar is cutting for the producers I work with who have really gotten good at harvesting soybeans."

Buss noted about 80 per cent of losses occur at the cutter bar as a result of the knife being too high.

Another important factor to consider, according to Buss, is reel speed. He says it's important not to run the reel too fast, as that will end up knocking beans out of the pods. Also a reel that is spinning too slow will leave soybeans on the field.

Buss also said that the best time to do plant stand counts is after harvest. He recommends taking a hoop that is 28.25 inches in diameter (he used a hoola-hoop) and multiplying the amount of plant stands by 10,000. That number will give you the total number of plants per acre.

Source: SteinbachOnline

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