Beans with a row crop head....?

[IHMANKY]

I have always heard of it done but never witnessed it.. Today I was watching RFD and they showed a farmer in Nebraska running a 6 row JD through a field of soybeans with a corn head... looked like he was moving at a good clip too... I was amazed. The beans I had this year went to within 6 inches of the ground, don't think I could cut them that low with my corn head... Anyone run a row crop head through beans regularly?

 

[Anonymous-0]

what you saw was an all crop head,my grandpa also thought it was a corn head when he saw his first one 25 yers ago, a few guys used them for soybeans around here, correct me if I am wrong but as far as i know people also used them for milo and sunfowers.

 

[Moline_guy]

Like dboll said, it was an all crop head. They use a rotary knife and gathering belts like a silage cutter head. Brings everything above the knife into the head. When we had sunflowers we used them and they work well, but you are running the whole stalk through instead of just the head. We have also used them on corn, but you have to keep it slow because of all the stalks getting run through the machine. Before modern flex heads and round up beans the all crop heads were common on beans, they shell very little if head and ground speed are set correct and they can cut close to the ground also, but they do not like rocks at all.

 

[JMS/.MN]

dboll is right- it is not a corn head . Bean stalks need to be cut before going into the combine.,. and JD made a fixed row head for that. Obviously was not popular. One issue was row spacing---pretty limited to the spacing it was built for. Other thing was shattering, going up the head. BTW- where do you find beans where the lowest pods are six inches off the ground?

 

[Moline_guy]

picture of all crop head

 

[IHMANKY]

It's all making sense now, seems I read an article awhile back on sunflower harvesting and thought that was a corn head too.. same theory, little different mechanics. Gotcha. Had a variety of Beck's and also another of Southern Cross that produces low pod beans. They get pretty muddy first hard rain after planting, but other than that, had really good luck out of them.

 

[HuskerMedic]

Guy I worked for while I was in high school and college used a JD 653A adapted to a MF 760 combine to harvest soybeans. He liked it because the row units floated somewhat independently and did a better job cutting close to the ground on the terraces he farmed.

For milo, we used a 16' platform with milo guards. Obviously, cutting close to the ground was not an issue in milo. The platform was too wide to do a decent job in beans on much of his ground.

Only time the 653A did get used in milo was if we had some go down. Worked pretty good for that.

Some guys back then used what were called "Head Hunters"-I believe they were made by Hesston-attached to platform headers to harvest milo. I never actually saw any in action, but from the looks of them, they operated somewhat on the same principle the row crop headers did.

This was 25 or so years ago. Not much milo grown in that area anymore.

 

[Haley]

I run two row crop heads on my 642 Fords every year in soybeans and grain sorghum. In my opinion if you ever tried one especially in short soybeans you would throw your grain table in the scrap pile. The biggest drawback to a row crop head that I see is the maintenence cost to run them. I just put a full set of knives and bolts on both heads for just under $600. Each row unit carries eight bearings,two dry gears,one regular chain for the rotating knife,two gathering belts and chains,and two gathering belt idlers(on top of 6 rotating knives and one stationary knife).There is a lot that can go wrong with them but when they are right it just doesnt get any sweeter.They really take the hassle out of combining bushy hard to feed beans.I usually cant cut more than 30 acres per day on our terraced land with a 15' table but have cut 60 acres with the row crop head-Its that much smoother.Ive heard a lot of people on here that dont like them but As a custom harvester that needs to get over acres and do a great job when the time is right,You would be HARD pressed to get me to go back to a grain table in beans or sorghum.Just my opinion.

 

[Tim(nj)]

I'm surprised with all the genetic engineering that nobody has yet used it to make the pod set high enough that the cutterbar doesn't have to run on the ground.

 

[spacechem]

haley has best response so far- Rowcrop head works great, but maintenance cost is an issue. Will take in soybeans as fast as you can keep on the row. They sorta died out when guys went more to narrow rows or drilled beans.

Can't remember the story exactly, but it's kind of a Reese's Peanut Butter Cup story- Ottumwa (forage equipment) and Harvester (combine) guys somehow crossed paths in a soybean field and somebody said, "sounds crazy, but it might work..."

There was some politicking over which factory would develop this machine, but obviously the Harvester guys won out.

 

[Brendon-KS]

The Deere row heads used to be popular for beans but the flex headers pretty much ended that. Deere discontinued them a number of years ago. Here in Kansas they are still used for downed milo and sunflowers. You can even do corn with them if you go slow; it sends a lot of material through the combine but it does work, especially in the shorter dryland corn we have around here.

 

[JMS/.MN]

Yes- especially considering that pods near the ground are thicker than above. Majority of loss is there.

 

[paul]

Just as they got popular, folks went to narrow row/ drilled soybeans, and they lost out then.

You can't run at angles or end row crosses either, can't cut around wet spots very well.

But if you are on 30 inch bean rows you can really harvest, and popular with the other crops mentioned as well.

In corn as the one picure shows, understand one is running the whole plant through the combine, so it slows you down in corn.

--->Paul