Swathing Wheat

[rusty6]

Photo from today as I was swathing the first field of wheat. Made a good jigsaw too.

Swathing Jigsaw

 

[rustred]

good for u , i just finished mine this evening. gonna do canola in about 1 week. still really green with this dry spring. u have a lot newer swather though. mine is the versatile 400 1981.

 

[rusty6]

(quoted from post at 20:25:00 09/07/23) good for u , i just finished mine this evening. gonna do canola in about 1 week. still really green with this dry spring. u have a lot newer swather though. mine is the versatile 400 1981.

I finished swathing my 300 acres canola a week ago and it was ready. This wheat could have been swathed earlier but I was in no hurry. Got in 5 hours this afternoon. Got another couple of hundred acres to go. Mine is a JD 2360 built by Macdon in Canada. Its old too. From the mid 80s.

 

[SleepyFarmall]

Excuse my ignorance; you are swathing unharvested wheat that will be picked up and threshed later? Thanks, Michael

 

[Briar Hill Brittanys]

Nice shot. Always like seeing your picture and video posts.

 

[coonie minnie]

Dumb question- is canola typically swathed, or dried down chemically?

 

[rusty6]

(quoted from post at 02:03:48 09/08/23) Excuse my ignorance; you are swathing unharvested wheat that will be picked up and threshed later? Thanks, Michael

Yes, swathing wheat to dry down the green patches is the way it was done here for years. Now many are using chemicals to dry down and then direct cut. I don't.

 

[rusty6]

(quoted from post at 04:18:15 09/08/23) Dumb question- is canola typically swathed, or dried down chemically?

Yes, swathing canola was the only way for years. Direct cutting was unheard of but in recent years it seems to be working for some. Although I know some that straight cut standing canola last year and this year they are back to swathing and combining later. Mine is all swathed.

 

[BillinCentralMO]

How much do you expect on your wheat yield this year ? Glad you are doing well.

 

[BarryfromIA]

Beautiful picture even with the green thing in it.

 

[rusty6]

(quoted from post at 09:23:55 09/08/23) How much do you expect on your wheat yield this year ? Glad you are doing well.

I have no expectations on yield.

 

[rusty6]

(quoted from post at 10:07:12 09/08/23) Beautiful picture even with the green thing in it.

You could buy the same swather in red if you wanted an IH 6000 or Massey 885. They are a very good swather. This one has the double swath table so if the crop is light I can lay two 21 foot swaths side by side. Makes a huge difference when combining. Half as many turns and double the material entering the combine.

 

[marcusmerritt]

That's an exceptionally sharp image! I can make out individual tree limbs in the distance and the individual stems of the wheat. Thanks for posting.

 

[showcrop]

Yes, it made a good jigsaw.

 

[tomstractorsandtoys]

Looks good.

 

[Caryc]

Would anyone have mercy on this poor non farmer and explain swathing please?

 

[BillinCentralMO]

My understanding - it is too cool and wet - for the grain to ever dry in the field - enough to store it - or dry
it in the bin. So , much like haying , they cut it into windrows ( swathing) to dry in the field. Then pick it up
with a combine that shells it. Before automation - it was hand tied into shocks to stand in the field and dry.
Then hauled to a thresher to be shelled.

 

[BillinCentralMO]

Can you finish drying it in a bin with a fan only ? Or do you have heat on the dryer ? This is all very interesting to me.

 

[BillinCentralMO]

Post below this shows swathing video too.

 

[Caryc]

(quoted from post at 07:20:33 09/09/23) My understanding - it is too cool and wet - for the grain to ever dry in the field - enough to store it - or dry
it in the bin. So , much like haying , they cut it into windrows ( swathing) to dry in the field. Then pick it up
with a combine that shells it. Before automation - it was hand tied into shocks to stand in the field and dry.
Then hauled to a thresher to be shelled.

Thank you so much, I get it now. :wink: