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Harvest 1) Quality. Dry bean are what everyone wants or needs. Ideally pinto bean harvest should begin when their moisture levels reach 14-16% range, while navy beans should be in the 17to 18% range. If moisture levels fall below the above percentages, you may see an increase in seed coat checks and splits in the load. Dry beans with seed coat checks can turn into splits when handled. 2) There is ZERO TOLERANCE FOR CORN AND SOYBEANS IN THE LOAD. Please remember to c lean out your combine and truck boxes before harvesting dry beans. The cleaning down of equipment also applies when switching over from harvesting different dry bean classes ( i.e. navy to pinto or pinto to navy ). 3) Fine tune your harvest equipment to minimize field loss and harvest high quality dry beans. Use only enough cylinder speed to do a good job threshing ( 150-300 rpm ). Closely monitor the quality of the dry beans in your hopper as the day progresses. cylinder speed may have to be reduced to compensate for additional drying. As great as possible of cylinder speed and concave clearance should be maintained, while still doing a good threshing job. Consult your operators manual for the recommended cylinder speed and concave setting. The manufacturers' recommendations apply to normal operating conditions. When dry bean moisture is significantly low it may be necessary to knife your dry beans in the early morning in order to minimize shell loss. To help reduce seed coat checks and splits crowd the combine cylinder to near maximum capacity without plugging the combine. The additional bean straw going through will help cushion the beans and prevent damage. to accomplish getting more straw through the combine you can increase your ground speed or place more rows in the window. Open the adjustable chaffer sufficiently for all threshed beans to fall through to t he cleaning sieve. The chaffer extension should be open slightly wider to let beans in the pods to pass into the tailing augur. Open the adjustable sieve only enough to let completely threshed beans fall through to the clean grain augur. Use a relatively strong fan blast and direct the fan blast toward the forward one-third of the cleaning shoe. Check your operators manual for specific recommendations. The tailings return should be periodically checked to observe the quantity and composition of the material being returned to the cylinder for rethreshing. If there is an appreciable quantity of the threshed beans in the tailing return, this indicates that the adjustable sieve or possibly the adjustable chaffer are closed too tightly. Completely threshed beans returning through the tailings augur for rethreshing will increase the possibility of seed coat checks and split. Check the hopper for dirt foreign material and for beans that have check seed coats or are split. Excess dirt and chaff generally indicate that the adjustable sieve is adjusted too wide or that the fan blast is inadequate or improperly directed. Excessive checks and/or splits generally indicate one or more or the following: A) Cylinder speed too high B) Cylinder concave clearance is too small C) Too many concave bars or grates are being used D) Too many completely threshed beans are being returned through the tailing system. Dry beans should always be handled carefully. Avoid dropping beans from great heights in unloading and handling, this will help reduce seed coat checks and splits. Cushion or deflect the fall of the dry beans whenever possible. Keep elevator flight chains snug so that flights ride true in the housing. Quality dry beans are essential to helping add to your bottom line. Please take the time to adjust your harvest equipment in order to maximize quality and yield. Better quality dry beans can open better markets and create better prices. |
