(800) 853-2651
SHOP NOW

Harvesting Oats Questions

K

Kelly in tx

Member
I have a small patch of oats. It seems almost each year just when they are ripe to combine we get rain and wind and flatten them and then sometimes I get nothing.
I'm thinking of cutting/windrowing before the oats are dead ripe, then using a pickup attachment to combine them.
I know some northern farmers do it this way because of a short growing season.
IF I did it this way, at what stage would I cut? Soft Dough?
I have a cutter conditioner for cutting them. Should that work fine at the pre-dead ripe stage?
Thanks, kelly
 
You can cut them as soon as the seeds are yellow and they will ripen in the row. If you run them through the conditioner you will lose a lot of seeds. On most swathers you can remove the conditioner. I have heard of folks loosening the rollers on a haybine and getting by but I've never tried it.
 
I am 50 miles north of Lake Ontario, so not really all that far north, but I have swathed oats successfully many times
cvphoto80314.jpg

Life is full of trade offs. Swath them too early and then face two weeks of rain, it can be difficult to get them dry. Swath them later nearer to dead ripe, and swathing will cause some grain to shell out. Its a gamble, I have had 30 acres lay for over a week in rains, then flipped it, and had very little loss, and good harvest.
Nice heavy windrow will turn a lot of rain, but a light crop will get beat into the stubble
cvphoto80316.jpg
 
On haybine take tension off rollers an put a block of some sort to keep rollers open, very little shelling if cut b4 dead ripe.

Pete
 
P I Pete, I"m sorry, but HOW could the rollers be blocked open? Maybe I should ask WHERE the rollers could be blocked open? If the chain is removed I"d think it wouldn"t work at all???
 
These are also an option. We used them on the farm and currently use them on the grain binders at Junkshow. They do a surprisingly good job. On the binder we run them 10-12 apart. They lift the mat to get under. Closer causes tangling.
cvphoto80328.png
 
I 2nd the guard extensions, I put them on a JD 6620's 12' grain head and they worked very well. Kind of like you described, just before they are good to combine, they go down, wind, rain/storm or even the darned deer bedding down. Another consideration, is how much nitrogen is applied. Sometimes it makes them grow too tall, certainly increases the straw yield, but being so tall, they go down easily.

cvphoto80340.jpg
 
In my opinion, that picture of Bruce field, is dead ripe, that Could almost be straight cut, swath it on green order,the straws will still makes good feed !
 
In our climate, the straw will tend to stay green even if the head is ripe. Thus swathing is very popular, helps dry the entire crop down uniformly for easier and more thorough threshing with minimal seed loss. If the straw is not needed, cut long and do the crop straight. Lately, dessicant have become more popular to ensure even crop ripening and eliminate swathing.

Ben
 
A New Holland Haybine is a swather by cranking the the roll pressure crank fully off pressure and keep going and it will spread the rolls nice for swathing. Just a 5 minute job. I did this for years. A Hesston will do the same but do the same thing with wrenches. Spread rolls fully open and keep them running.
 
(quoted from post at 11:47:57 03/03/21) I am 50 miles north of Lake Ontario, so not really all that far north, but I have swathed oats successfully many times
>
Click to expand...
Bruce, that is the same old Massey 655 swther that I used to cut crop with. Not worth a darn for cutting anything green like hay but it did a good job on cereals. I'll usually swath my oats although some varieties claim to not shell out too bad standing and you can straight cut. I think cutting them with a haybine only works well if they are grass green and not ready to shell out on the reel or rollers.
Oats can be bad for sprouting in the swath if you get a lot of rain on the swath before combining.
 
The crop would suffer some quality (test weight) if you cut that early.

Cut when it is just a little tad bit too green to combine, by a little.

If you have a conditioner you need to block those rollers open.

I believe Ive grown oats every year Ive farmed, Ive swathed every year but one.

Paul

Paul
 
Yes it was very ripe, but my main goal in growing grain is to get straw. And I also under seed hay with the grain. This can be a real problem for direct cutting grain if the hay gets too advanced. I can cut right down tight to the ground, and get all of the straw, and the hay gets dry enough to go right through the combine.
 
A flex head would help with cutting down grain if you can keep it tight to the ground. Will have to do that even in the standing parts. A flex head let to drop like it is used in soybeans will plug up on grain if not held close to the ground like when cutting beans. The hume reel will help with pulling the crop into the head. Adjustment of the real will also affect the way it feeds and picks up crop. With the reel out front a bit and down close to the cutterbar will help. I've also had to cut one way on oats to get them to feed and pick up going against the lay will get most of them. My brother had some several years ago that were down and going about 100BU acre had to cut them one way most of the time. Slow but worth it.
 
Here's a question for you: Do you HAVE a pickup head for your combine or know someone who does?

Swathing the grain and using a pickup head seems common North of the border in Canada, but in Texas I would expect to be all but unheard of.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

K
Swathing/Combining Oats wi Farmall 450 Stage
Replies
3
Views
318
jon f mn
jon f mn
R
Weedy oats
Replies
11
Views
634
Hoofer B
H
jon f mn
Finally got oats and barley done
Replies
4
Views
345
Don Rudolph
D
B
J D 1219 Mow-Cond for Windrowing Oats
Replies
7
Views
632
caterpillar guy
C
B
crazy horse, oth. Cdns - teach me, please
Replies
10
Views
1K
Big Red Man
B
Tractor Parts Tractor Manuals

We sell tractor parts! We have the parts you need to repair your tractor - the right parts. Our low prices and years of research make us your best choice when you need parts. Shop Online Today.

Copyright © 1997-2024 Yesterday's Tractor Co.

All Rights Reserved. Reproduction of any part of this website, including design and content, without written permission is strictly prohibited. Trade Marks and Trade Names contained and used in this Website are those of others, and are used in this Website in a descriptive sense to refer to the products of others. Use of this Web site constitutes acceptance of our User Agreement and Privacy Policy TRADEMARK DISCLAIMER: Tradenames and Trademarks referred to within Yesterday's Tractor Co. products and within the Yesterday's Tractor Co. websites are the property of their respective trademark holders. None of these trademark holders are affiliated with Yesterday's Tractor Co., our products, or our website nor are we sponsored by them. John Deere and its logos are the registered trademarks of the John Deere Corporation. Agco, Agco Allis, White, Massey Ferguson and their logos are the registered trademarks of AGCO Corporation. Case, Case-IH, Farmall, International Harvester, New Holland and their logos are registered trademarks of CNH Global N.V.

Yesterday's Tractors - Antique Tractor Headquarters
Website Accessibility Policy

Back
Top