Harvesting
Categories:
OTHER LEGUMES AND CEREAL CATCH CROPS
The soybean is not an easy crop to handle without loss.
When grown for seed, the tendency of the pods to split and to drop the
seed compels early cutting, and that makes curing more difficult. The
mower is the only practical harvester on most farms, and the swath must
be turned out of the way of the horses to save tramping. A
side-delivery attachment can do the work. This is the best practice
when cut for hay. When used for mixing with corn in a silo, the
self-binder is satisfactory. The hay and seed crop must have thorough
field-curing in windrow and bunches, and the harvest comes in a season
when cold rains may prevail. This disadvantage of one of our most
valuable crops is to be taken into account, but it will not prevent
rapid increase in acreage as the merit of the soybean becomes known.