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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.



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