JD row head experience

David from Kansas

Well-known Member
Been harvesting milo for the past 3-4 days with 9610 and 853A row head. This is my first experience with a row head. Started on a field with many close together terraces so the indoctrination was rather tense. Usually we cut milo with rigid 30' headers, but due to the large amount of lodging this year we have to use the row heads (also using a 9600 with 853A). Lodging is not real common in milo except when the crop is drought stressed or in this case, bug infested. Anyway, it is slow going with lots of lifting and turning in all those terraces. Late starts in the day due to lots of morning dew has cut down on the hours of the day when we can cut. Will try to get some pics to post on here. On the brighter side, milo is yielding very good this year.
 
I haven't started milo. I was going to start with it but the stalks are so green here. I know the moisture would suffer but it is starting to sucker so now I'll deal with that. We got close to having a frost the other morning but missed it. I think the closest it got was Paola.

Last night I untied the header so I'm committed to starting beans now. With about 700 acres of those the milo gets to wait now.
 
This is not a comment about your header just about the weather. Although until everyone went big headers and narrow row beans the row heads were very popular here, guys drove incredibly fast in beans doing a heckuva job cutting close to the ground. I'm in WC Iowa and we've had the same problems with heavy dew and light showers keeping us out of the soybeans. We've only had 4 short afternoons during October. Friday we couldn't get started until 2:30 kept the combine rolling 'til 10 when it got really tough. Yesterday and today it's been cloudy with humidity running in the 80-90% range, hard to get the beans down to 13 where everyone wants them plus the pods are had to thresh.
 
We finished the beans here about a week ago. They were mostly in the 12's (moisture). So we were anxious to get started on the milo with anticipation of having some strong winds which contribute to the lodging. Seems like we can only get a couple of loads cut per afternoon as it has been cloudy and high humidity here for the past couple of days. We have been running until after dark, about 8:00 or 8:30. With the high temp of 90 predicated the next two days we are hoping to get more than a couple of loads per day done.
 
David, those row heads used to be every where down here in SE Kansas regardless the color of machine. But the rise of corn as the crop of choice here has led to there demise. I still have a six row but I like to plant beans with the planter so it gets workout every year.
Two years ago I had rotator cuff surgery had to hire beans cut. Lot of volunteer behind a flex head, not so with a row head. Can drive stupid fast with the right sprockets.
If they can be found rumor has it that the Hesston head hunters would pick up just as many heads without all the stalk never ran or observed.
We are still a way from Beans. Tom
 

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