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crazy horse, oth. Cdns - teach me, please

B

Big Red Man

Member
Sir, I lived in Alberta in the 1970's, but had nothing to do with farming at that time. My understanding is that because of the shorter growing season (early frost) farmers with small grains usually cut when green, allow to ripen in the windrow and then combine with a pickup attachment. Is this basically correct? Can you describe more fully how the farming is done there? I'm guessing you're located east of Edmonton. Vegreville area? I lived a few miles west of Elk Island National Park and a couple miles south of the highway, but, as I said, I had nothing to do with farming at that time. kelly
 
I grew up less than a mile from the Canadian border in Minnesota, and that was the way my dad did most of his harvesting. Very seldom did we straight combine. I think the grain was ripe, but the straw was too green to go through the combine very well. We never dried anything, if it wasn't low enough moisture we didn't combine. Very good farmland, raised different kind of grass seed and most small grains. Back in the 60's 100 bpa oats, 50 bpa wheat. Dad was 66 years old in 76 when we were selling lots of wheat to the Russians, he had 50 bpa, he sold the farm, best thing he ever did, hasn't been that good since! Now there are shorter growing season soybeans, so the current owner raise beans, and if it's a bad spring like this year they might plant Rye grass in July, and harvest it the next July. that works well when you can't get a a normal crop planted in time.
 
I knew a guy, that use to custom harvest (wheat) from Texas to the Dakotas. Went on into Canada some, but not much.

If I remember right, he said they use to use pick-up attachments in North Dakota, and maybe some in South Dakota. Not sure if that was all the time, or only certain years (weather). I presume if only certain years because of the weather, the boudery of where this had to be done varied a little bit from one year to the next.

Probably someplace, there is a have to boundery, no matter what the weather.
 
Since corn and beans took over very little small grains left here in southern MN, but lots of it is still swathed and picked up. Straight combining started by some too busy too big to waste the time to run over the field twice. Mostly as combines got big enough strong enough to grind the wet straw through, and the options to dry a wet crop became available if your grain came in over moisture content.

Sometimes the windrow getting rained on is a bad deal.

Sometimes the uniform drying and maturity of the swathed grain is a good deal.

Ive grown a few acres of small grain every year. Ive straight combined a little one year, and that was a miserable experience. Not every year of swathing was a breeze either tho.

Paul
 
Paul, I always swath the grain driving at an angle. That way if it gets rained on the windrow will not settle in the 6 inch space. Dries out much faster. Also if it gets rained on time after time the grain will not start sprouting as none of it is touching the ground. Try it next time you will like the way it works.
 
Hi Big Red Man. I farm south of Calgary Alberta and for the most part swathing has disappeared on the prairies because of advancements of staight cutting headers and varieties of grain that includes breeding for a shorter growing season and fertilizer as well. There is still some swathing being done especially in the irrigation areas. We are currently in a drought cycle right now and there will be some swathing done when the grain is a bit greener to help stop the losses from saw fly insect damage. Hope this helps if you have more questions I can help with I will.
cvphoto126206.jpg
 
I think Massey Harris Nut explained things pretty well. Our tractor club is located just outside of Sherwood Park (just east of Edmonton) and we still do it the old way by swathing and then harvesting after things dry out. We farm about 90 acres of grain this year .... it keeps our finances in the red fro the most part. Photos here from one of our barley plots last year .... we do a bit of binding as well and store the bundles for demonstration threshing. Where do you live now Red Man?
 
Oops, not sure where the photos went .... if they don't show this time then something's not working ....
 
Down south of me in the golden triangle lots of swathing is still done mostly for sawfly but I suspect some of it is because thats how grandpa did it. There are some farms that even to this day have never owned a straight cut header. Only swathing in my neighborhood is with canola and even that is starting to disappear with varieties that dont shatter. Nice setup BTW.
 
Most of North Dakota was once swathing country. South Dakota tends to be dry in the west and quickly switches to corn belt in the east.

These days most grains are straight cut here, though as others have mentioned, there are some areas where swathing is used to mitigate sawfly damage. And swathing is also used where markets dictate that chemical desiccants are not to be used.

All that said, here in the Red River Valley many of the farmers still have a pull type swather in the shed. There is a fair amount of malting barley grown here, some years it can be straight cut, some years it gets swathed.
 
Crazy Horse, thanks to you and others for the info. When I lived in Alberta I lived east of Sherwood Park. I worked in Edmonton. I recall farmers talking about swathing (canola) toward the Peace River country. I now live halfway between Austin, TX and San Antonio, TX - south central/almost south Texas. Thanks again, kelly
 
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