Rake wheat

flying belgian · Jul 29, 2015

I have raised wheat all my life but this is the first time I've had it rain on the windrows so often and so much that it has driven them down to the ground. Question--- Can I roll them over onto the dry
ground with the side rake?? I don't believe the bottom of the windrow will ever get dry the way it is. Seams like the rake would not knock any of the grain out of the heads. Any body ever do this??

RayP(MI) · Jul 29, 2015

Donno, but tried cutting, raking and baling oats to takè to a steam show to run through a steam show to run through a steam powered thresher. Awful lot of losses. If I were you, I would try to rake gently while dew still on in the morning. Use only enough of the rake to flip the windrow. Moderate speed.

donjr · Jul 29, 2015

Tedder Time!!!! Beg, borrow or steal a tedder and go over it once or twice. It might surprise you how nice it will dry out.......

cool hand · Jul 29, 2015

I'm afraid that a tedder would do an awful lot of threshing of the grain, probably get the straw nice and dry. Around here wheat is never cut and windrowed. Only standing wheat is harvested with the combine.

Dick2 · Jul 29, 2015

Don't know where you would find one, but during wet years some company made a windrow fluffing machine that gently lifted the windrow without shelling out a lot of kernels. Might do some research online and see if you can find one.

MN Scott · Jul 29, 2015

Few years back New Holland made a single windrow inverter. It was ground driven, had a pickup off a baler that picked up the windrow and a belt that took it to one side and dumped it upside down. It was gentle and would probably work with grain.
New Holland 166 hay inverter

centash · Jul 29, 2015

Use a wheel rake, one of those with 3 or more large wheels with long flexible fingers---very gentle on the crop, you can set it to give the swath a half turn so it sets up on edge and dries from both sides, and you can go 6 or 7 mph.

Ben

Jim in Sask · Jul 29, 2015

There's guys up here over the years that have hung a combine pickup on front of a swather (either pull-type or sp) to lift the swath and move it over a few feet to lay it on drier ground.

paul · Jul 29, 2015

The rake will shell some out, and leave a more uneven, hard to feed, windrow.

Don't ask how I know, but ya do what ya gotta do.

You don't want a Tedder or an inverter.

Seen a lot of homemade and commercial windrow movers.

Basically just the belt pickup from a dummy head. Lift the swath up and set it down again so its not in the stubble but back up on top.

Some like my link don't move the swath, others the pickup is angled so the swath moves over a couple feet.

Payl
Wet swath lifter

Rake wheat

flying belgian

Well-known Member

RayP(MI)

Well-known Member

donjr

Well-known Member

cool hand

Member

Dick2

Well-known Member

MN Scott

Well-known Member

centash

Well-known Member

Jim in Sask

Member

paul

Well-known Member

Similar threads