Bean Cutter

A young fella was asking me what a "bean cutter" was. Thought I'd post a picture of this 8 row JD model to show everyone.

They are used in the harvest of dry edible beans.

Allan

Yes Sir, rode a lot of those old belly mount cutters with the wide 6' blades and the 10' divider rods.

I really liked the 18/24" row spacing set up the best. Used to pull 'em with old unstyled A JD, 50 JD, H and finally ended up with the 766 pushing a front rig.

Now there is just scrawny little 30" blades and 2' dividers on some of the latest cutters.

Newest models don't even use blades anymore, just cut with a rod-weeder affair at the 3-point ahead of a windrower and a set of flimsy dividers out in front of the tires.

The world, she be a changin' :>)

Allan

Scotty

Dry beans, when they are ripe, will shell out if you even look at 'em cross-wise.

So what you do, is to cut and windrow the dudes when the dew is down and the crop is tough (usually at 1 or 2am).

Later in the day, when the dew has left and the crop has dried out again, you pick up the windrows with a combine equipped with a "pickup" attachment just as you would for windrowed grain.

The main thing about beans is to get the dirt shook outta them while at the same time not crackin' the little sweethearts.

Also, a fella has really gotta be careful with the wind. A strong wind can move a newly cut field of beans and you along with it, right into the poorhouse.

Allan

Common as an old shoe. The early ones just mounted under the belly of the tractor much like an old cultivator would.

Beans are my favorite crop to harvest, I spose 'cause I like going out there at 2 am to cut while the dew is down. Fun! :>)

Allan

That style puller is quickly being replaced with a rod puller. They use a rod that runs under ground and flips the bean plants into the windrower. Or just clipping them. Plant breeders have created a more unright plant that you can cut like a soybean.

At that point a windrower follows, picks 'em up, shakes the dirt out and throws the whole she-bang into a large 16 row windrow for the combine to eat.

Newer versions do all these in one operation.

Allan

Speaking of beans, of a different kind, i.e. soybeans, I read this weekend that Kansas is in the number 10 spot for production of soybeans. I didn't have any idea that so many were raised here, or perhaps so few in other states that I figured had more production.