Harvesting Edible Beans In Late Fall
Edible beans that are still out in the field are wet - in the 25 to 27% moisture range. Since edible beans are marketed on their outward visual appearance it is important that you contact your contractor before attempting to combine your edible beans. Your contractor will provide you with all the options for your harvest.
Things to Consider before Combining Edible beans
Dirt Smearing
Once the inside of the combine gets wet, excessive smearing or dirt tag becomes an issue.
Wet Beans
If you can get a clean sample off the field, how are you going to dry down the beans? In past years (and under more normal conditions) farmers have dried beans from 20% moisture to a safe storage moisture of 18% by blowing ambient air through the beans. The cool, moist air we have in November does not have much drying ability and no matter how much air you pump through the beans they will not get any drier.
If you can get a clean sample off the field, how are you going to dry down the beans? In past years (and under more normal conditions) farmers have dried beans from 20% moisture to a safe storage moisture of 18% by blowing ambient air through the beans. The cool, moist air we have in November does not have much drying ability and no matter how much air you pump through the beans they will not get any drier.
Drying Beans
In order to maintain seed quality (no cracked seed coats, split seeds), drying edible beans in some sort of dryer is going to require a lot of management. You have to ask yourself if you really have enough time to monitor wet beans as they go through the drying process? If you currently don’t have the time, then it might be best to leave them out in the field until you do. Remember wet beans in a bin are your responsibility.
In order to maintain seed quality (no cracked seed coats, split seeds), drying edible beans in some sort of dryer is going to require a lot of management. You have to ask yourself if you really have enough time to monitor wet beans as they go through the drying process? If you currently don’t have the time, then it might be best to leave them out in the field until you do. Remember wet beans in a bin are your responsibility.
Drying beans is not an exact science so if you decide to dry your beans, keep the following points in mind in order to minimize cracked seed coats and split seeds.
If using a hopper bottom bin with supplement heat, don’t try batch drying. Consider pulling loads out every 4 days and remixing the beans in order to avoid over drying beans at the bottom of the bin.
If you are using a conventional grain dryer, dry the beans at low temperature 46°C (115°F) for short periods of time (3 hours). Drying at too high of a temperature can result in high numbers of split seeds which reduces seed quality.
Remember, edible beans are marketed on their visual appearance - contact your buyer before attempting to combine your edible beans so they can work with you to resolve your particular situation.
For further information, contact your GO Representative.
