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Royal City, WA | I have farmed in eastern Washington, in the Columbia Basin, and have been around the green pea harvest for almost 40 years, and have had that same question about windrowing the residue. I have asked numerous fieldmen, and their reply is "That is the way the machines are made." When I ask them to request FMC (now Oxbo) if they would put on a residue spreader, they just say that is not their job or problem to deal with. There is a spreader of sorts on the back-it is an auger that spreads to both sides so it is about 4 feet wide. (It is not apparent from the pictures that these machines have the spreaders). What is even more frustrating is when one of the machines stops, the operator just sits there and lets the machine clean out and leaves a big pile that has to be spread by hand. Growers have requested that they give each machine operator a pitch fork, and when the machine is stopped and waiting for repair or to dump the peas, that the operator spread some of the piles. It is wasted words!!!! They have trouble getting enough operators to sit on their butts running the machines, let alone getting them to spread piles. We have much more vine than is in the pictures. Most years the vines are close to waist high if the vine is lifted up. If a farmer is no-tilling, it really can create problems. Most of the green peas are double-cropped with sweet corn or dry beans, and growers have to use coulters and residue cleaners to plant. Most still conventional till, and disc-rip, or disc and plow before planting. Depending on how wet the ground is when it is harvested, compaction can be a problem, and require tillage. This is an irrigated area, and if there is coordination between the fieldman and the grower, the moisture can be controlled prior to harvest. | |
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Pea Harvest started in Southern MN a Few Pics
