Use 3-inch sickles for maximum bean head performance 

Bean Head Sickles: Marion recommends running 3-inch sickle bars to allow residue to flow better in no-till or higher-residue environments.

correct Bean Head Sickle Size Minimizes Clogging

One of the helpful tweak you can make before soybean harvest is ensuring the right size of sickles are installed on your bean head. Whether you run red, green, yellow, or grey, running a three-inch sickle (that’s the distance between the two snake heads) will help prevent plugging when encountering last year’s root balls during your corn-soybean rotation. With a two-inch sickle, the root ball will temporarily bridge over the snake heads and push forward over uncut bean stalks.

COMBINE Settings & Tips
For soybeans

Click any item to watch Marion talk through the diagnostics

Add Roundbar Inserts to Thresh Green Pods

Improve threshing of green bean pods by adding a concave INSERT in the first 5 slots to reduce the size of material allowed to flow through.

Start Downwind & Pick Upwind

Start harvesting on the downwind side. The wind will help spread straw away from uncut soybeans. In case of fire, the wind will blow the threat away from the standing crop. 

Bean Head Sickles

Choosing 3-inch sickle bars helps avoid plugging. The wider sickles allow residue to flow better and results in a cleaner cut in no-till or higher-residue environments.

Draper vs. Auger Fed Heads

Draper heads perform better than auger-fed platforms in all conditions. Watch the video to learn why. 

Cross Auger Adjustment

Finely tune your cross auger with a 1/16-inch clearance between the flighting and tray to reduce grain damage.

Feeder House Chain

Extend the feeder house chain so the chain is as close as possible to the auger or draper belt to improve the hand-off of material from the platform to the feeder house.

Synchronizing Reel Speed

To synchronize reel speed to ground speed, reel RPM should be 10 times ground speed. Example: 4 MPH ground speed = 40 RPM on reel. Use a piece of tape or spray paint a bar of your reel to easily count RPM from the cab.

Rotor speed refined

Increase rotor speed until the first cracked soybean appears in the grain tank, then slowdown by 10 RPM. The status of the crop will determine speed, so re-check as field conditions change.

Concave Clearance 

Open until rotor loss occurs, then close slightly. Watch the video to learn what the watch for to set properly.

concave cover plates

Improve the threshing power of green soybean pods by installing concave inserts, filler bars or filler plates in the first 12 inches of the concave. This allows for green pods to rub against green pods, significantly reducing un-threshed pods in the tank.

Fan Speed for Soybeans

Increase speed until all pod hulls have left the grain tank sample, then slow down by 50 RPM.

Bottom Sieve Settings

Run the bottom sieve wide open to let air flow to the top sieve. Sure it's there - but you're not required to use it! Watch our video to see why.

Top Sieve (Front Portion)

Close the front portion of the top sieve until the grain tank has 99% clean soybeans.

Top Sieve (Back Portion) & Tailings Elevator

Close the rear portion of the top sieve until un-threshed pods start going over the back, then open up 1/8-inch to allow them to fall into the return auger.  Check your tailings elevator using a kill stop examination to determine exactly what's happening.

Transport Vanes on Case Combine

Adjust transport vanes to the advanced position (bottom of the vanes to the front of the combine). This reduces the bleeding of horsepower and the amount of fodder and stems that fall through the rotor cage and onto the top sieve.

Soybean Harvest with a John Deere Combine

Follow along with Marion as he covers various settings for your green machine for a successful soybean harvest!  Learn some of the finer points of tuning up your combine in this extended discussion.