A Closer Look At the Soybean Head
In our harvest pictures you may have noticed that the combine uses a different attachment (or “head”) for soybeans than it does for corn. Of course, the choice of attachment is determined by the plant being harvested.
As you can see for the video (sorry about the quality — I need some better equipment!), all of the moving pieces on the head are working to pull the soybean plants into the center of the attachment.
When the soybean head is running those long black pieces with the teeth rotate and help direct the plant toward the attachment.
These fancy little guys move side to side really quickly, much like a hedge trimmer. They cut the soybean plants at the main stalk. That obviously allows the finger (shown above) and the auger shaft (shown below) to pull the plant on the combine.
When the combine is running, the auger shaft is also turning. It has the metal spirals around it that direct the soybean plant toward the center of the attachment (which is pictured) and then the little fingers help guide the plants into the combine. Once inside, the machine will separate the beans from the pod and plants.
If you would like to learn more about how the combine works, I also suggest check out my friend’s post on how a combine works.
