Flat as a pancake crops

[rook]

I'm looking for any advice about harvesting flattened crops. This hasn't happened in our area in recent history and no one has any experience with it.

Do you bite the bullet and swath the wheat or just grind it through straight? What's the best way to maintain quality? (if there's any left) Right now we're doing dry canola but I'm wondering if we should be worrying about the wheat to try and maybe save a grade.

Thanks in advance

[JD_GREEN]

What kind of headers do you run and with what type of reels also land quality hilly stony flat ???? We have cut it all over the years including flat as a pancake wheat after 6 inches of wet snow pushed it so flat you could see the mice running thru the field. My advice NEVER SWATH if you are betting on rain. If you can swath it then obviously you can straight cut it with the right equipment. Last experience with this sort of thing was back in 96 when the neighbors all ran around swathing and we let ours stand (big yielding late crop).. Neighbors said it will never mature must swath, THEN WHAMO!! heavy wet snow.. Neighbors all laughed and said good luck getting that off the ground.When smoke cleared I sold #2 wheat and durum and neighbors all sold feed!!! Let me know what you have for IRON and I will give my thoughts to you..

[rook]

For iron it's an older JD rigid header (224 seems to me) with bat reel and no fore-aft. It has lifters, as does the swather. Land ranges from flat to some hilly fields. All of it has some rocks.

Good forecast this week - either decision will be right if it doesn't rain!

What moisture level was the crop you took off - will it ever get close to dry after it's been flattened?

[JD_GREEN]

The worst year I remember for flat crops was when we were still running caseIH 1030 rigid headers. However we pulled the pickup reel off the swather (macdon reel) put lifters on the header which were half moon type and sucked it right off the ground. If I had a choice of lifters now it would be the springloaded Honeybee type which are readily aavailable. You will definately need a pick up reel of sometype (U2, Hart Carter or Macdon will all do) If you have the ability to mount this equipment to your rigid header you will be very suprised at what it will accomplish in all land conditions. YES we were able to get the grain nearly dry in that particular year less than 15.5 in wheat and durum. It will dry quicker than a swath if it is mature. I wish you all the best as it is a challenge but very achievable with the right equipment. We are running the same scenario again this year with late heavy crops starting to flatten out because of lodging and sawfly, coupled together with rain every other day :-( However I am more comfortable with it somewhat standing than the neighbors who are panicking and swathing. 1 inch of rain Sunday night and the swaths are all drenched here, while the semi standing crops are drying off and will be ready to cut again in a day or 2. My neighbors are now panicking over the fact that they may not get the swaths dry if it rains within a week again.