RED DEER, Alta. – Split peas are fine in soup, but not in a grain bin, said pedigreed seed grower Mark Kaun, of Penhold, Alta.
“We need a premium product that is not damaged,” Kaun told producers at the Alberta Conservation Tillage Society farm technology expo.
There are ways of reducing the percentage of split peas to less than one percent, he said.
Tougher peas can handle rougher handling. Kaun begins to combine his peas at 20 percent moisture, and then lowers the moisture in an aeration bin.
One of the keys to reduce split peas is by using a belt conveyor, not a conventional auger, to handle the crop.
“As a seed grower, I don’t think peas and augers should be in the same sentence,” said Kaun, also a representative of Batco Manufacturing of Swift Current, Sask., which makes belt conveyors.
Kaun estimated farmers will get one percent loss each time the peas hit an auger.
He also suggested the combine speed should be slowed to minimize damage when the peas are being unloaded from the combine.
