Areas of Potential Harvest Loss:
Pre Harvest Loss: before combine gets there (ears laying on ground, soybeans out of shell)
To figure out: Walk ahead of where you will combine to see what is already on ground. (For soybeans make sure not on ground blown out from the last pass next to it, go far enough out to get away from throw of the last pass).
Header loss (shatters, goes through the head, or goes through header plates)
To figure out: Start combining, stop, raise the head up and back up about 20 feet and use harvest square to check loss underneath where the header was.
Threshing Loss (Have to calculate to get this)
To figure out: Find Total Loss by looking on the ground behind combine after it has gone through at optimum speed. Take that total loss and subtract the header loss and preharvest loss to get your threshing loss.
2 kernels per square foot = 1 bushel loss
4 beans per square foot = 1 bushel loss
If using the harvest square that CTC handed out it is a 3 square foot measure ( Need 6 kernels per 3 square foot for bushel loss in corn, and 12 beans per 3 square foot for bushel loss in beans)
A lot of guys shoot to keep loss at the head to a bushel or less and threshing loss at a bushel or less.
Tracking Down Causes for Large Yield Swings – Corn Edition:
Tracking Down Causes for Large Yield Swings -Beans Edition:
Boots In The Field Report from 2019:
(Talks about separating the loss around 4 min mark.)