Abstract: A bat board construction of a harvester reel for use in harvesting soybeans includes an elongated shield of tear drop configuration having its widest dimension at the top and its lower and narrowest portion secured to a substantially rectangular bat board and operatively secured at respective ends to a harvester reel for rotation therewith. The wide end of the shield is several times greater than the narrow end and of sufficient breadth so that as the narrow end enters the crop, the relatively wide top serves to maintain separation of the stems and pods of the plant to prevent their inherent tendency when in contact to cling together and to become wrapped around the bat and reel instead of being drawn into the operating mechanism of the harvester.