A harvest header apparatus for harvesting a first crop in a field while preventing damage to a second later crop planted in the same field. A header table with a knife mounted along a lower front edge thereof has a plurality of crop shields attacked to and spaced along the header table at a selected shield spacing, each crop shield extending forward from a rear portion thereof located under the knife to a forward end thereof located forward of the knife. A forward portion of each crop shield slopes upward such that crop plants contacted by the forward portion of each crop shield are pushed downward and pass under the knife without contacting the knife. The shield spacing is selected so the crop shields move along rows of second crop and push the second crop plants down and under the table such that same are not contacted by the knife.