A simpler way of harvesting grain.

What are the benefits of using a simple, low-cost harvester and a stationary thresher to accomplish the tasks of cutting, threshing, separating and cleaning wheat, compared to a modern combine? The answer may come from a wheat-harvesting system that could save farmers money, which has been developed by Mark Siemens, an Agricultural Research Service agricultural engineer.

Instead of cutting wheat like a combine, Siemens's harvester strips wheat heads and stores them in a bulk tank, and then chops the standing residue into small bits. The stationary thresher separates the wheat from the chaff. Siemens' preliminary studies suggest that the economic potential of segregating wheat with a fluidized bed, which separates solid materials according to density, increases the consistency of grain quality, particularly with soft white wheat used in pastries, cakes and cookies.

Siemens's system also addresses problems associated with stubble left by a typical combine that cuts wheat about 16" above the ground. Stubble can impede performance of seed planting drills and inhibit seedling growth, and common management practices--flailing, burning and baling the residue--are both expensive and time-consuming. The one-pass harvester developed by Siemens includes a flail mower that reduces stubble into small bits.

In comparison to the cost of a modern combine that can harvest, thresh, separate and clean the grain, the components of Siemens's system are much less expensive, and one thresher could significantly lower overall production costs by serving multiple farms. While Siemens's system may not be for everyone, the system is proving to have economic and time-saving benefits.