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Combine
harvesters: The combine harvester not only cuts
the corn crop but threshes it as well in the same operation. It produces
grain, which can be dried and put into store, and straw which is deposited
out the back of the machine.
The first combine harvesters were developed for the vast wheat lands of
America as long ago as the 1830s. In Britain, a number of factors including
smaller fields and damper conditions, for long made their introduction
impractical. By the 1930s, things were beginning to change. More compact
machines were now available and the need to reduce labour costs still
further if corn growing was to be profitable prompted a few farmers, usually
on the larger lowland holdings, to try them out. This picture shows one
such example in Hampshire. It was not until the period after 1945 that
combine harvesters really began to increase significantly in numbers.
They have continued to grow in size and specification so that contemporary
versions, with their computer controlled mechanisms and satellite positioning
systems, are highly sophisticated pieces of equipment.
Choose
an option:
Combine
harvesters
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