 The wheat stalks are dry and can barely support the weight of the heads
of wheat. When the heads begin to “nod”, it’s time to cut the wheat. |
 Wheat is harvested by a self-propelled machine called a combine. As the
combine moves thru the field, the bars on the (somewhat round) reel at
the front of the machine gently pull the wheat stalks toward the
machine. At the point where the bars on the reel almost touch the lower
front edge of the machine, there is a cutting bar. This cutting bar or
“sickle” has triangular blades with very sharp edges and moves from
side to side rapidly as it cuts the wheat stalks and anything else it
comes into contact with. |
 The parts of the wheat plants that were cut off the stalk by the
“sickle” drop into an area that is tilted downward and towards the
middle of the machine. In the center, there is an opening and the cut
material slides and is pulled toward that opening. Once it goes thru
the opening, it is carried inside the combine. The combine uses air,
shaking, and gravity to separate the kernels (wheat seeds) from the
beards, stalks, and other pieces of the cut plants (and weeds or
whatever else gets pulled into the combine). The wheat seeds are saved
and moved into a “grain tank” on the combine. When the grain tank gets
full, the wheat seeds will be unloaded onto a truck or grain cart. |
 The combine uses air to blow everything else towards the rear of the
combine – everything but the wheat seeds and things similar in size and
weight that manage to move into the grain tank. The “chaff” is the
pieces of wheat straw, the beards from the wheat head, and all the
other lightweight extra things that are easily blown out of the combine
and fall to the ground.
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 A “strawchopper” with blades will chop up any long pieces of wheat
stalks or weeds as they fall out of the combine. The smaller pieces
will fall thru the wheat stubble (what’s left of the wheat plants after
the heads are cut off) and be easier to work into the soil. The smaller
pieces will also decompose faster.
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 The work for each wheat crop actually begins at least one year in
advance with the preparation of the ground, the planting in late
September or early October, the management through the winter and
spring, and all the preparation for wheat harvest. Harvest is like the
end of working and waiting for a whole year for a paycheck that comes
only once a year. If everything goes just right, it’s an exciting time! |
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