Harvest

• Operations and Timing
• Equipment Used

(Source: USDA - National Resources Conservation Service)

Harvesting crops involves getting the crop out of the field and transported to market. Most crops are harvested in the fall, except for hay which is cut several times over the course of the summer. Field crops are harvested by machine, while small fruits and other food crops are typically harvested by hand, although in certain cases, they may be harvested by machine.

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Operations and Timing:

(Source: USDA - National Resources Conservation Service)

Crop	Typical harvest period (in eastern corn belt)
Corn - grain	October 7 to November 3
Corn - silage	September 1 to October 15
Soybeans	October 1 to October 20
Wheat (spring)	August 14 to September 1
Wheat (winter)	June 15 to July 15
Hay	Usually 3 cuttings from May 15 to Sept. 30

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Equipment Used:

A self-propelled forage harvester loading chopped corn into a truck on-the-go.

(Source: Claas of America.)

Forage Harvesters - are tractor-drawn implements or self-propelled machines that are used to gather, chop, and discharge forage crops as it moves through the field. The crops are typically harvested at a very high moisture content to permit ensiling (preservation through anaerobic fermentation). Forage harvesters require a great deal of power to perform the required functions. The largest self-propelled forage harvesters currently available have diesel engines that produce in excess of 600 horsepower.

Tractor and pull-type combine operating in a small grain crop.

Combines - are farm machines used to harvest grain and seed crops.   The major functions performed by a combine include cutting and/or gathering, feeding, threshing, separating, cleaning, and grain handling operations on-the-go in the field.   The vast majority are self-propelled, receiving power to perform all of the previously listed operations and traction from a diesel engine.   The combine is often the most expensive farm machine used in grain or row crop production with list prices for the largest models exceeding $350,000.   Some machines can harvest a thirty-foot swath of crop in a single pass through the field.

Self-propelled combine equipped with a grain header.	(Source: Daniel R. Ess, Purdue University)
Self-propelled combine equipped with a corn head preparing to harvest corn.	(Source: Daniel R. Ess, Purdue University)

Cotton Harvesters - are self-propelled machines specifically designed to pick (or strip), accumulate, and off-load large quantities of cotton in the field.
	Cotton harvesters at work in the field.
	(Source: Deere Photo Library, Vol. 3.)

A large-capacity grain cart unloading into a waiting truck.

(Source: Daniel R. Ess, Purdue University)

Grain Carts - are tractor-drawn implements used to shuttle grain from combines to hauling vehicles or to grain receiving facilities. Grain carts are usually equipped with “high-flotation” tires or rubber tracks to attempt to minimize soil compaction in the field. The capacity of such carts can exceed 1,000 bushels (equivalent to 56,000 lb of shelled corn or 60,000 lb of soybeans).

Balers - are implements used for packaging hay, or straw to permit mechanized handling and transport.   The two most common bale formats are large round bales (> 4 feet in diameter) and large rectangular bales (up to 8 feet in length).   Large bales can weigh more than 2,000 pounds.

Large round baler discharging a newly-formed bale of hay.	(Source: Deere Photo Library, Vol. 3.)
Large rectangular baler discharging a newly-formed bale of straw.	(Source: Class of America.)

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