The equipment used by farmers in the modern day has led to ground breaking progressions in the world of agriculture. The machinery allow them work at a much faster pace and to lower costs in the process. This article deals with machinery used for harvesting in particular. So let’s begin by defining what harvesting is for those who are unaware. Essentially this relates to the gathering of a ripened crop. It is as simple as that. And, we all know how important crops are to farmers! It is how they make their money!
In the past harvesting had to be done manually as the machinery available today for businesses was non-existent. Of course the evident problem with this is the fact that it took a lot of time. However, this is not the only issue. When harvesting is done manually there is also significant waste, meaning farmers missed out on a large amount of crops and thus a large amount of profit. This issue no longer arises. Thanks to harvesting machines this process is quicker, easier and cheaper than it ever has been.
Agricultural machinery has progressed to the extent that farmers now actually have a lot of choice at their disposal when it comes to harvesting equipment, meaning big metal storage buildings are needed to house all of the machinery. The five main types of harvesting machinery are as follows; crop harvesting machines, threshers, grain harvesting machines, vegetable harvesting machines and lastly root crop harvesting machines. Let’s take a look at each one in a little bit more depth.
• Crop harvesting machines – This machine consists of three main parts; traveling, reaping and a baler. It is utilised in order to harvest forage crops that have been cultivated in a field that is either upland or paddy.
• Threshers – This machine is used in order to segregate the grain from both husks and stalks. It was invented by a Scottish mechanical engineer called Andrew Meikle.
• Grain harvesting machines – Next we have grain harvesting machines; you can probably tell from the name of the machine what this one does. That’s right; it is used in order to harvest grains. Grains are essentially the edible fruit seeds or brands that come from a cereal crop.
• Vegetable harvesting machines – In the current day you can also get harvesting machines that are to be specifically used for vegetables. These are used around the world by those who supply to big supermarket chains and alike. The most common version is the tomato harvesting machine.
• Root crop harvesting machines – Last but by no means least, we have the root crop harvesting machine. This is for the likes of root vegetables. In the past these would have been harvested with diggers. However, there is no need for this now as specific machines are available, such as the sugar-beet harvester.
Hopefully this article will have given you a better idea regarding the harvesting machinery that is available to farmers in the current day. This ground breaking machinery has allowed the agricultural sector to advance to a point many would never have deemed possible before.
