Thirty Years of Combine Usage and Development in North America

Harvesting corn with a combine as well as increased plantings and yields of most combinable crops has increased combine usage 3-fold during the last 30 years.

A history of combine development during these 30 years will be presented. This will include the development of new front end equipment to meet the demands for corn harvesting, efficient soybean harvesting, and increased yields of all crops. The introduction and development of the rotary combine by some manufacturers while others continue to manufacture the conventional-combine will be addressed.

In addition to the development of these two major functional areas the following other functional areas will be covered:

• Power and power distribution systems
• Propulsion systems
• Grain handling systems
• Operator control and environment