Importance of Harvesting Machines
Can you imagine harvesting a wheat crop from 15 acres of land manually? This work needs so much labour power. Also, it will take more days to complete the process than usual. That’s why harvesting machines are important.
Because it can work efficiently and complete the task in less time. Buying the right machine for harvesting improves grain quality and minimizes the wastage. Read the further article to know more about techniques and machines used in harvesting:
Best Harvesting Time
The timing of harvesting the crops should be decided and managed accurately. There are different changes in the crops that you should notice for harvesting. If crops are harvested before their time, it reduces grain weight and quality. Some of the aspects to identify in the crops before harvesting are:
- Grain moisture level
- Crop color change
- Straw dryness
- Weather forecast
Modern Solution for Harvesting
Manual harvesting is slow, time taking, and takes a lot of labour. Also, hiring labourers at the time of harvesting the crops is expensive. That’s why farmers are shifting to modern equipment and machines for harvesting. With the usage of these machines, a farmer can complete the whole harvesting process within hours rather than days. These machines are mainly useful for wheat, paddy, maize, and soybean harvesting, where speed is important. Otherwise, the other risks, such as untimely rain, can destroy the crops.
Multiple Uses from One Harvester
One harvester with multiple uses means that, with one machine, farmers can do reaping, threshing, and winnowing. The machine that can complete all of these tasks is known as Combine Harvester. This equipment can help farmers in reducing the labour cost and time between cutting and threshing. A combine harvester is designed in a way that, at the same time of harvesting, it also performs threshing and winnowing.
Choose a Suitable Harvesting Machine
Farmers can choose the harvesting machine according to their land size and requirements. Also, Machine selection should match the land type, terrain, and crop. Check out the farm size along with a suitable harvesting machine in the following table:
Size of Farm | Type of Harvesting Machine |
1 to 5 acres of land | Mini harvester / Tractor-mounted |
5 to 15 acres of land | Standard Harvester |
More than 15 acres | Self-propelled combine |
How to Choose the Best Harvester
For choosing the best harvester, the length of land and affordability play a major role. The comparison of harvesters can be performed on the basis of their features. The features include harvesting capacity (tons/hour), fuel efficiency, cutter bar width, and engine power.
Apart from buying a new harvester, you can also go with rental and custom hiring options. The tractor-mounted harvester is the most budget-friendly, but it can only work for small-lands. More factors that can be checked before choosing the tractors are the automation level and the tractor harvester price.
Harvest Machine Servicing
To keep the machine running smoothly, it should get the service regularly. Especially during the time of harvesting season, the machine must be serviced and well-maintained. The main components that must be checked at the time of maintenance are:
- Blade Sharpening
- Belt Tension Checks
- Engine Oil Servicing
- Drum Cleaning
- Bearing Lubrication
Reasons to Use an Integrated Harvesting Machine
Large farms and modern farms are completely dependent on the combine harvester machine. This machine alone can do all of the post-harvesting farm operations with so much efficiency. Also, the size of the machine is big, so it covers a large area in less time. Primarily, it takes so much time for threshing and reaping of the crop. Also, farmers first hire the labourers for harvesting. Then, an operator for the threshing machine. Also, the days to complete both of these processes were longer. You can solve this problem by investing in harvesting equipment.
Conclusion
The investment in harvesting can be controlled and reduced with the use of modern technologies. Apart from hiring people for different post-harvesting processes. Farmers can go for new harvesting technologies and machines. Even the farmers who cannot afford this machine can use it through rental services. Now, the time has arrived when a farmer should start thinking logically and incorporate the new ideas into the farm.
Comments