Fred the Farmer put us in a combine. We harvested wheat for about an hour before I had to leave to attend a board meeting (argh) or I would have remained in the cab watching the combiners at their work. We see them for only a few weeks every year.
The combines are constantly surrounded by a cloud of dust and wheat grass particles, and I was remindful of the comics character Pig Pen.
This is the view from the cab of the uncut wheat ahead of the combine.
Looking directly below, the tines keep the cut wheat on the belt that moves inward after the blades saw off the stems.
In the cab, the driver can monitor information on each run, such as how many bushels per acre, groundspeed, and moisture on the wheat plant.
The window behind the driver shows the combine filling the compartment.
When the compartment is full, a light flashes outside the cab to alert the tractor driver to approach. Tractor and combine drive side by side at more or less two miles per hour as the driver of the combine fills the tractor's trailer and directs the combine down the field. (Kind of like chewing and walking of a higher order. Kids, do not attempt this at home.)
Once full, the tractor transfers the wheat to the eighteen-wheeler. Note the tires on the tractor.
