Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
CA 02218901 1997-12-04
H"~VF~TING SYSTFM ANn MFTHon
This application is a division of application 2,180,691, filed 8 July, 1996.
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to harvesting systems and more
particularly to the cleaning of harvested crops.
BACKGROUND
At present grain harvesting is carried out using combine harvesters,
which thresh the grain in a thresher, then separate the grain from chaff, straw and
weed seeds. The combine harvester keeps the grain and rejects other material. Its
10 L hl esl ,er breaks the grain from the stalk or pod. A degree of separation is achieved
in rotary threshers by using apertures in the thresher tube which allow p~ss~ge of
grain. The separation is not clean, the straw portion includes grain and chaff, and
the grain portion includes chaff and straw. When the thresher is a cylinder and a
concave, the concave has apertures to pass the grain portion, but the straw portion
15 is passed along a straw walker to further remove grain from the straw. The grain
portion includes chaff, grain and weed seeds, which are then passed through a
sieve with air blowing upwards. This is called the shoe and includes the aspiration
(blowing) and sieve (cleaning) apparatus. The grain falls downward, while chaff and
weed seeds and any straw are blown upward. The chaff, straw and weed seeds are
20 left as waste by-products in the field, while the grain is transported to the combine's
bin for subsequent field removal. Thus the economic value of chaff and weed seeds
is lost. Moreover the currently used method spreads weed seeds through the fields,
necessitating intensive, extensive and expensive pesticide and herbicide
applications.
This invention concerns a harvesting system and method designed to
simplify and improve existing grain uop harvesting techniques. The method
CA 02218901 1997-12-04
separates straw (or its equivalent) in the field from chaff, grain, and weed seeds,
rerer,ed to herein as Ugraffn. The materials other than straw are transported to an
automatic cleaning plant. Here the grain is cleaned by a stationary cleaning
machine, and the separated materials, the "savingsD, are milled for use as animal
5 feed. The milled savings will include densified grain leavings (small kernels, fines,
leaves, hulls, stalks1 stems, husks and the like) when present along with chaff and
weed seeds. The system includes a simplified harvester, and a separate
processing plant. It is the processing plant that is the subject of this divisional
application.
Other anticip~ted advanlages of the new system compared to the
present co"lL..ling method are in a cleaner grain product, providing farmers with
higher prices and less freight demurrage. Harvesting equip,l,eilt will be less costly.
Equipment depreciation is less bec~use the automatic cleaning plant is stationary
and incurs less wear. The field unit is simpler becAI~se it has none of the cleaning
15 and separdling equipment of the combine.
Although the term 'grain' is primarily regarded as cereal grain refer, ing
to the seeds of grasses, such as, but not limited to, barley, corn (maize), millet, oats,
rice, rye, wheat and many lesser known domesticated grasses, it is not limited
ll,ereto in instant application, since the new technology may be used as well for
20 oilseeds, legumes and other domesticated plants. The term 'grain' is intended to
cover besides the usual definition, all Canadian prairie crops including small grains,
canola, sunflowers, corn, lentils, peas and the like.
SUMMARY
Accor~;ng to one aspect of the present invention there is provided a
25 method of processing a harvested crop co",prising graff containing grain, chaff and
other residue, said method comprising:
CA 02218901 1997-12-04
separating the graff into grain and savings containing chaff and other
,nalerial separated from the grain; and
milling the savings.
TheUgraff'' is a combination of grain, chaff, residual straw, weed seed
5 and any other material that remains with the grain after initial threshing. In a
conventional harvesting method, using a combine harvester, this mixture is not
collected. The grain is cleaned in the field by the combine to remove chaff and
other material. The cleaned grain is l~anspGiled from the field, while all othermaterials are deposited on the field.
Mixing the chaff and grain leavings and other residue with the
threshed grain yields a mixture that may be handled more readily than material
without the grain or with unthreshed grain. Threshed grain kernels flow relatively
freely and can thus be moved by auger. Neither chaff nor grain leavings flow well
alone. Chaff tends to bridge. Unthreshed grain, heads or ears, and straw also do15 not flow well. For ease of handling, the prese"t method threshes the grain and
mixes it with the chaff, grain leavings and resid~ straw to produce a graff mixture
that is more easily handled.
Cleaning the graff cor"pone"t with a stationary yard unit at the
cleaning site yields a cleaner grain that alllacls a higher price. The densified20 residue, rere"ed to as "savings" from the cleaning process also has an economic
value. The savings are produced by compacting the crop residue in a milling step to
produce an animal feed with a high nutrient value. Grain can be added at the milling
stage to enrich the resulting mixture.
When grain leavings are present, and the graff is separated into grain
25 and savings, the latter includes the grain leavings The chaff, grain leavings and
weed seeds p~"ic~" are treated to coi"pa~ and crush the chaff, grain leavings and
CA 02218901 1997-12-04
-4 -
weed seeds, preferably by milling.
In the preferred ",ethod of cleaning the graff is aspirated to remove
liftings, screened to remove matter larger than the grain, screened to remove matter
smailer than the grain, and blown through with air to remove matter lighter than the
5 grain. The liftings and matter larger, smaller and lighter than the grain may then be
combined and milled.
According to another aspect of the present invention there is provided
a cleaning unit for cleaning graff including grain and chaff, said cleaning unitcomprising:
receiver means for receiving the graff;
grain cleaning means for separaling the graff into grain and savings
containing chaff and other material separdled from the grain; and
a mill for milling the savings.
The prerer,ed cleaning unit includes aspirator means for aspirating the
graff to remove light weight and fine liftings; coarse screening means for sueening
the graff, to remove matter larger than the grain, fine screening means for screening
the graff to remove matter smaller than the grain, and blower means for blowing air
through the graff with air to remove matter lighter than the grain. The liftings and
matter larger, smPll~r and lighter than the grain are then be mixed and milled.
The mill may be a roller mill or a hammer mill. Preferably the grain
outlet from the cleaner is coupled to a conveyor, for example an auger leading to
one or more grain storage bins. The grain outlet can be connected by an auger to a
grain dryer, which is in tum connected to an auger leading to the grain bins.
The cleaning system may include a cyclone separator having an inlet
coll"ecle~ to the l~ftings outlet of the aspirator means. The cyclone has a material
outlet and an air outlet, with the air outlet connected to a cyclone fan. The material
CA 02218901 1997-12-04
outlet is connected to airlock valve.
Conveyors connect the fine material outlet, the residual material outlet
of the multi-screen grain cleaner, and the cyclone airlock valve to the mill.
The compacted and crushed chaff and weed seeds (savings) are a
5 high nutrition animal feed. Nutrients from the crushed weed seeds enhance the
nutritional value of the chaff. r,ererably the feed also includes cG"",aoted andcrushed grain leavings to further enhance the nutritional value of the chaff. Ifdesired, grain may be added at the compacting and crushing stage to further enrich
the resulting feed.
The practice of the invention resluces grain loss during harvesting by
collecting s~ sl~nlially all of the grain in the graff. This has the subsidiary effect of
",ini",i~i"g volunteer grain growth. Bec~use the weed seeds are collected as well,
weed growth is significantly reduced, li",iling the need for herbicides. The
stationary cleaner unit can provide a cleaner grain product than a conventional
mobile combine. With the presenl invention, s~hst~rltialJy all of the chaff, grain and
weed seeds are removed from the field, leaving only straw. The residual compacted
and crushed chaff and weed seeds are useful as animal feed, especially for stockraising on grain farms. The nutritional value of the feed is augmented by removing
~."der~i ed grain kernels, fines and other grain leavings from the harvested field,
and adding these to the chaff and weed seeds.
The harvester field unit of the invention may be lighter, faster, more
energy efricient, simpler and less expensive than a combine harvester. It may bemade with y,eal~r ca~.acily than a combine. The invention may increase the use
and hence productivity of farm grain trucks.
The slatio"aly, cleaning plant, may be more efficient in cleaning and
more energy efficient than the mobile fuel powered combine cleaning plant.
CA 02218901 1997-12-04
-6 -
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
In the accompanying drawings which illustrate exemplary
embodiments of the present invention:
Fig. 1 shows a flow chart to illustrate an embodiment of the system of
the invention;
Fig. 2 shows a part sectional view of a yard plant cleaning and
separaling unit combined with a seed crushing and chaff densifying unit in this
case the unit is mobile;
Fig. 3 shows an exploded view of an embodiment of a self-propelled
lhresl)er of the invention;
Fig. 4 shows an exploded view of an embodiment of a self-propelled
thresher of the invention;
Fig. 5 shows an exploded view of another embodiment of a wrap-
around thresher of the invention;
Fig. 6 shows an exploded view of anotl,er embodiment of a wrap-
around ll ,resher of the invention;
Fig. 7 shows a top view of the embodiment of Fig. 2 using a different
power system;
Fig. 8 shows a control panel for the e",bodi",enl of Fig. 7;
Fig. 9 shows a side part sectional view of another embodiment of a
wrap-around thresher of the invention;
Fig. 10 shows a top part sectional view of the embodiment of Fig. 9;
and
Fig. 11 shows a side part sectional view of another embodiment of a
wrap-around combine of the invention.
DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
CA 02218901 1997-12-04
The invention is now illuall ated by rererence to the preferred
e"lbodi",el)ts ll,ereo~. The numeral 10 generally indicAles a system of the invention
(Fig. 1), header 12, which may pick up a swath, direct-cut or strip-cut the standing
grain crop. The header cuts the crop leaving behind stubble at a height chosen by
the farmer. Harvester 14 is directly attached to header 121 and includes a thresher
to thresh the grain. The grain, chaff and weed seeds proceed together into a
holding tank il It6y~dl with the harvester, desirably with a bottom agitator to help flow
from the plant. The holding tank is preferably at least about twice the size of those
currently in use on combines. The separated straw is deposited in the field at the
10 far",el's pleasure either directly for later baling, or optionally through straw chopper,
si,redder and spleader 16 to decol"pose in the field.
Built into harvester 14 is high volume and time saving auger 18, which
is used to load field truck 20. As truck 20 preferably has truck box sides raised by
about 3 feet above normal to increase load capacil~, the auger arm is raised to
15 clear these. Wheat chaff, weed seeds and wheat grain have about twice times the
volume of wheat grain alone, and about 1.16 times the weight of wheat grain alone.
Volume and weight ratios vary with uop harvested and moisture content.
Figs. 3 to 6, and 9 to 11, indicate specific threshers: self-propelled
thresher 130, (Fig. 3), self-propelled thresher 154 (Fig. 4), wrap-around thresher
20 146 (Fig. 5), wrap-around thresher 166 (Fig. 6), wrap-around thresher 200 (Figs. 9
and 10) and wrap-around thresher 216 (Fig. 11) which have conventional
interchangeable l~ader 132, which as those skilled in the art realize can be a direct
cut, swath pick-up, or stripper header. Elevator 134 carries the cut crop to rotary
ll ,resher 136, or thresher cylinder 156 and coopera~ing concave 158, which
25 separates the straw from the rest of the crop. In the self-propelled versions of the
~I,resl,er, 130 and 154, elevator 132 is 64h inches wide as are rotary thresher 136,
CA 02218901 1997-12-04
or thresher cylinder 156 and concave 158. In the wrap-around versions elevator 132
is 55 inches wide as are rotary thresher 136 or ll,resl,er cylinder 156 and concave
158. Either rotary tl,resl,er 136 or concave 158 may include apertures to allow
grain and other material except straw to pass directly into holding tank 138. Material
other than straw may be carried by conveyor augers 137 to holding tank 138
optionally equipped with agilalo,~ 140. Straw and other material mixed therewithmay be p~ssed by overshot beater 159 into tine separator 160 which has paired
side by side tine separdlors conlaining tine rotors 161 having tine arrays 162
thereon. Material is urged along the tine separalors smaller material than straw10 passing through gratings 164 into holding tank 138. The wrap-around versions 146
166 200 216 are mounted on conventional tractor 148 and operated by the usual
tractor PTO (power take-off) which requires about 200 hp. In Figs. 9 and 10 the
tractor PTO operales shaft 206 which powers elevator 134 thresher cylinder 156
overshot beater 159 and tine rotors 161 by gear belt drive (also known as HDT
15 timing belt or poly-chain) through belt and sheave arrangements 208 210 212
and 214. In version 200 (Figs. 9 and 10) a support wheel 202 with support struts204 and 205 is provided for elevator 134. In all versions straw spreader 142
spreads straw on the field. These threshers all feature a large holding tank and lack
grain cleaning e~u~pment except 216.
In Fig. 11 is shown wrap-arolJnd combine 21 6 which embodies
conventional combine grain cleaning equipment 218 including screen 220
distribution auger 222 sieves 224 aspirator fan 226 which blows chaff weed
seeds and grain leavings out and tray 228 with acco",pa"ying auger. Auger 144 isalso shown in all~l.,dli~/e non-use position 145.
Thus far the process has harvested all the grain. Using existing
combine r"ethods s~ sl~nlial amounts of grain are put back on the field with the
CA 02218901 1997-12-04
_ 9 _
chaff, 6.4% for wheat, 5.2% for barley and 3.7% for canola, as per~"tages of total
chaff weight. Combine grain average losses (as distinct from header grain losses)
are esli",ated at between 3.375% to 3.75% for wheat, 3% for barley and 2.875% for
canola, as percenlages of total grain harvest. These losses are due to the thresher,
the straw walker and the shoe (blowing aspirator and cleaning sieve). Harvester 14
of the invention doesn't have a shoe, thus saving grain loss from the shoe.
The weed seeds harvested will amount to about 50% of all weed
seeds available at harvest time.
Besides the value of capturing more grain, less grain loss means less
10 volunteer growth. In addition the removal of weed seeds with the grain will
substantially reduce weed growth.
The chaff and grain leavings have to be combined with the threshed
grain for ease of handling. Threshed grain kernels flow like a liquid or fluid. Chaff
alone doesn't flow well and tends to bridge. Grain leavings also don't flow well15 alone. Grain kernels are flowable or pourable, which can thus be moved by auger.
Since chaff and grain leavings tend to bridge when passing through narrow
openings, they must be mixed with flowable or pourable material for ease of
handling. For practical movement of the chaff and grain leavings, they are when
mixed with ll"es~,ed grain to produce the graff, which is flowable or pourable.
20 U"thresl,ed grain, heads or ears, does not flow well. For grain and by-products to
be easily handleable, the grain must be threshed and the by-products must be
mixed in with the grain. Straw also does not flow alone. In practice the grain is best
ll,reshed in the field, and the flowable mixture of chaff, grain, grain leavings and
weed seeds l, ~nsp~l led elsewhere for cleaning and separating.
Another high volume, time saving, auger 22 unloads the grain truck
into surge receiving bin 24, which is part of automatic yard plant 46. Surge bin 24
CA 02218901 1997-12-04
- 1 0 -
has a large holding capacil~ and prererably a bottom agitator to ensure steady flow
into yard plant 46. Auger 26 carries the chaff, grain and weed seeds to stationary
separating and cleaning machine 28. Combine harvested grain must be cleaned
again for market purposes. Machine 28 has more cleaning stages than combines,
5 and produces a significantly cleaner product than combine harvested grain, which is
typically docked by 2 to 4% for uncleaned grain. Yard cleaned grain will be 'export'
quality, with less than 1% dockage. The stationary yard cleaning machine 28 has
the advantages that it is easier, simpler and cheaper to clean and maintain than the
combi"e cleaning machine which is intricate, in a small space, awkward and
10 expensive to repair and maintain. Because it is stationary yard cleaning machine 28
takes less abuse than the co",L.ne cleaning machine, and thus lasts longer and
depreciates less. Since the yard cleaning machine is built on a solid foundation it
can be advanlageo~sly positioned for each individual farm. The cleaned grain is
then carried by auger 36 to optional grain dryer 38, which can be incorporated into
15 the yard plant 46, more easily, simply and with less labour than the present system.
Grain dryer 38, when available makes drying easier and so enhances grain quality,
it can also extend the harvest time. The grain whether passed through grain dryer
38 or not, is then p~ssed to bin 40, whence it may be carried by optional auger 42,
usually a stationary overhead auger, to optional storage bins 44. The grain can be
20 adva"tageously directed to selected bins separalely to even out moisture or quality.
The residue of chaff and weed seeds from cleaning machine 28 is carried in yard
plant 46, to crushing and densifying machine 30 prererably a roller mill, which
densifies (co"~pa(,ts) and crushes the chaff, prer~rably to double its original density,
while con,pacti"g and crushing the weed seeds. The chaff may then be moved by
25 auger 32 to chaff bunker 34, which is desirably covered by a tarp, to prevent blowing, alternatively the chaff can be moved by front end loaders.
CA 02218901 1997-12-04
- 1 1 -
A specific yard plant embG.lying cleaning/separating 28 and seed
crushing/chaff densifying 30 ele",e"ls is shown in Fig. 2. Plant 48 is mounted on
trailer 50 and is about 17 feet high by 24 feet long and 8 feet wide. Although this
particular version is mobile, so that it can be tested at a convenient construction
5 site, before moving it elsewhere, generally the plant is intended to be stationary.
Yard plant 28 in any event is intended to be used when stationary, and no provision
is made for use while moving. Grain is fed into grain feed inlet 54 by auger 26 (not
shown in Fig. 2). Inlet 54 has upper 56 and lower 58 level indicators (sensors),when upper indicator 56 indicates inlet 54 is full, grain flow is stopped, when lower
10 indicator 58 indicates inlet 54 is empty grain flow is resumed. Below feed inlet 54 is
aspirator 60, which has top feed roll 62 allowing grain to free fall down aspiration
column 64 to base 66. Feed roll 62 is regul~ted to control speed of material intake
into aspirator 60. Air passes in through air inlet 68 through a set of baffles 70 which
force air through the falling grain and then through another set of baffles 72
15 aspirating light chaff, grain hulls, residual straw, grain fines into duct 74 and cyclone
76. The clean grain falls into base 66, where weighted door 78 allows grain to fall
into grain cle:l~er 80. Aspirator 60 as shown is an open circuit vertical drop
aspirator with a six pass aspiration column having a 56 x 12 inch opening and a 7
foot vertical drop. Operating about 5,600 cfm it can handle about 700 bushels or 19
20 metric tons per hour of whole grain, chaff and seeds. Feed roll 62 is driven by a 1
hp electric motor. Cleaner 80 has top hopper 82, which gravity feeds grain onto
upper scalping screen 84, which p~sses grain and retains large material, the grain
then falls onto lower scalping screen 86 which again p~sses grain but retains
material larger than grain but smaller than the holes in screen 84. The grain then
25 falls onto fine screen 88, which doesn't pass grain but does pass finer material. The
grain during falling is deflected by deflector plate 90 while fan 92 passes an air
CA 02218901 1997-12-04
- 12 -
current through it blowing lighter material clear of the grain. This material emerges
togell,er with that removed by the scalper scree"s to fall into hopper 94. The fines
fall into hopper 96, while the clean grain discharges to hopper 98 attached to auger
100. The other two discharges to hoppers 94 and 96 are removed by auger 102.
5 Cleaner 80, which has a capacity of up to 300 bushels or 8 metric tons per hour,
has a 3 hp electric motor, which drives fans 92 and vibrates screens 84, 86 and 88.
The aspiraled "~aterial from aspirator 60 pAsses into cyclone 76 where it is forced
around inner tube 104 spiralling downward, the centrifugal effect urges the chaff
into the walls and down into cone 106. Cyclone 76 is 40 inch external diameter and
10 stands about 1 1 feet tall. At the base of cone 106 the chaff p~sses into airlock valve
108, which discharges into hopper 112 of auger 114. Airlock valve 108, driven by3/4 hp electric motor 110, has 10 inch square inlets and outlets and an eight vaned
rotor. Centrifugal fan 114, driven by 7 hp electric motor 116, has a capacity of85,000 cfm, and through ducts 74 and 118 provides air for aspiralor 60 and cyclone
15 76, it ~iscl,~ges through outlet 120. Augers 102 and 115 discharge the savings
from the grain into hopper 122, which feeds into roller mill or hammer mill 124,either can be used. When mill 124, is a roller mill it is driven by 15 hp electric motor
126. A s~oeciric roller mill designed to crush weed seeds and densify chaff has
diagonally grooved rolls. The rolls are 10 3/4 inch diameter, with diagonal grooves,
20 about 3/32 inch deep and about 3/32 inch wide, spaced about 5 or 6 per inch of
width of the rolls. The rolls are geared to rotate at different speeds, one about 10 to
15% faster or slower than the other, typically one at about 350 RPM the other atabout 400 RPM, as those skilled in the art are aware rotational speeds and ratios
can be varied. The clearance between the rolls is between 3 and 10 mils (0.003 and
25 0.010 inch), that is they don't quite touch (a normal sheet of paper is about 4 mils),
which has two main effects - crushing weed seeds and grain leavings and tearing
CA 02218901 1997-12-04
chaff into smaller r,ay",enls. Mill 124 discharges into hopper 128 of auger 130.When seed crusher and chaff densifier 30 is a hammer mill, a more powerful
electric motor 126 is required up to a 15-50 hp motor.
In Fig. 7 is shown another power system for yard plant 48, in which
electric motor 168, preferably a written pole motor, provides power. Most farms have
single phase electric power, and triple phase power is not available, which limits the
amount of electric power which can be used. The written pole electric motor has
several advantages, it is a precise power single phase ride-through device, having
two or four poles, it is fairly lightweight 1200 Ibs., it can provide between 25 and 30
10 rated hp using single phase electric power, along a shaft running up to 1800 RPM,
and is prefera~ly used to power the plant, except motor 170 driving aspirator feed
roller 62. Since feed roller 62 requires a variable drive, it cannot be run at a steady
speed, and needs a separate variable speed motor. 2 inch steel line shaft 172 iscollne~;ted to written pole motor 168, by a gear belt drive, (also known as HDT,15 timing belt, or poly~hain) at a 1 :1 ratio. Bearings 198 support line shaft 172 about a
foot above the deck or floor. Cleaning machine 80, airlock valve 108, aspirator fan
114, and roller mill 124 and augers 102 and 115 are connected to line shaft 172 by
gear belt drives (also known as HDT, timing belt, or poly-chain) 186, 188, 190, 192,
194, and 196 which drive the devices. Each drive consists of two sheaves and a
20 belt, set appropriately to increase or reduce RPM for a particular drive. As those
skilled in the art are aware, where the rerluction of RPM required is sufficient, a
gear reduction box may be employed. As those skilled in the art are also aware adiesel motor or a tractor PTO may be used to drive line shaft 172 instead of electric
motor 168, control panel 174 (described in Fig. 8) is ~ cent motor 168.
In Fig. 8 is shown control panel 174, for the written pole motor yard
plant. This has manual-auto-off switch 176, push button switches having indicator
CA 02218901 1997-12-04
- - 14 -
lights 178, ind;calor lights 180, current meter 182 and aspirator feed control 184.
The control panel works as follows in when switch 176 is in auto mode the written
pole motor 168 starts and drives rolling mill 124, air lock valve 108, fan 114, and
cleaning machine 80. Twenty seconds later the l,an:jrer augers 102 and 115 kick in
5 as does aspirator feed roller 62. Three seconds after this the feed system activates
into bin 54. This bin has automatic high and low switches which control its feedauger. Three seconds after the feed system activates the monitoring system
switches on, and monitors the rolling mill 124, air lock valve 108, fan 114, andcleaning machine 80 to sense loose drive belts and similar problems. There is a full
10 hopper sensor on rolling mill hopper 122, when this is triggered, transfer augers
102,115 and asp.rator feed roller 62 shut down. Written pole motor 168 shuts down
twenty seconds later to allow the rolling mill 124 to clean out, since the written pole
motor cannot start it loaded.
The entire yard plant 46 as well as yard cleaning machine 28 and
15 seed crushing and chaff densifying machine 30 are suitably entirely automated, and
can use electrical power, which is more energy efficient than mobile combine
cleaning machines which are fossil fuel powered. The yard plant is intended to
utilize as much existing farm equipment as possible to aid in conversion of former
harvesting systems to the harvesting system desuibed herein. Yard plant 46
20 besides producing more and cleaner grain, also produces densified chaff and
uushed weed seeds both of which contain fat and protein. Untreated chaff has a
nul,ilional value between that of straw (low) and hay (high). One esli,nate gives it
75% of the nul,ilional value of tame hay (equivalent to alfalfa mixed). Ammoniation
can s~hst~ntially increase its nutritional value. Although chaff is a known animal
25 feed, the current method of collecting is expensive and awkward (chaff wagons).
Collecting it as part of the harvesting process is much more efficient. The nutrients
CA 02218901 1997-12-04
- - 1 5 -
of the crushed weed seeds enhance the nutritional value of the chaff. The weed
seeds are further destroyed as they will through the animal's digestive tract.
The removal of chaff and weed seeds and the reduction of grain loss
on the fields will reduce weed and volunteer grain growth. Because weed and
5 volunteer grain growth is reduced pesticide and herbicide use is also reduced,which in turn reduces unwanted chemical environmental effects. The absence of
chaff will aid zero-till planting. As it eliminates chaff rows, which inte,rere with
seeding. It will also reduce fertilizer use, as it eliminates chaff clumps and rows on
the field, which act as barriers for fertilizer to penetrate the soil. Chaff contributes
10 little nitrogen to soil, so its removal G~uses little loss in soil nutrition, compared to
straw. The presence of chaff tends to i"le,rere with germination of subsequent
crops. Furthermore the use of chaff-weed seed as cattle feed will result in increased
availability of manure for fertilizer.
The system is designed to harvest all prairie crops including cereal
15 crops, oil seeds, and legumes, including mustard, lentils and beans, to support
modern crop rotational methods.
As those skilled in the art would realize these preferred described
details and materials and cor,lponents can be subjected to substantial variation,
modification, change, alteration, and substitution without drre~ing or modifying the
20 function of the descl ibed embodiments.
Although embodiments of the invention have been described above, it
is not limited thereto, and it will be apparent to per-~;Gns skilled in the art that
numerous modifications and variations form part of the present invention insofar as
they do not depart from the spirit, nature and scope of the claimed and described
25 invention.
