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Loadstar 226
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m.harvest1
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2022-08-26
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u<l5oldsp.shp>
<l1horsedrawn.shp>
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When Zebulon Pike crossed the
American prairie, he saw it as only a
vast, empty uninhabitable wilderness
-- and gave the name "Great American
Desert". He proclaimed that "No one
but savages could survive here." (Pike
also predicted that no one would ever
descend the cliffs of the Grand Canyon
or climb to the top of the mountain
bearing his name.)
But emigrants migrated into this
vast land, and some survived. One
group -- Russian Menonites -- brought
with them seeds of hard, red wheat
which would thrive in the dry climate.
McCormick's horse-drawn reaper
allowed a farmer to produce enough to
feed his family and 10 others.
<w>
<d1>
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The reaped sheaves were bundled and
stacked to dry until a thrashing crew,
with a rackety thrashing machine
powered by a steam tractor, could
remove the grain.
In the 1920's, the reaper and
thrasher were build into one machine,
pulled by a gasoline or diesel powered
tractor. The combined impliment was
called a "combine," of course.
The Baldwin brothers of Hutchinson,
KS, built the first functional self-
propelled combine. Now the farmer
could cut and process grain in 20-foot
swaths, and feed his family and 20
others.
<l3gleaner.shp>
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My father ran a local seed dealer-
ship near Hutchinson, and "cleaned"
grain for farmers. When the self-
propelled combines came into use, many
farmers feared that precious kernals
would be lost, so set the seives
"tight." Unfortunately, the resulting
harvest was full of dirt and husks --
and the grain elevator would not buy
the it until it was cleaned. Well,
that was not terribly unfortunate for
my dad's business!
I remember combines being huge
machines when I was growing up, with
front tires as tall as I was. After
many years away from the prairie, I
expected to have out-grown my childish
perspective. But I was surprised...
<l1bigred.shp>
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Today, huge "battleships of the
prairie" rumble through the fields,
cutting swaths 40 and 50 feet wide.
Such effeciency comes with a price --
a new combine costs over a quarter of
a million dollars.
Every year, productivity increases.
Today, one farmer on the Great Plains
feeds 128 people.
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