Combines began to appear in the West during the 1920s. They were the wave of the future. Relying on new, lighter metals and improved design for threshing technology they were simple to operate and required far fewer men. As the decade progressed, combines improved and many farmers, especially after the large grain crop in 1928, went into debt purchasing them. Thus began a classic struggle for grain growers trying to keep pace with the latest changes in farm machinery. During the 1930s the debts caused by the purchase of combines and tractors contributed significantly to the high rate of foreclosures across the region. Most of the combines were purchased by more affluent individual farmers but there were numerous incidents of two or more farmers purchasing units jointly. By allowing the farmers to combine harvesting and threshing in one operation, the new machines significantly reduced manpower needs at harvest time. While sixteen or more men were needed in the old threshing system, five or six could do the same work with the new machines. The impact of the new technology was, therefore, immensely important. The increased capacity helps to explain why there was less farmer dissatisfaction during World War II than in World War I. This photograph shows one of the early combines.
