This is the time of year for small grain harvest.

If you see a cloud of dust in a golden field, more than likely there is a combine running.

Actually, fall barley and rye and wheat have already been harvested. So, for the most part, oats is all that remains to be harvested.

All of the different types of small grains (wheat, oats, barley, speltz, rye) are harvested by a piece of equipment called a combine. The combine harvester is a machine that "combines" the tasks of harvesting, threshing and cleaning grain plants. The desired result is the seed or grain — a byproduct is loose straw. Combines are also used for corn, soybeans and buckwheat harvesters.

In the Butler County area, most of the combines are self-propelled, causing some nonfarmers to call them a funny looking tractor. Tractors are used only for pull-type combines, which are much smaller than their self-propelled family members. Pull-type combines were common on most farms in the 1950s through the '70s, but very few are being used today.

Combines are probably the most complex piece of equipment on some farms. They have many moving parts that need to be maintained. Chains, belts, bearings and augers are just the beginning. Many producers do not own a combine, as they are costly to own and maintain let alone provide storage space indoors.

For those who do not own a combine, they often rely on a custom harvester. For around $30 per acre, they hire out their harvest. This, in many ways, makes good business sense, particularly for small acreage producers.

An interesting fact relative to combines in this area is that 75 percent are from the 1970s and 80s. This means they are well worn, most coming from the mid-West where they were considered too old, slow and worn to continue productive service. Equipment dealers haul them east where they are then "new" to our producers. Combines require a lot of maintenance; every year something different is ready to breakdown. This is not to say there are not some newer models on local farms; there are, but few.

Newer models are located only on large operations that can justify the cost of ownership. A new combine with a new grain header and corn head will exceed $300,000. Compare that for a good used machine and used heads for $20,000 to $40,000.

For a little more information on the history of combines, the following is provided:

• Hiram Moore patented the combine in 1834, the same year that Cyrus McCormick was granted a patent on the mechanical reaper.

• Early combines, some of them quite large, were drawn by horse or mule teams and used a bull wheel to provide power. In 1902, a combine could harvest enough grain in one hour to make 10 loaves of bread.

• Tractor-drawn, PTO-powered combines were used for a time. These combines used a shaker to separate the grain from the chaff and straw-walkers (grates with small teeth on an eccentric shaft) to eject the straw while retaining the grain.

Tractor drawn combines evolved to have separate gas or diesel engines to power the grain separation.

Today's combines are self-propelled and use diesel engines for power.

A significant advance in the design of combines was the rotary design. Straw and grain were separated by use of a powerful fan.

Rotary combines were introduced by Case IH in the late 1970s. About this time, on-board electronics were introduced to measure threshing efficiency. This new instrumentation allowed operators to get better grain yields by optimizing ground speed and other operating parameters.

These new machines are quite different from the mechanical reaper but still maintain the same basic principal.

Luke Fritz is executive director of the Butler County Farm Service Agency.