Combine harvester

Combine harvester, farm machine that cuts, threshes, and cleans grain. The latest, self- propelled models cut a swath 20 ft wide. Practically all kinds of grain, including rice, can be harvested by the combine, as can soybeans and other legumes. Combines were first developed in Michigan as long ago as the 1830s, but they came into widespread use only in the 1920s.