Small (tiny) combine - pull type - for grains?

[airbiscuit]

I grow a couple acres of buckwheat per year. I cannot fathom the work involved in hand threshing 1/4 or 1/2 acre. . You are talking over 500 pounds of seed!

How do you harvest your buckwheat?

 

[CloverKnollFarms]

How do you harvest your buckwheat?

Right now I don't, I till it under to self seed. One acre requires 100lbs to seed, but will produce 1000-1500 pounds per acre. Plenty of small, older combines around here that could do the work though.

 

[t1kilo]

Excellent input. I am very interested in your idea and progress.

From the sounds of it I think you are addressing one major question I had with the idea of cutting in the field and transporting for processing. I am not sure that we will get to the point of having even 1/2 acre of any particular variety/crop so if those are the numbers you are working to and are going down the road of transporting the cut crop to process out of the field that interests me very much. Can you elaborate on your thought process on this?

The contraption in the video with the powered drum to do the threshing looks like it may be effective on a small scale. However, how does that sit with your numbers on the acreage/production over those acres? What are your transportation plans - both the fresh cut crop to where you process and the chaff post-processing? Do you have a thought process on how you are going to feed the crop through the threshing process at a volume that meets your estimated production?

So, full disclosure. I'm not a farmer and I'm not a fabricator, so don't laugh. I'm a long time IT guy who spent some time on a friend's family farm in my younger days, with a strong DIY streak and a desire to be more self sufficient. I don't have any plans to sell grain, but am interested in experimenting with some of the heirloom grains as a way to reduce gluten intake. My daughter is gluten intolerant, which got me interested in this.

Here's a short video of the thresher as it currently sits and the theory of operation.

I still need to add some baffles for air flow and I need to fabricate some kind of bracket for mounting the motor inside the back open area. I'm going to try this with a 1/2 HP motor that I have sitting on the shelf. If that isn't powerful enough, I'll swap it out for a 1 HP model. I did some basic CAD drawings for dimensioning purposes, but don't have a material list to go with it. If it looks like something you're interested in, I'm happy to share.

As for your questions about the logistics, I'm not certain what to expect. The machine is pretty heavy, but adding some wheels would make it easier to move around in the shop, which is where I plan to do my threshing. It will have to be hand fed, so it will still be a slower process than a combine, but a lot faster than trying to do it by hand. My goal is to have a two stage solution for threshing and winnowing. I know it won't be perfect, but hopefully, it's good enough.

As for portability, I suppose that I could mount it on a pallet and move it out to the field and use a generator to power it. I hadn't really thought about that.

 

[jyoutz]

Right now I don't, I till it under to self seed. One acre requires 100lbs to seed, but will produce 1000-1500 pounds per acre. Plenty of small, older combines around here that could do the work though.

What is the purpose of the buckwheat if it’s not harvested?

 

[airbiscuit]

Green fertilizer.

 

[FlyFishn]

What is the purpose of the buckwheat if it’s not harvested?

Cover crop that unlocks phosphorous in the soil. It grows fast, also, and in dense stands (high population) it can overtake weeds. It also promotes healthy organism growth in the soil.

Tilled in the organic matter is, furthermore, good for the soil.

Growing Buckwheat for Grain or Cover Crop Use | MU Extension

Rob Myers Adjunct Associate Professor Division of Plant Sciences Buckwheat (Fagopyrum esculentum Moench.) is a fast-growing crop most often found in northern temperate regions, such as the northern tier of U.S. states. It is native to southwest Asia, and is currently grown most extensively in...

extension.missouri.edu

Edit to add -
The principal of "cover crops" is something we are studying. There are numerous directions to go with it, however with the right application of crops to soil you can do any number of things. Around here (central Ohio) farmers use field raddishes to add organic matter and break up compacted soil, among other benefits.

If you dig in to the subject of "cover crops" youll find a whole other world within agriculture.

 

[CloverKnollFarms]

What is the purpose of the buckwheat if it’s not harvested?

Good nectar source during the dearth. Grows easily, fast, produces tons of organic matter, smothers weeds...

 

[LHF2019]

What is the purpose of the buckwheat if it’s not harvested?

Around here it is used fpr food plots

 

[jyoutz]

Around here it is used fpr food plots

For deer? I’m not familiar with food plots.

 

[CloverKnollFarms]

I can buy an old JD self propelled combine for $3000, that's operational around here. If I were looking to harvest an acre or more, I'd look into an actual combine. Or a person with one. I simply don't have weeks to devote to hand threshing grain. The cost of an older unit for artisan farming would be worth it.