The University of Missouri Extension’s Graves Chapel Extension and Education Center in Fairfax is reaping the benefits of a new piece of equipment this fall, with staff reporting higher efficiency and more accurate data from research harvests.
The center recently received a refurbished plot combine harvester, designed for precision harvesting on small research plots. The machine will help modernize operations, improve research accuracy and enhance demonstrations for visitors and area producers.
Jim Crawford, director of the Graves Chapel Center, said the new combine has already shown significant improvements.
“Really, you know, three big benefits,” Crawford said. “One is its reliability — it’s a much newer machine, factory refurbished and in top-of-the-line condition. It’s also more efficient and faster than our older plot machine, and it provides greater accuracy, which improves the quality of our research and demonstration data.”
Unlike large commercial combines that cover acres at a time, plot combines are built for detailed data collection, helping researchers evaluate seed varieties, fertilizer rates, planting methods and yields.
Crawford said the new equipment will help the center continue its mission to support regional agriculture.
“We conduct research and demonstrations on row crops, primarily corn and soybeans,” Crawford said. “We also work with forages and sometimes specialty crops, depending on what area producers are looking at — and we try to do it in an environmentally friendly and sustainable manner.”
Crawford added that the center’s goal remains the same — to provide local farmers with information and tools that help increase the profitability and sustainability of their operations.