Combine harvesters help farmers expand the amount of grains they can harvest by combining three activities into one. (Chaff is inedible organisms cannot digest it.) Winnowing is the process of removing the grain from the chaff.
Threshing is loosening the edible grain from its casing, called the chaff. Cutting, of course, is removing the grain from the stalk of grass. This remarkable machine does three jobs: it cuts the grain, threshes the grain, and winnows the grain. The most important piece of agricultural machinery for grain crops is the combine harvester. Harvesting is done almost entirely with enormous, expensive machinery. Today, grain silos are a familiar sight to many people in the developed world. Many of the workers who built Egypt’s pyramids at Giza, for instance, were often paid in bread and beer. In some ancient civilizations, grain products served as wages or forms of currency. Ancient beers had a very low alcohol content, but were good sources of carbohydrates. Beer, one of the oldest manufactured beverages in the world, is made from grain such as barley. Oats were mashed with water or milk to make oatmeal. Wheat grains were made into flour and used in breads. Ancient people ate grains in much the same way we do today.
The silos, which date back 11,000 years, contained remnants of barley and an early type of wheat. In 2009, scientists announced that they had discovered the world’s oldest known grain silos at Dhra in what is now the nation of Jordan. People began cultivating, or growing, grain more recently. People harvested the grasses that grew naturally near their communities. Einkorn and emmer grew wild near the banks of rivers. These grains, including einkorn and emmer, were ancestors of today’s wheat. Harvesting Grain People first began eating grains about 75,000 years ago in western Asia. Oats, another grain that grows in temperate areas, are also used as a livestock feed. Corn, which is native to the Americas, is now grown in many temperate areas throughout the world. Wheat fields are common in the Great Plains of the United States and Canada, for instance. In temperate areas-those with warm summers and cold winters-wheat is the most common grain. The nations of West Africa, including Senegal, the Gambia, Burkina Faso, and Cape Verde, are the world’s largest producers of sorghum. Unlike rice, sorghum does not grow well in a wet climate. This type of grain agriculture has been used for centuries. Terraced rice paddies look like steps on a green hill. In Southeast Asia, rice is grown and harvested in flooded fields called paddies. Rice is the most important grain in many tropical areas, where it is hot and humid year-round. They are able to withstand cold, wet climates. Some grains are winter grains, such as rye. Grains are harvested from dead, or dry, grasses. Every growing season, grasses grow, reach maturity, produce seeds, and then die. This means they have only one growing season per year, yielding one crop. One type of biodiesel is ethanol, which can be made from corn. The rest of the world’s grain supply is used in the manufacture of industrial products. Most domestic animals, from cattle to dogs, are fed food rich in grains and grain products. A third of the world’s grain supply is fed to animals. Together, grains and legumes make a healthy diet: corn and beans, rice and tofu, wheat bread and peanut butter. In many cultures, grains are part of a staple diet when combined with protein-rich legumes, such as beans. While grains fill many nutritional needs, they often lack some important proteins. Grains have carbohydrates as well as other important nutrients, such as vitamins. Carbohydrates are a type of sugar that provides energy for organisms to function. Grains are so important because they are a good source of important nutrients called carbohydrates. Rice, corn, and wheat are the most common staple foods on Earth. Staple foods can be eaten fresh or stored for use all year. A food staple is food that is eaten frequently, often at every meal.
Grains are a food staple in almost every culture on Earth. People turn wheat flour into bread, steam rice, and make corn tortillas. Almost half of the grains grown around the world are harvested for people to eat directly. Grains are also used to feed livestock and to manufacture some cooking oils, fuels, cosmetics, and alcohols. Humans get an average of 48 percent of their calories, or food energy, from grains. Around the globe, grains, also called cereals, are the most important staple food. Other important grains include sorghum, millet, rye, and barley. Grain is the harvested seed of grasses such as wheat, oats, rice, and corn.
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