A new design of combine header that doesn’t just cut the crop, but also separates the grain from the heads and chops the straw, is being developed in Lincolnshire.

Called the Eyre header, it was invented by agricultural engineer Bob Eyre from Alford. The fully-patented machine has taken more than 10 years to come to fruition and could widen the harvesting options for farmers.

At first glance the 7.6m (25ft) working width unit simply looks like a deeper-than-normal header. Indeed the reel, knife and Powerflow belt-type table are off-the-shelf units.

But directly behind these is a full-width drum and concave which separates the grain from the heads. Grain then drops down into a pair of bottom augers that move it to the centre of the table. From there, a set of rubber flickers moves it out of the table altogether.

Right behind the drum is a full-width rotor with swinging knives that chop the straw and drop it on to the ground.

Having a full-width drum and chopper avoids bottlenecks, cuts power consumption and running costs, boosting forward speed. The only things that can’t be done on the header are sieving the grain or storing it, but Mr Eyre has already patented plans for that side of the operation.

The header has taken about 8500 hours to make and is entirely Mr Eyre’s own design. But help came from nearby Case-IH dealer Louth Tractors, who provided the combine and local farmer Owen Evrard, who held over a field of wheat for this autumn’s trials.

Though the Eyre header is not likely to go on sale for two years, Mr Eyre is keen to work with a large farmer or farming company to carry out testing next harvest. He can be contacted on 01507 463 123. We’ll be following the progress of the unit in Farmers Weekly, too.

Bob Eyre’s new header, which has a full-width drum and straw chopper behind the knife and powerflow table.