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Harvester Capacity Calculator

Work out harvester capacity instantly with clear inputs, formula shown and shareable results.

About Harvester Capacity Calculator

A combine's area capacity is header width x speed / 10 x field efficiency, and multiplying by yield converts it to grain throughput in tonnes per hour. Throughput is the binding constraint: in a heavy crop the threshing and separating capacity forces the ground speed down long before the header runs out of width.

Formulas

Harvester capacity

ha/h = header width (m) x speed (km/h) / 10 x field efficiency

Throughput

t/h = ha/h x yield (t/ha)

Worked example

With the default values below, Harvester Capacity Calculator returns Harvesting Capacity of 1.176. Change any input above and every figure here is recalculated in your browser.

Inputs used

Header Widthminimum 0.1 m
4.2 m
Harvesting Speedminimum 0.1 km/h
4 km/h
Field Efficiencyaccepts 5–100 %
70 %
Crop Yieldminimum 0 t/ha
4.5 t/ha

Results

Harvesting Capacity
1.176
Grain Throughput
5.292
Theoretical Capacity
1.680
Hectares Per 10-Hour Day
11.76

Step by step

  1. 1Values used
  2. 2Harvester capacity
  3. 3Throughput
  4. 4Harvesting Capacity= 1.176
  5. 5Grain Throughput= 5.292
  6. 6Theoretical Capacity= 1.680
  7. 7Hectares Per 10-Hour Day= 11.76

Assumptions and limits

  • The result is derived only from the 4 inputs listed above. Anything not among them is not part of the calculation.
  • In particular, this calculator does not take inflation, tax, fees or charges or compounding frequency into account.
  • Figures are rounded for display to 3 decimal places, so totals built from several rounded parts can differ slightly from the unrounded arithmetic.

How these calculators are built and tested is described on the Methodology page. If a figure looks wrong, please report it.

Frequently Asked Questions

Why does capacity fall in a high-yielding crop?

The combine can only process so many tonnes of material per hour. In a heavier crop the operator must slow down to keep grain loss and cracking within limits.

What field efficiency should I use?

65-80% for combining. Grain tank unloading, blocked headers, lodged patches and turning on short runs all take time out of the hour.

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