Biology KS3 / KS4: How the combine harvester has changed the way we farm

Secondary Resources

This short film, first published in 2013, is for teachers and review is recommended before use in class.

Stefan Gates explains how combine harvesters work – combining the jobs of cutting and threshing the crop in order to produce processed grain in a matter of seconds.

With a particular focus on the development of the combine harvester, he reveals how time and labour saving machines have made farming on a much larger scale possible without the need for a huge workforce.

This is from the series: Science of the Harvest

Teacher Notes

Students could compare modern day farming equipment with the equipment used one hundred years ago (horse drawn ploughs) and several thousand years ago (mainly handheld tools).

The increase in this sophistication is an example of evidence of human evolution.

Can students think of any other examples? Students could be asked what the negative consequences of mechanised farming are.

These could include carbon dioxide production and so would link to teaching about global warming.

Students could also taste organic and conventional foods. Can they taste the difference?

Curriculum Notes

This clip will be relevant for teaching Biology/Science at KS3 and KS4/GCSE in England and Wales.

Also at Third , Fourth Level, National 4, National 5 and Higher in Scotland.

This topic appears in OCR, Edexcel, AQA, WJEC, CCEA and SQA.

More from the series: Science of the Harvest