Harvesting Soybeans

The field across the road from me has been planted in a different crop each year - hay, corn and, this year, soybeans. But the plants had turned brown and died a very long time ago and I thought perhaps the owner planned to just plow them under. But early one morning (notice the harvester's lights are on), several truckloads of equipment arrived and began harvesting:

When they were done, I walked over for a closer look. The ground was covered with soybean hulls and shredded stems and leaves. Apparently the harvester takes only the beans, ejecting everything else back onto the field:

The harvester and "cutter" were left in the field, so I got to take a closer look:

I found soybeans still intact where rows had been missed:

This was large, expensive equipment. The cutter reel was thirty feet wide:

Here's a video of soybean harvesting in Michigan:


I looked back across the road at my little place. It looked homey and welcoming - and a lot less work than "real" farming: