In Houston, Missouri, part of Texas county, landowners have been part of the local growing scene for several generations, Missouri's Houston Herald reports. Fescue seed is a cash crop here and fetches a good price, as it is used internationally to grow grass in lawns, pastures and fields.
Darren Ice and his family, who own around 900 acres near Houston, maintain combines that see use for only one month every year, the news source states. One of these is a John Deere 6600 machine from the 1970s, which the Ice family employs for the several-week-long fescue season.
Combine harvesters, first produced in 1834 in the United States, roll three tasks - reaping, threshing and winnowing - into one, the news source notes. First pulled by horses, then powered by steam engines, the first combine to run on its own power was introduced in 1911.
According to the John Deere website, the D450 Self-Propelled Windrower features a high-grade operator station and an IntelliAxle wheel-control system for greater driver comfort and control in the field.
John Deere combine helps Missouri farmer harvest fescue
Combines like this one help a Missouri farmer harvest fescue grass.