A combine harvester comprises a threshing system and a cleaning system. The cleaning system comprises a crop flow sensing system configured to monitor a lateral distribution of crop on the cleaning system. The threshing system comprises a return pan configured to guide the threshed and separated grain in a forward direction towards the cleaning system. The combine harvester further comprises a hillside compensation system, configured to control the cleaning system in order to adjust the lateral distribution of crop on the cleaning system. The hillside compensation system is further configured to control the return pan separately from the cleaning system and depending on the lateral distribution of crop on the cleaning system.

A method for controlling crop material speed through a rotor/cage assembly of an agricultural combine. The method includes the steps of monitoring a grain loss of the combine; computing an engine power reserve value; and adjusting an orientation of a vane coupled to the cage responsive to the engine power reserve value and to the grain loss, a cleaning system load and/or a straw length.

A vibration sensor unit (66) is provided with a vibration sensor (72) and with an electronic signal processing circuit (82) which derives from the signals of the vibration sensor (72) information regarding a quantity of lost grain detected by the vibration sensor (72). The electronic signal processing circuit (82) also examines the signals of the vibration sensor (72) for vibrations that may be signs of potential damage to moving parts.

A grain loss sensor array system is provided for an agricultural harvester. At least one thermal sensing device is attached to a header of the agricultural harvester and captures infrared images or video of the ground. A controller detects pre-harvest loss and harvest loss using the infrared images or video by recognizing a temperature difference or a characteristic thermal difference between the pre-harvest loss, the harvest loss, and the ground. The controller may communicate with or be integrated with a yield monitor to provide information concerning the pre-harvest loss and harvest loss to an operator of the agricultural harvester.

A harvesting machine has a controlled subsystem that performs harvesting machine functionality, and a control system that controls the controlled subsystem. A header is mounted to the harvesting machine and has row dividers (that divide rows of crop stalks) and gathering chains. A set of crop loss inhibitors is mounted proximate a forward portion of each of the gathering chains, in a direction of travel of the harvesting machine. The crop loss inhibitors also include a sensor that senses a variable, indicative of a crop attribute, as each crop stalk passes through the set of crop loss inhibitors.

A method of controlling a mobile agricultural machine that includes detecting a target value setting input identifying a target metric value for a quality metric representing a performance characteristic of the mobile agricultural machine and having an inverse relationship to machine speed, receiving machine data indicative of operating parameters on the mobile agricultural machine, generating, based on the machine data, a current metric value for the quality metric, determining a target machine speed based on the current metric value relative to the target metric value, and outputting a control instruction that controls the mobile agricultural machine based on the target machine speed.

A topographical indication for a field is detected by an aerial sensor and, based on the topographical indication, an area of consistent elevation is calculated. An estimated yield indication for a field is also detected, and an area of consistent estimated yield is calculated. With a controller, a calibration candidate zone is generated, wherein the calibration candidate zone comprises an area of the field with a consistent topography and a consistent estimated yield along a width and a length of the area.

A cleaning assembly for a harvester operable to clean a crop while moving along a direction of the crop flow and comprising multiple cleaning sub-assemblies has a control system coupled to each of the cleaning sub-assemblies and operable to control the operation of each of the cleaning sub-assemblies in function of separate cleaning sub-assembly control settings for each of the cleaning sub-assemblies.

One or more information maps are obtained by an agricultural work machine. The one or more information maps map one or more agricultural characteristic values at different geographic locations of a field. An in-situ sensor on the agricultural work machine senses an agricultural characteristic as the agricultural work machine moves through the field. A predictive map generator generates a predictive map that predicts a predictive agricultural characteristic at different locations in the field based on a relationship between the values in the one or more information maps and the agricultural characteristic sensed by the in-situ sensor. The predictive map can be output and used in automated machine control.

Embodiments of a kernel-level grain monitoring system include a grain camera positioned to capture bulk grain sample images of a currently-harvested grain taken into and processed by a combine harvester, a moisture sensor, and a display device. A controller architecture is coupled to the grain camera, to the moisture sensor, and to the display device. The controller architecture is configured to: (i) analyze the bulk grain sample images, as received from the grain camera, to determine an average per kernel (APK) volume representing an estimated volume of a single average kernel of the currently-harvested grain; (ii) repeatedly calculate one or more topline harvesting parameters based, at least in part, on the determined APK volume and the moisture sensor data; and (iii) selectively present the topline harvesting parameters on the display device for viewing by an operator of the combine harvester.