section_path: Cultivation/Harvesting
section_name: Harvesting
paragraph_text: Harvesting
  
  Annual cereals die when they have come to seed, and dry up. Harvesting begins once the plants and seeds are dry enough. Harvesting in mechanized agricultural systems is by combine harvester, a machine which drives across the field in a single pass in which it cuts the stalks and then threshes and winnows the grain. In traditional agricultural systems, mostly in the Global South, harvesting may be by hand, using tools such as scythes and grain cradles. Leftover parts of the plant can be allowed to decompose, or collected as straw; this can be used for animal bedding, mulch, and a growing medium for mushrooms. It is used in crafts such as building with cob or straw-bale construction.