Andrew Meikle

Threshing machine

The threshing machine was the first agricultural device to mechanise grain separation—but its initial form solved only one step of a three-step process. Meikle’s 1786 invention used velocity-driven fixed beaters to dislodge grain. Early output remained mixed: straw, chaff, and grain formed a single heap. Only with added rakes, shakers, and fanners did it deliver clean, market-ready grain. It reduced labour by ~25%, lifted yield by up to 5%, and cut total processing cost below prior cleaning-only expense. It did not eliminate human oversight. It did not scale without infrastructure. It did not win immediate adoption. It established that mechanisation required integration—not just substitution.