The introduction of machinery to the farmer's field has served to make farming operations more efficient and increase productivity. In the midst of this trend toward mechanization is the corn picker which today harvests the majority of corn produced in developed countries. The origins of the mechanical corn picker can be traced to the 1st century a.d. The Roman naturalist Pliny the Elder (23-79 a.d.) referred to an iron-toothed cart that was pushed by oxen to strip corn from the stalks. A Scottish inventor, Patrick Bell, invented a corn reaper in 1826 with reciprocating clipping knives driven by ground wheels. He refused to obtain a patent on it insisting that his invention was a humanitarian gesture, a decision which left him basically penniless for the remainder of his life..

Many patents were issued for corn harvesters in Europe and America during the 1800s...