Stripper (agriculture)

Stripper is a type of harvesting machine designed for harvesting grain using the method of stripping standing crops. Unlike a conventional combine harvester, this machine collects grain by stripping the spikes only, without cutting the culms at their base. Harvesting grain by stripping was known as early as the 1st century AD but was later abandoned. Today, it is used on a small scale thanks to the implementation of specialized harvesting headers in combine harvesters.

The stripper was common in Australia in the late 19th and early 20th century. John Ridley is now accepted as its inventor, though John Wrathall Bull argued strongly for the credit.