A combine harvester, usually referred to simply as a combine, is a machine often used in harvesting agricultural crops such as wheat, oats, rye, barley, corn, and soybeans. The combine earned its name by merging three separate operations - reaping, binding, and threshing - into a single "combined" operation. The American Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineers (ASABE) recently released a standard geared to aid farmers who use combines to harvest these and other crops.
ANSI/ASABE S598 JAN 2010, Procedure for Sampling, Measuring and Reporting Commingled Crop in Combine Harvest of a Subsequent Crop, establishes a method to estimate the percentage of commingled grain or seed from a previously harvested crop present in that of the next crop subsequently harvested by the same combine harvester. More simply, the new American National Standard determines the percentage in a load of harvested grains that are likely to be residue from the crop previously harvested by the same machine. ANSI/ASABE S598 also recommends acceptable levels of commingled grains that can be expected in commodities harvested by combines that have been thoroughly cleaned and prepared.
An ANSI-accredited standards developer and organizational member, ASABE is an educational and scientific membership organization of agricultural, food, and biological engineers seeking to develop efficient and environmentally sensitive methods of producing food, fiber, timber, and renewable energy sources.
Sustainable Floor Covering
Linoleum, vinyl tile, and cork are just a few of the wide variety of resilient floor coverings available to consumers. In order to service the demand for durable flooring that is more environmentally sound, NSF International, an ANSI accredited standards developer and audited designator, has published NSF/ANSI 332-2010, Sustainability Assessment for Resilient Floor Coverings.
NSF/ANSI 332-2010 establishes a consistent approach to the evaluation and determination of environmentally preferable and sustainable resilient floor coverings with information that is clear, verifiable, and accurate about environmental and social aspects associated with the production and use of these products. The new American National Standard includes criteria across the product life cycle from raw material extraction through manufacturing, use, and end-of-life management. NSF/ANSI 332-2010 includes, but is not limited to, vinyl tile, vinyl composition tile, sheet vinyl, rubber, polymeric, and linoleum flooring products in which the wearing surface is non-textile, and also includes flooring accessories such as wall base, moldings, and stair treads.
NSF International is a non-profit organization dedicated to the protection of food, water, and indoor air through standards development, product certification, education, and risk-management for public health, safety, and protection of the environment.