Bushel Plus Bringing Harvest Efficiency Solutions to Farmers Worldwide

The contents of this blog come from an interview conducted at Commodity Classic in San Antonio, Texas.

Bushel Plus

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While harvest season is months away, all the planting, irrigating, spraying and work all comes to fruition during harvest season. That’s where Bushel Plus is stepping in—offering tools designed to help producers better understand and reduce grain loss during harvest.

I recently spoke with Shianne Reynolds of Bushel Plus about how the company got its start and the problems they’re working to solve.

“Bushel Plus is the Harvest Optimization Company,” Reynolds explained. “We’ve been around now officially for 10 years and we’re based in 45 countries… not just local to the U.S. and Canada, but globally.”

At its core, the company focuses on helping farmers make better decisions in real time during harvest. Their lineup of products is designed to improve combine performance, reduce loss, and save time in the field.

Solving a Costly, Common Problem

One of the biggest challenges farmers face is something that often goes unnoticed—grain loss out the back of the combine.

“There’s a lot of great technology in these combines,” Reynolds said, “but the technology and automation is only as good as the information that we put into it.”

That’s where their flagship product, the SmartPan system, comes into play. The tool allows farmers to physically measure what’s being lost during harvest—something that monitors alone may not accurately capture.

“We hope that it’s always one percent or less,” Reynolds said. “But that’s not always the case… it could be as high as 15 to—unfortunately I’ve seen—30 bushels being thrown out the back of a combine, and we didn’t even know until we measured it.”

The system works by placing a pan beneath the combine to collect a sample during operation, giving farmers real data to fine-tune their equipment.

Rethinking Combine Components

Another innovation from Bushel Plus is its modular concave system—designed to make switching between crops faster and easier.

Traditional concaves can weigh over 100 pounds, making them difficult and time-consuming to change. Bushel Plus offers a lighter, modular alternative that simplifies the process.

“This modular system goes in once, and once it’s leveled, it stays in,” Reynolds explained. “When you’re changing between crops… we can go ahead and change out those concave inserts in about 20 minutes.”

The design not only saves time but also reduces physical strain, making it manageable for a single operator.

“I can do it myself in about 20 minutes,” Reynolds added.

A Tool for Smarter Harvest Decisions

Bushel Plus has also developed a handheld “mini combine,” allowing farmers to test crop readiness before firing up full-size equipment.

“Rather than having to start up the big combine and go from field to field… you can use our small handheld device to go out, take a sample, and see if your field is ready to go or not,” Reynolds said.

This tool is especially useful for farmers managing multiple fields or custom harvesters looking to maximize efficiency and avoid wasted time and fuel.

Adoption Growing Across the Industry

As technology continues to play a larger role in agriculture, tools like these are gaining traction. Bushel Plus has expanded rapidly and is now working alongside major equipment manufacturers like John Deere.

“Any farmer out there that works with a John Deere dealership can actually go up to their parts counter and order one of these SmartPans,” Reynolds said.

The Bottom Line

While modern combines are packed with advanced technology, Reynolds emphasized that verifying performance is still essential.

“By just trusting those without checking any losses is where things can go wrong,” she said.

With solutions aimed at measuring and minimizing loss, Bushel Plus is helping farmers take greater control of their harvest—turning data into decisions and, ultimately, protecting their yield.