A specially prepared, flat surface used historically and in traditional agriculture to process harvested cereal crops. Workers or draught animals trample or beat the cut stalks on this hard layer, breaking the seed heads to release the grain. The loosened mixture of grain and chaff is then gathered from the floor for winnowing.
Sweep the threshing floor completely clean before we bring in the next load of wheat.
Historic threshing floors were often built on high ground or in open barns to catch the wind needed for the subsequent winnowing process.
Related terms
Thresh
To mechanically shatter harvested crop heads to separate the edible grain from the stalk and chaff.
Thresher
A machine that separates grain or seeds from the stalks and husks of a crop.
Winnow
The process of using airflow to separate heavy grain from lighter chaff and dust.
Chaffy
Describing an ear of corn that has loose, poorly developed kernels and excess cob tissue.