Abstract: A movable mounting assembly for the gathering rolls of a harvester including at least a pair of gathering rolls, each gathering rolls mounted for movement between a use condition in which the roll is positioned forwardly of the harvester and a non-use condition wherein the roll is retracted to shorten the effective length of the harvester in order to improve maneuverability.

Abstract: A cutting assembly having a first member in the form of three paddles, each paddle comprising a planar main body portion and a pair of leg members attached to a first tubular rotating shaft. A blade member is provided which is substantially U-shaped and has a pair of leg portions and an interconnecting portion which comprises the cutting blade. The leg portions are attached to a second rotating shaft which sits within the first shaft and rotates in the opposite directon to the first shaft. When uncut sugarcane is pushed sufficiently into the cutting assembly, the cane will be pushed upwardly by being struck by a paddle and at the same time will be cut into billets by the counter rotating blade member. The billet will then be flung or thrown upwardly by the force of the rotating paddle.