Impact of cereal crops yield on the actual strow content in heap mass was studied. Its distribution interval is from 0.6 to 1.2 in the range of yields from 3 to 12 t/ha. Regularity of strow content decline and productivity increase at the same time is confirmed by the Cochran criterion (its estimated value of 0.56 is less than the table one of 0.62). A strow content low facilitates the harvesters’ operation. The required for the operation process harvesters engine power is different depending on schemes of threshing-separating machine with the rotary and beater threshing drums. The authors proved adequacy of the obtained mathematical models of dependence of the engine power from harvester delivery capacity. For the combines with classical technological scheme the calculated value of Fisher criterion is 0.75. For combines with an axial rotary threshing-separating device the table value of 0.8 criterion is also higher than the estimated one of 0.66.The obtained results of the required power calculations at various methodological approaches were close to results convergence exceeding 10 percent, which confirms objectivity of them. The technological and economic efficiency of the rotary harvesters compared with classical scheme is better. It is obtained due to the higher specific bandwidth, low grain crushing and micro damage. If a harvester has the threshing-separating device with axial rotor scheme, so grain crushing is much less(no more than 0.5-0.6 percent), which also improves economic parameters. But at operation of combines with the classical scheme the share of broken grain makes 4-6 percent that sharply raises indirect losses of a harvest. We recommend when the combine fleet renovation шт agricultural enterprises to introduce 1.5-2 times high-performance harvesters with axial rotor scheme