A thresher provides a rotating roller and an arcuate fixed plate to thresh grain crops. The roller and the plate surfaces are constructed of a rubber-like material providing resiliency. The roller surface is provided with a series of crescent shaped paddles for catching and lifting the grain kernels. Grain kernels are stripped from a cut crop and moved past the stripping plate to a point on the roller for pickup and transport. In the preferred mode the fixed plate is positioned so that the gap between roller and plate narrows as the cut crop moves on the roller.