A two-stage harvesting system (10) is disclosed. In order to provide a simple, cost-effective and efficient way of separating the leaves from the stems in the field in a single pass it is proposed to provide a first stage harvesting apparatus (14) taking a first crop portion from an agricultural crop (30) leaving a second crop portion (32) in a field (40), and a second stage harvesting apparatus (16) taking said second crop portion (32), said first stage harvesting apparatus (14) and said second stage harvesting apparatus (16) being connected.
