The gathering discs, located on each side of the topper, gather the cane tops and feed them to the topper severing disc, located in the center of the topper. The crop dividers then separate the rows of down or tangled cane. The power knockdown rollers push the cane forward and down to the optimum angle for feeding into the harvester. The basecutters cut the bottom of the stalk. The butt-lifter roller then sends the cane up into the feed rollers