What was the process of presenting the firstfruits offering?
The process required entering the field, plucking early ripened stems of grain, and forming them into a sheaf. That sampling of the soon-to-ripen crop was brought to the temple and waved there before the temple as a wave offering to the Lord, called firstfruits because it represented the coming harvest.
Les explains that as a field of barley or wheat began to ripen, scattered golden stems would appear early among the green. The Jew was to go into that field, pluck those early ripened stems, make a sheaf of them, and bring that sampling of the crop that would ripen within the next few days. He would wave it there before the temple as a wave offering unto the Lord. It was called firstfruits because it was the sampling of the crop soon to follow. Les also notes that Paul in 1 Corinthians 15 says Christ has become the firstfruits, plural, and that a sheaf required many stems, so Christ could not be the only one, though He was definitely the first.