Versatility versus specialization in cultivation and harvesting for crops and in livestock production

Agriculture sets difficult problems for the engineer because, although it is a vast industry in many countries, it is frequently organized in comparatively small production units. Furthermore, much of the work on the farm has to be done for short periods. Thus, the economics of farming often dictate that the engineering products to be used must be low in capital cost. These factors are discussed in relation to future developments. The tractor is usually the source of power in many farm machines. Compared with other farm equipment, tractors are manufactured in large numbers in plants where capital investment is high and where radical changes in design are costly to introduce. In the last 30 years tractors have shown steady increases in power and sophistication which have enabled them to be used more productively. They are the outstanding example of versatility in farm equipment but their value could be increased in the future if research in progress on using the power of the tractor in different ways from the traditional for soil cultivation is successful. Consideration is given to the implications of this important aspect of husbandry practice. The early tractor-drawn combine harvesters for cereal crops soon became self-propelled. Over the years, they have become more powerful and more complex; attempts by the research worker to produce an alternative way of separating grain from straw and chaff have shown promise and may lead to simpler and lighter machines by the 1980s. At the other extreme, there are many valuable crops produced in relatively small quantities, but they are, nevertheless, an important constituent of the improving quality of life. The problems in harvesting such crops are often acutely difficult to overcome and a high degree of specialization in operation, and therefore of design, is essential. Attempts over many years to make some harvesting machines suitable for a wide variety of crops by successful and ingenious engineering design and development have, at best, enjoyed limited success and farmers will most probably require more and more special purpose machines for individual crops. However, it may prove possible to make economies in manufacturing and production costs by using common components and common sub-assemblies. In future, livestock farms will need to use much specialized engineering equipment to maintain production with a much smaller labour force. The dairy parlour will require data processing equipment to enable men to milk and feed large herds of cows. It will be necessary to provide improved means for transporting and weighing food, better control of the environment for stock, and less time-consuming and unpleasant means of treating farm wastes.