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RESOURCEEngineering & Technology for a Sustainable World
AgriTech'99
An Ounce of Prevention
It's a perfect day to start wrapping up the last full week of a long, busy harvest season. Not a cloud in the sky, the crop is dry and bountiful. This harvest has been hectic, as usual. But the reliable combine hasn't missed a beat. As the machine moves down the field, anticipation and exhilaration for a successful, early harvest quickly turn to fear and apprehension as a burning odor fills the air. Within seconds, smoke and bright orange flames billow from the combine's engine compartment. The driver finds the engine's hood latch is already too hot to touch. Frustration and helplessness overcome the operator who can only stand back and watch a brand new $150,000 machine go up in flames.
Coming Down the Biofuels
Pipeline
In recent years, the answer to that question has increasingly been "fuel." Ethanol production grew from next to nothing in 1978 to 1.5 billion gallons in 1998 in the United States alone, boosting U.S. farm income by $4.5 billion -- most of it for corn.
Heard It Through the Grapevine
Until last year, vineyard owners had for centuries depended on laborers to hand pluck the leaves off the vines surrounding clusters of juicy grapes. They found the expensive, time consuming method necessary to let sunlight reach the fruit that would someday become fine wines or other sparkling beverages. Sunlight helps the fruit mature faster and increases fruit acids, which improves color. Mechanical devices used over the years for trimming the leaves damage the sensitive grapes -- so many wineries still opt for hand picking. Gallo Sonoma Vineyards in Napa Valley, California, recently tried to speed up the process by using new technology, says Claude Brown, president of Ag Industrial Manufacturing Inc. (AIM Inc.) of Lodi, California.
When Do You Need a Consulting Engineer? Farmers are perennial independents who pride themselves on being able to do whatever needs to be done to keep the operation going. From building a storage shed to maintaining a tractor and raising crops, good farmers know how to do it themselves. But a good farmer also has to know when it's time to hire an expert. How do you recognize when that time has arrived?
Take a Closer Look at Agricultural Engineers You've decided you need help designing a subsurface drainage system and making sense out of and meeting new state regulations on runoff.You're ready to hire a consultant. It's time to take a serious look at agricultural engineers.
Measuring Machinery Costs
As the cost of farming has accelerated over the past two decades, farmers continue to seek ways to streamline business to save money. Crop production equipment, including tractors, combines, planters and other machines, are a producer's second largest expense, says Carroll Goering, professor of agricultural engineering at the University of Illinois. The biggest expense is land, he says, followed by equipment, fertilizer, seed and fuel.
Set Your Sites on Center Pivots Some revolutionary developments could take center pivot irrigation into a new era in the not-too-distant future, enabling producers to not only irrigate their crops more efficiently, but apply chemicals too. Agri-Northwest Co., a large corporate farm with 400 pivots on four Washington farms, is currently refining a system designed by the company's assistant irrigation manager, Greg Harting. After testing the system on six pivots throughout the 1998 growing season, Harting and Irrigation Maintenance Manager Jim Meeks are enthusiastic about its performance.
The Story of Egg Jerky and Other Bizarre Patenting Tales Ever wondered about those agricultural inventions that sounded like good ideas at the time but never hit the marketplace? Here are some examples of actual products that received patents -- but stayed on the drawing board.
A Scientific Approach to
Farming
People have blamed everything from floods and droughts to tornadoes and snowstorms on El Niño and La Niña, the natural phenomena whose effects have recently wreaked havoc on farms throughout the United States. Because crop producers cannot foresee when such severe weather will strike, they remain unprepared for the effects. But Wesley Rosenthal, assistant professor at the Texas Agricultural Experiment Station, Lackland Research Center in Temple, Texas, says predicting nature's next move is closer than many people think.
Choose Right Approach to Value Added During the 1980s farm crisis, corn and soybean farmer Bob Leader heard something that rubbed him the wrong way. While giving testimony to the U.S. House Agricultural Committee, Purdue University Dean of Agriculture Bob Thompson said that if the United States increased the price of commodities, it would lose competition overseas. Leader was so upset, he invited Thompson to his farm, where he showed him around then asked how in the world he was supposed to make a profit on such low commodity prices. "Thompson looked me square in the eye and said, 'The era of farmers making a decent profit selling raw materials is over. They're going to have to learn to value add."
Extension Agencies Put the World at Your Fingertips My, how time flies. That last visit to the county extension agency seems like only yesterday but it has been more like 10 years --and things have changed. Computers, the Internet and other high-tech information sources are now available to help farmers with daily operations or make improvements, says Jim Johnson, special projects coordinator with the Iowa State University extension office. He served as a county extension specialist for most of his 35-year career but now works with statewide extension programs.
What's Hot and What's Coming in Computer-Assisted Farming Computer technology has come to U.S. farms to stay and manufacturers are meeting the demand for computer-assisted farming with a bounty of products. Several manufacturers have described what's new, what's in the works -- and what they're most excited about. John Deere's most popular tool for computer assisted farming is the GreenStar Combine System, a global positioning system (GPS) that ties into satellites.
Taking Care of Business
Like any other business, agriculture has no crystal ball to tell its managers how to cope with the years to come. But consultant Jimmy Hill says producers have a better alternative because agribusiness planning help is a phone call away -- and much of it is free. "They don't know what's available or how to get ahold of the right people," says Hill, president of The Hill Group in Grayson, Georgia. Hill has been working with agri-business development nearly 30 years and says universities and agricultural extension agencies are good sources for free advice and education for farmers. As a consultant, he makes referrals to these agencies during meetings with farm managers.
Tools and Techniques for Sustainable Farming Around the country, increasing numbers of farmers are making the decision to transition to more sustainable methods of farming. Sustainable farming is defined by Appropriate Technology Transfer for Rural Areas (ATTRA) as "a management-intensive method of growing crops at a profit while concurrently minimizing negative impact on the environment, improving soil health, increasing biological diversity and controlling pests. . . . it concentrates on long-term solutions to problems instead of short-term treatment of symptoms. One result of such a strategy is that use of agricultural chemicals and similar inputs is reduced, though not necessarily eliminated. As a consequence, the land develops diversity and resiliency that further reduce the need for agricultural chemicals."
Dig This Meter Mike Thurow and Bill Hughes had a vision: to create a low-cost, high-tech soil compaction meter for agriculture. "There have been electronic soil compaction meters on the market several years that are precise -- but very costly," says Hughes, a design engineer. "There are also lower-end models that have been around for eons." So Hughes and Thurow joined forces in early 1998 to develop a mid-range meter that would provide precision at a lower price. The result: The Investigator™. On the cover: Robert C. von Bernuth and wife, Judy, operate a farm in lower Michigan where they raise alfalfa, soybeans, wheat, corn and chickens. The couple -- as do many of today's farm managers -- use computer technology to help perform their daily tasks. Robert is also a professor in Michigan State University's Biosystems Engineering Department. (Barn photo courtesy the Rock Island County Historical Society, Moline, Illinois)
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