Technology in Farm Machinery Field

[HayDR]

100 years ago some bicycle mechanics astounded no one that day when they hung the first motorized flight in the wind. Only 4 newspapers carried the story the next week. People could not see the future. The Wright Brothers made technology function for them. Ely Whitney, Cyrus McCormick and Gary Vermeer changed more farmers lives that any three men in history. They did it by identifying a need and filling that need with new technology. Henry Ford change America's way of life. AS Babe Ruth once said " It is not bragging if you can do it." So hide in the bushes and watch Nomad and you might learn something of use. Chat on TBN!

 

[JerryG]

The agriculture field is not the area that has the funds to do the type of research that Nomad is referring to. NASA and some large corporations that are most commonly associated with the US government are the only ones that has the funds need to do such pioneer work.

 

[Deerlope]

I would like to see a nuke powered farm equipment. We have the technogoly they would run forever, would be a lot less pollution.

 

[nomad]

Thanks for opinions/idea. It is the idea, idea-logies that lead to true progresses. Grand grand fathers&mothers sure have done many things that they themselves can be proud of. But I for one experienced in many fields am not proud of what they have done and what is being done. Relatively primitive technology being used in farm field proves that I am telling some truths It's not that farm technology is "absolutely" primitive. Primitiveness is a relative concept. It's better to explain what I am trying to tell by an example;

Take a big HP tractor and a luxury car of the same era, today. Do you think technology used in this tractor is as high as in this car? No. From materials to heating/cooling system to etc etc are different and the technology in that tractor is primitive "relative" to that of that car. Why? the reason is simple. Farmers have been considered 2nd/3rd/lower classes comparing to those who use that luxury cars. This is so today and also was so even in old days when these grand grandfathers&mothers have done contributions to the field. So, this "relative primitiveness" is a result of poor idea-logy we have seen for centuries, even at this so-called modern age.

I'll give more concrete example; (an example I just experienced). You know the efficiency of an internal combustion engine/tractor is not higher than 30%. If you add a turbocharge kit to the exhaust manifold of tractor, you can increase its efficiency 10% maxium, meaning that maximum efficiency can be increased to approx. 33%. But this turbocharger kit causes to increase the temperature, and exhaust manifold will have to be resistant to time dependent thermal stresses and thermal fatique may occur and that may cause some cracks in the manifold. So, the flow geometry, shape and material of this exhaust manifold with a mounted turbokit should be designed specially. A special alloy material should be used. I designed that and completed the work. Ok, so what? Okay, you will laugh if we call this as a technologic work. But, hey, this (Ni-based special manifold) is a NEW technology in tractor application although it has been applied in luxury car technology for decades. Therefore, I'm saying "technology in farm machinery field is RELATIVELY primitive." Did I make it clearer now;-)?

 

[JimMc]

You need to come to the US and hang out with a real farm operation. Our family's equipment is every bit as high tech as any Caddy , Lexus, or Jag. This is a farm operation which "farms by the inch" over 2000 acres. The data collected allows analysis of any square foot for the past 10 years of every minute spent on it in field prep, variable rate planting, variable rate chemical application, and harvest. Materials in manufacture? Check out a $250,000 combine and take a gander at just the header, let alone the drive systems, operator interface, data collection systems, and power plant. The new computer controlled engines have zero lag in responding to increased loading while pulling. I don't know how the rest of the world is doing it (actually, at the EIMA show in Italy what I saw was way behind the US in big farm equipment), but here you can go as high tech as your wallet will allow. Is this technology available to the small scale farmer or weekend warrior? Would he pay for it? In both cases I think the answer is no. Same reason most folks won't pay for the technology in computers that is available to the folks who spend all their time on one.

 

[nomad]

I don't think I need to come to USA as all info (at least principals) is available on the net. As I said in my one of posts above, I don't considered control systems as development and excluding them (data collection, digitization, manipulation, etc) in the comparisaons/out of the topic. Because these are cheap cost applications actually and in ultimate sense, not better than analog controls. What I am saying is different and I explained by an example in my last post above. You touched on the point I am focused by saying ... "Our family's equipment is every bit as high tech as any Caddy , Lexus, or Jag. ".. .Is this really so? We should not compare a Jag of 20 years old to a tractor of today. I'm not very knowledgable in the cars, but as far as I know luxury race Ferrari (not formula1 one) is one of the cars we should compare to a tractor you can call high tech. I gave a simple example by mentioning its exhaust manifold made of special alloy with special configuration. Such relative poornesses of tractors like this is my point here.

 

[Dave___in___CT]

High tech ?

Hey... my new tractor didn't even come with a clock !
Go figure !... /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif


Dave...

 

[JimMc]

The last Formula One combine race I went to was pretty high tech too. /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

 

[JASTN70D]

High tech.? I believe the application of technologies should not be based on weather it is more advanced but applied in a way that advances the function. Appling technology for technologies sake should never be a driving force in any improvement. The market place is the proving grounds. Demand is generated there and only there and cost will have to be a factor.

The theory that a new technology is always better for any endeavor is just not proven out through history. We are now in a place were most new technology is looking for a home. In the past technologies were developed to address a specific need and then incrementally improved upon.

That said I am some times astounded by the new technologies in place for farming. Your correct also in that some things have changed little. So it leads me to believe that the application of technology is being done wisely in that it is being applied where it is cost effective and most useful which turns out to be in larger operations. In actuality farmers have been using technology for longer than any other industry. They seem to know better than most when and were to apply it. My 2 Cents /forums/images/graemlins/tongue.gif

 

[cowboydoc]

I think that you are out of touch with what is need on a real farm.

I completely agree with you Jerry. I mean how else are you going to plow a field? How else are you going to disc? What more is out there that isn't on a tractor now? You aren't going to have the more expensive materials used when the current ones do the job just fine and for less money.

On the plus side you do see better equipment with regards to planters, combines, balers, mower conditioners, etc. Look at the equipment from 10 years ago and today. We keep making the equipment better and more efficient to the point that one farmer can farm thousands of acres. Even 20 years ago that wasn't possible by yourself.