Modern Farm Equipment in Agriculture

Introduction: How modern farm equipment that made the farmer’s life easier? Innovation is important in modern agriculture and farming more than anything. For that matter, every field of work needs some kind of updates for better and innovative results. Smart work is necessary to be it farming or technology. Farming back then was very basic and simple and required a lot of manual work and the output then also was not up to the mark. But now with various technologies and types of equipment which have been designed for farming have made the farmers’ life quite easier. The industry of farming as a whole is facing challenges, from the rising cost of supplies, shortage of labor, and changes in consumer preferences. Farming is one of the oldest and most necessary trades. Modern engineering along with the tractors and new machinery has shifted the farming industry to one of the most efficient production. Unlike before farming is not a small scale production and has taken place with massive machines over thousands of hectares.

A guide to the role of modern farm equipment in agriculture

Hilly areas in farming were more difficult to do than the plain areas. Getting the remunerative price for the product and finding the labor for farming were the main hurdles. Mechanical intervention in the hilly areas was not reached properly and even if they had they were too expensive and the farmers could not afford it. Not only men but also there a huge number of women farmers and for them, there has been a major change after the introduction of modern types of equipment. Women have to look after the family as well as work and hence the time has always been a restraint. There were several projects introduced specially for the women farmers. The equipment would be given to women farmers as a free grant over here later, and they were expected to produce value-added products from the same. After a product is made or grown, marketing is required and that was done as well by the people who gave the types of equipment for free.

According to research, in the last 10 years, agriculture technology has seen a huge growth in investment. Approximately $6.7 billion invested in the last 5 years and $1.9 billion in the last year alone. Major technology innovations in the space have focused around areas such as indoor vertical farming, automation and robotics, livestock technology, modern greenhouse practices, agriculture and artificial intelligence, and blockchain.

Modern farming technology and equipment are used to develop a wide range of production practices employed by farmers. Tractors, combines, plows, planters and drones are most usual types of equipments used in the farms. The agriculture operations for which modern machines are used are diverse. At the crop production level, they include transportation, storage, premarketing process, cultivation, seeding, planting, transplanting, pest control, harvesting, drainage, and irrigation. Machines and artificial intelligence have made a lot of transitions in a farmers’ life. Most farmers and farm laborers have to be skilled in operating and maintaining sophisticated machinery. Let us talk about some modern types of equipment and the latest tools which are available to farmers and their uses.

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Combine

This is most populat modern farm equipment which contributes a lot to livestock industry. Combine is a lawnmower bigger in size. It can help farmers to chop hay for livestock. There is a comb cutter to cut the plants which is known as combine. It is a versatile machine that is designed to efficiently harvest a variety of grain crops. The first combines had a lot in common with today’s technologically advanced behemoths that stand nearly two stories tall. Modern combines have a wide header attached to the front. Apart from the basic functions, there are different combines available in the market. Contemporary combines have interchangeable heads to harvest crops ranging from wheat to corn to soybeans and rice. The performance data is being recorded with the help of GPS technology and a threshing mechanism. Sensors are included to track the amount of grain slipping and technological helpers are an in-charge of them. During the harvest, a farmer’s work pays off. The work done though must be done quickly because the faster and more efficient the harvest, the greater would be the yield.

Plough

This is an exceptional piece of agricultural machinery, used for furrowing the earth for planting season. Plough has more advantages than a tractor because it can shift the earth using its powerful blades with much ease. Early farmers were able to till more land than before, allowing them to produce more crops in a shorter time. The plow help to control weeds any bury crop residue. To keep growing healthy crops is not so fertile areas; the earth needs to be churned up so that nutrients come to the surface. Plows do the same; turning up the soil to bring all the fresh nutrients to the top and depositing plant residue below where it will break down. This process also helps in aerating the earth and enabling it to hold the moisture. Plowing has come a long way since those early days of sticks and oxen and now we have expensive machines to churn up the soil at a rate primordial farmers would never have thought possible. There might be different ways but the concept remains the same and much quicker.

Plant breeding and genetics

This technique represents an invaluable contribution to crop productivity. The importance and need for breeding cannot be denied. A lot of breeding techniques and selections have been initiated by farmers and scientists to make the farming life easier and better. Plant breeding has always helped the farmers solve complex changes while pacifying the customer’s demands. Both the traditional and modern methods are used to improve plants by the breeders. The technology which is used has given the farmers an additional tool to help increase crop yields.

Livestock facilities

The traditional livestock is a sector that is widely overlooked and under-serviced although it is very important. It provides the much needed renewable, natural resources that we rely on every day. Livestock has been traditionally known as the management of running the business of poultry farms, dairy farms, cattle ranches, and other livestock-related agribusinesses. Livestock managers are supposed to keep accurate financial records, supervise workers and most importantly taking care and feeding animals. According to research, the concept of ‘connected cow’ is a result of more and more dairy herds being fitted with sensors to monitor health and increase productivity. Putting individual wearable sensors on cattle can keep daily track of activity done and health-related issues while providing data-driven insights for the entire herd. Technology and farming together are doing great work and making the farmers’ life easier by giving them quick results for the same.

Drones and Artificial Intelligence

This is one of the pouplar modern farm equipment in agri sector. Drone and other machines are used for agricultural purposes like spraying, planting, transportation of perishable goods and crop fumigant to control diseases and pest. Earlier, it was all manual and took a lot of time to pest and in that process, there were losses made to by the farmers. The rise of modern agriculture and the types of equipment has opened a wealth of new data opportunities. Drones are an affordable investment for farmers and they can gather overall information of the whole day with the help of remote sensors, satellites and much more. They can monitor plant health, soil condition, temperature, humidity, etc. The amount of data they collect is quite impressive and all that information and significance of numbers is hidden in that avalanche of data. Remote sensors enable algorithms to interpret a field environment as statistical data that can be understood and useful to farmers for decision making. Algorithms process the data, adapting and learning based on the data received. The more inputs and statistical information will be collected the better the algorithm will be predicting outcomes.

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Automatic in Row Weeder

This is my one of  the favourite modern farm equipment. For farmers, weeding is an important part of the process while farming which ensures that they maintain a good crop. Automatic in Row weeder is designed to effectively and quickly tear up the weeds without worrying about hurting the required original crops. The Graford Robocop in-row weeder uses tried and tested techniques to locate individual plants to mechanically remove weeds from the inter-row. Pesticides and weedicides are common but many take issue with the possibly harmful chemicals hidden within. All these machines use a camera to detect the crop, a computer to make decisions on which plants to keep or remove, and then activate a mechanism to kill. The spray mechanism is also one of the most talked processes in which an alternative approach of killing weeds with a blade arises in the seedline. More and more innovations are bound to happen to make the farmers’ lives better.

Modern Greenhouses

The primary purpose of a greenhouse is to provide ideal conditions for year-round plant production regardless of location, weather, and other environmental conditions. Greenhouses are expensive and not famous in India because the investment is higher and is typically equipped with complex crop management systems. Unlike an outdoor crop farmer; a greenhouse farmer can achieve better yields in a smaller area. As the market has grown drastically, it has also experienced recent trends in years. Modern greenhouses are becoming increasingly tech-heavy by using automated control systems and LED lights to perfectly tailor the growing environment. The greenhouse industry has now become increasingly capital infused by using venture funding and other sources to build out the infrastructure necessary to compete in the current market.

Blockchain

With 40% of the global workforce, the agriculture sector presents 6.4% of the entire world’s economic production. After the food leaves the farm for the market, it becomes a vast supply chain including a lot of intermediaries. Checking the food quality and its production is very important for every person before they buy it. Blockchain agriculture is one of the compelling uses that make the agriculture process of growing and supplying food simpler. It also helps to keep tabs on abundant commodities and reduce cases of illegal harvesting and shipping fraud. It is a single distributed ledger process and the long procedure of agent and third party commission does not come in the picture. Commodity buyers can directly interact with the supplier that speeds up the process and reduces the time to settle down payment. The companies can save on additional agent fees and farmers can receive a larger share of direct sales with the blockchain facility.

Tractor

Tractors are also great modern farm equipment epcially in asian countires.. As far as the tractor is concerned, it is known as one of the greatest inventions in history. This piece of machinery addressed most of the agricultural needs. The wheels of a tractor are designed to move steadily on uneven ground and also on flooded farms. A tractor that has been plow attached can help in tilling a piece of land. Tractors can be used around the field even when carried away by heavy equipments. The Farmall tractors are an all-new offset design and it became the general machines to pull harvesters and other types of equipment to plant and cultivate crops.

Within a decade, more than 200 far malls were being built each day to keep up with demand, and a host of other manufacturers had introduced similar tractors. All of a sudden farmers could work more land faster with less help and produce greater yields. Tractors are available in extensive and far reaching options to be convenient for specific tasks and requirements. There are various types of tractors available such as compact, subcompact, diesel and utility tractors which have the power and versatility to perform various tasks in farming. From gardening to tilling and mowing to mulch tractors are used to achieve and fulfill various jobs.

With all the modern types of equipment and new technologies, Tractor guru has developed a purpose to simplify mechanization. They aim to deliver on this goal through advanced digital tech and analytics. Well, Tractor Guru has currently listed over 300 tractors for sale in India. They have launched India’s first dedicated used tractor marketplace which enables price discovery, research and facilitates the transaction by maximizing potential buyers for used second-hand tractors. Vision is to create an ecosystem for farmers, manufacturers, dealers, and other stakeholders to simplify mechanization and increase access to tractors and farm implements in India. That’s all folks about modern farm equipment role in India.