{{Short description|Machinery used in farming or other agriculture}} [[File:Agricultural machinery.jpg|thumb|From left to right: John Deere 7800 tractor with Houle slurry trailer, Case IH combine harvester, New Holland FX 25 [[forage harvester]] with corn head|upright=1.35]] {{Agriculture}} '''Agricultural machinery''' refers to [[machine (mechanical)|mechanical]] devices, vehicles, and structures used in [[farm]]ing or other [[agriculture]]. There are [[list of agricultural machinery|many types of such equipment]], from [[hand tool]]s and [[power tool]]s to [[tractor]]s and the farm implements that they tow or operate. Machinery is used in both [[organic farming|organic]] and nonorganic farming. Especially since the advent of [[mechanised agriculture]], agricultural machinery is an indispensable part of how the world is fed.
Agricultural machinery can be regarded as part of wider agricultural automation technologies, which includes the more advanced digital equipment and [[agricultural robot]]ics.<ref name="FAO-2022a">{{Cite book |url=https://doi.org/10.4060/cb9479en |title=The State of Food and Agriculture 2022 − Leveraging agricultural automation for transforming agrifood systems |publisher=Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) |year=2022 |isbn=978-92-5-136043-9 |location=Rome|doi=10.4060/cb9479en }}</ref> While robots have the potential to automate the three key steps involved in any agricultural operation (diagnosis, decision-making and performing), conventional motorized machinery is used principally to automate only the performing step where diagnosis and decision-making are conducted by humans based on observations and experience.<ref name="FAO-2022a" />
== History == {{owidslider |start = 2019 |list = Template:OWID/Machinery per agricultural land#gallery |location = commons |caption = |title = |language = |file = [[File:Machinery per agricultural land, World, 2019 (cropped).svg|link=|thumb|upright=1.6|right|Machinery per agricultural land]] |startingView = World }}
===Industrial Revolution=== With the coming of the [[Industrial Revolution]] and the development of more complicated machines, farming methods took a great leap forward.<ref>[https://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/9612/the-agricultural-sciences/11674/Food-sciences-and-other-post-harvest-technologies#toc11675 Agricultural engineering] Britannica Online. {{Retrieved | access-date=2012-12-25}}</ref> Instead of [[harvesting]] [[cereal|grain]] by hand with a sharp [[blade]], [[wheel]]ed machines cut a continuous swath. Instead of [[threshing]] the grain by beating it with sticks, [[threshing machine]]s separated the [[seed]]s from the heads and stalks. The first tractors appeared in the late 19th century.<ref>[https://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/601600/tractor Tractor (vehicle)] Britannica Online. {{Retrieved | access-date=2012-12-25}}</ref>
===Steam power=== [[File:Claas-lexion-570-1.jpg|thumb|A German [[combine harvester]] by [[Claas]]|236x236px]] [[power (physics)|Power]] for agricultural machinery was originally supplied by [[ox]] or other [[domesticated animal]]s. With the invention of [[steam power]] came the [[portable engine]], and later the [[traction engine]], a multipurpose, mobile [[energy]] source that was the ground-crawling cousin to the [[steam locomotive]]. Agricultural [[steam engine]]s took over the heavy pulling work of [[oxen]], and were also equipped with a [[pulley]] that could power stationary machines via the use of a long [[belt (mechanical)|belt]]. The [[Steam powered machinery|steam-powered machines]] were low-powered by today's standards but because of their size and their low [[gear ratio]]s, they could provide a large [[drawbar (haulage)|drawbar]] pull. The slow speed of steam-powered machines led farmers to comment that tractors had two speeds: "slow, and damn slow".
===Internal combustion engines=== The [[internal combustion engine]]; first the [[petrol engine]], and later [[diesel engine]]s; became the main source of [[power (physics)|power]] for the next generation of tractors. These engines also contributed to the development of the self-propelled [[combine harvester]] and thresher, or the combine harvester (also shortened to 'combine'). Instead of cutting the grain stalks and transporting them to a stationary [[threshing machine]], these combines cut, threshed, and separated the grain while moving continuously throughout the field.
== Agricultural machinery types == === Tractors === [[Tractor]]s do the majority of work on a modern [[farm]]. They are used to push/pull [[list of farm implements|implements]]—machines that till the ground, plant seeds, and perform other tasks. [[Tillage]] implements prepare the [[soil]] for planting by loosening the soil and killing [[weed]]s or competing plants. The best-known is the [[plow]], the ancient implement that was upgraded in 1838 by [[John Deere]]. Plows are now used less frequently in the [[United States of America|U.S.]] than formerly, with offset disks used instead to turn over the soil, and [[chisel plow|chisels]] used to gain the depth needed to retain moisture.
=== Combines === [[File:John Deere cotton harvester kv02.jpg|thumb| A [[John Deere]] cotton harvester at work in a cotton field]] [[Combine harvester|Combine]] is a machine designed to efficiently harvest a variety of grain crops. The name derives from its combining four separate harvesting operations—[[Reaper|reaping]], [[threshing]], [[Harvest|gathering]], and [[winnowing]]—into a single process. Among the crops harvested with a combine are [[wheat]], [[rice]], [[oat]]s, [[rye]], [[barley]], [[Maize|corn]] ([[maize]]), [[sorghum]], [[soybean]]s, [[flax]] ([[linseed]]), [[sunflowers]] and [[rapeseed]].<ref>{{cite book |last1=Miu |first1=Petre I. |title=Combine harvesters: theory, modeling, and design |date=2016 |publisher=CRC Press |location=Boca Raton; London; New York |isbn=9781482282375}}</ref>
=== Planters === The most common type of seeder is called a [[Planter (farm implement)|planter]], and spaces seeds out equally in long rows, which are usually two to three feet apart. Some [[agriculture|crops]] are planted by [[grain drill|drills]], which put out much more seed in rows less than a foot apart, blanketing the field with crops. [[Transplanter]]s automate the task of transplanting [[seedling]]s to the field. With the widespread use of [[plastic mulch]], plastic mulch layers, transplanters, and seeders lay down long rows of [[plastic]], and plant through them automatically. [[File:Lite-Trac Crop Sprayer.jpg|thumb|A British [[crop sprayer]] by [[Lite-Trac]]]]
=== Sprayers === After planting, other agricultural machinery such as self-propelled [[sprayer]]s can be used to apply [[fertilizer]] and [[pesticide]]s. Agriculture sprayer application is a method to protect crops from weeds by using [[herbicide]]s, [[fungicide]]s, and insecticides. Spraying or planting a cover crop are ways to mix weed growth.<ref>{{Cite web|date=2019-12-06|title=How to Manage Prevent Plant Weeds|url=https://www.agriculture.com/crops/pesticides/how-to-mange-prevent-plant-weeds|access-date=2020-08-13|website=Successful Farming|language=en}}</ref>
=== Balers and other agriculture implements === [[File:Young farmer on a hay harvester in Versam.jpg|thumb|Farmer on a hay harvester in Switzerland]]
Planting crop [[hay]] [[baler]]s can be used to tightly package grass or [[alfalfa]] into a storable form for the winter months. Modern [[irrigation]] relies on machinery. Engines, [[pump]]s and other specialized gear provide [[water]] quickly and in high volumes to large areas of land. Similar types of equipment such as agriculture sprayers can be used to deliver [[fertilizer]]s and [[pesticide]]s.
Besides the tractor, other vehicles have been adapted for use in farming, including [[Farm truck|truck]]s, [[:Category:agricultural aircraft|airplane]]s, and [[helicopter]]s, such as for transporting crops and making equipment mobile, to aerial spraying and [[livestock]] [[herd]] management.
== New technology and the future == {{Main|Digital agriculture|Precision agriculture}}[[File:Tr85.jpg|thumb|A New Holland TR85 combine harvester|149x149px]]The basic technology of agricultural machines has changed little in the last century. Though modern harvesters and planters may do a better job or be slightly tweaked from their predecessors, the combine of today still cuts, threshes, and separates grain in the same way it has always been done. However, technology is changing the way that humans operate the machines, as [[computer]] monitoring systems, [[GPS]] locators and self-steer programs allow the most advanced tractors and implements to be more precise and less wasteful in the use of fuel, seed, or fertilizer. In the foreseeable future, there may be mass production of [[driverless tractor]]s, which use GPS [[map]]s and electronic sensors.
=== Agricultural automation === The [[Food and Agriculture Organization|Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO)]] defines agricultural automation as the use of machinery and equipment in agricultural operations to improve their diagnosis, decision-making, or performance, reducing the drudgery of agricultural work and improving the timeliness, and potentially the precision, of agricultural operations.<ref name="FAO-2022a" /><ref name="FAO-2022b">{{Cite book |url=https://doi.org/10.4060/cc2459en |title=In brief to The State of Food and Agriculture 2022 − Leveraging automation in agriculture for transforming agrifood systems |publisher=Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) |year=2022 |isbn=978-92-5-137005-6 |location=Rome|doi=10.4060/cc2459en }}</ref>
The technological evolution in agriculture has been a journey from manual tools to animal traction, then to motorized mechanization, and further to digital equipment. This progression has culminated in the use of robotics with artificial intelligence (AI). Motorized mechanization, for instance, automates operations like ploughing, seeding, fertilizing, milking, feeding, and irrigating, thereby significantly reducing manual labor.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Santos Valle |first=S. |last2=Kienzle |first2=J. |url=https://www.fao.org/documents/card/en/c/cb2186en |title=Agriculture 4.0 – Agricultural robotics and automated equipment for sustainable crop production |publisher=Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) |year=2020 |series=Integrated Crop Management No. 24 |location=Rome}}</ref> With the advent of digital automation technologies, it has become possible to automate diagnosis and decision-making. For instance, [[Agricultural robot|autonomous crop robots]] can harvest and seed crops, and [[Agricultural drone|drones can collect information]] to help automate input applications.<ref name="FAO-2022a" /><ref name="FAO-2022b" /> Tractors, on the other hand, can be transformed into automated vehicles that can sow fields independently.<ref name="FAO-2022a" />
A 2023 report by the [[United States Department of Agriculture]] (USDA) revealed that over 50% of corn, cotton, rice, sorghum, soybeans, and winter wheat in the United States is planted using automated guidance systems. These systems, which utilize technology to autonomously steer farm equipment, only require supervision from a farmer. This is a clear example of how agricultural automation is being implemented in real-world farming scenarios.<ref>{{cite news |last=Koebler |first=Jason |url=https://www.404media.co/solar-storm-knocks-out-tractor-gps-systems-during-peak-planting-season/ |title=Solar Storm Knocks Out Farmers' Tractor GPS Systems During Peak Planting Season |work=[[404 Media]] |date=2024-05-12 |accessdate=2024-05-13 }}</ref>
===Open source agricultural equipment=== [[File:Self Propelled Sprayer made by Equipment Technologies.jpg|thumb|A self-propelled Apache Sprayer by Equipment Technologies|201x201px]] Many farmers are upset by their inability to fix the new types of high-tech farm equipment.<ref>{{cite magazine|url=https://www.wired.com/2015/02/new-high-tech-farm-equipment-nightmare-farmers/|title=New High-Tech Farm Equipment Is a Nightmare for Farmers|magazine=Wired|date=2015-02-05}}</ref> This is due mostly to companies using [[intellectual property]] law to prevent farmers from having the legal right to fix their equipment (or gain access to the information to allow them to do it).<ref>{{cite magazine|url=https://www.wired.com/2015/04/dmca-ownership-john-deere/|title=We Can't Let John Deere Destroy the Very Idea of Ownership|magazine=Wired|date=2015-04-21}}</ref> In October 2015 an exemption was added to the [[DMCA]] to allow inspection and modification of the software in cars and other vehicles including agricultural machinery.<ref>Exemption to Prohibition on Circumvention of Copyright Protection Systems for Access Control Technologies http://copyright.gov/1201/2015/fedreg-publicinspectionFR.pdf</ref>
The Open Source Agriculture movement counts different initiatives and organizations such as Farm Labs which is a network in Europe,<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://farmlabs.org/|title=This is the Beginning of a network of open laboratories for agricultural research and experimentation|last=farmlabs.org|website=farmlabs.org|language=en|access-date=2019-07-20}}</ref> l'Atelier Paysan which is a cooperative to teach farmers in France how to build and repair their tools,<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.latelierpaysan.org/|title=L'Atelier Paysan|last=Gaillard|first=Chris|website=L’Atelier Paysan|language=fr|access-date=2019-07-20}}</ref><ref name="Chance-2017">{{Cite journal|last1=Chance|first1=Quentin|last2=Meyer|first2=Morgan|date=2017-06-06|title=L'agriculture libre. Les outils agricoles à l'épreuve de l'open source|url=http://journals.openedition.org/tc/8534|journal=Techniques & Culture. Revue semestrielle d'anthropologie des techniques|language=fr|issue=67|pages=236–239|doi=10.4000/tc.8534|issn=0248-6016|doi-access=free}}</ref> and Ekylibre which is an open-source company to provide farmers in France with open source software ([[Software as a service|SaaS]]) to manage farming operations.<ref name="Chance-2017" /><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://ekylibre.com/|title=Ekylibre|website=ekylibre.com|access-date=2019-07-20}}</ref> In the United States, the [[MIT Media Lab]]'s [[Open Agriculture Initiative]] seeks to foster "the creation of an open-source ecosystem of technologies that enable and promote transparency, networked experimentation, education, and hyper-local production".<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.media.mit.edu/groups/open-agriculture-openag/overview/|title=Group Overview ‹ Open Agriculture (OpenAg)|website=MIT Media Lab|access-date=2019-07-20}}</ref> It develops the [[Open Agriculture Initiative#Food Computer|Personal Food Computer]], an educational project to create a "controlled environment agriculture technology platform that uses robotic systems to control and monitor climate, energy, and plant growth inside of a specialized growing chamber". It includes the development of [[Open Agriculture Initiative#Open Phenome Library|Open Phenom]],<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.media.mit.edu/projects/open-phenome-project/overview/|title=Project Overview ‹ Open Phenome Project|website=MIT Media Lab|access-date=2019-07-20}}</ref> an open source library with open data sets for climate recipes which link the phenotype response of plants (taste, nutrition) to environmental variables, biological, genetic and resource-related necessary for cultivation (input).<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://wiki.openag.media.mit.edu/recipe/start|title=recipe:start [OpenAg]|website=wiki.openag.media.mit.edu|access-date=2019-07-20|archive-date=2019-07-20|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190720114223/https://wiki.openag.media.mit.edu/recipe/start|url-status=dead}}</ref> Plants with the same genetics can naturally vary in color, size, texture, growth rate, yield, flavor, and nutrient density according to the environmental conditions in which they are produced.
==Manufacturers== ===Active=== {{div col|colwidth=15em}} * [[AGCO]] * [[Agrale]] *[[Al-Ghazi Tractors]] *[[Algerian Tractors Company]] *[[Arbos]] * [[ARGO SpA]] *[[Carraro Agritalia]] *[[Case IH]] *[[Challenger Tractor]]s * [[Claas]] * [[CNH Industrial]] *[[Daedong (company)|Daedong]] *[[Deutz-Fahr]] *[[Escorts Limited]] *[[Fendt]] *[[Goldoni (company)|Goldoni]] *[[Iseki]] *[[Jacto]] * [[JCB (heavy equipment manufacturer)|JCB]] * [[John Deere]] *[[Kharkiv Tractor Plant]] *[[Kirov Plant]] * [[Kubota]] *[[Lamborghini Trattori]] *[[Landini (tractor)|Landini]] *[[Lindner (agricultural machinery manufacturer)|Lindner]] *[[LS Mtron]] * [[Mahindra Tractors]] *[[Massey Ferguson]] *[[McCormick Tractors]] *[[Millat Tractors]] *[[Minsk Tractor Works]] *[[Mitsubishi Agricultural Machinery]] *[[New Holland Agriculture]] *[[Pronar]] *[[Shibaura (company)|Shibaura]] * [[Sonalika Tractors]] *[[SAME (tractors)|SAME]] *[[SAS Motors]] * [[SDF Group]] * [[To the Stars (company)|Stara]] *[[Steyr Tractor|Steyr]] * [[Tractors and Farm Equipment Limited|TAFE]] *[[TYM (company)|TYM]] *[[Ursus SA]] *[[Valpadana]] *[[Valtra]] *[[Versatile (company)|Versatile]] *[[Yanmar]] *[[YTO Group]] *[[Zetor]] *[[Zoomlion]] *[[Balwaan Agri]] {{div col end}}
=== Former === {{div col|colwidth=15em}} * [[Allis-Chalmers]] *[[Case Corporation]] *[[Ferguson-Brown Company]] *[[Fiat Trattori]] *[[Ford Motor Company|Ford]] * [[International Harvester]] *[[Leyland Tractors]] *[[Massey-Harris]] *[[Renault Agriculture]] {{div col end}}
==See also== {{Portal|Agriculture and Agronomy}} *[[List of agricultural machinery]] *[[Mechanised agriculture]] *[[Agricultural machinery industry]]
==Sources== {{Free-content attribution | title = In Brief to The State of Food and Agriculture 2022 – Leveraging automation in agriculture for transforming agrifood systems | author = FAO | publisher = FAO | page numbers = | source = | documentURL = https://doi.org/10.4060/cc2459en | license statement URL = https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:In_brief_-_The_State_of_Food_and_Agriculture_2022.pdf | license = CC BY-SA 3.0 }}
==References== {{Reflist}}
==External links== {{Commons category}} * [https://web.archive.org/web/20090820054610/http://cdi.uvm.edu/collections/getCollection.xql?title=Hay%20Harvesting%20in%20the%201940%27s Hay Harvesting in the 1940s instructional films, Center for Digital Initiatives, University of Vermont Library] * [http://www.agmachine.com/ Worldwide Agricultural Machinery and Farm Equipment Directory] * [https://archive.today/20130416083117/http://www.vdma.org/wps/myportal/Home/en/Branchen/A/LT/Wirtschaft_und_Recht/LT_A_20100610_CG_Economic_Report_2010?WCM_GLOBAL_CONTEXT=/wps/wcm/connect/vdma/Home/en/Branchen/A/LT/Wirtschaft_und_Recht/LT_A_20100610_CG_Economic_Report_2010 Economic Situation of the agricultural machinery sector—VDMA Report]
{{Agriculture footer}}
{{Authority control}}
[[Category:Agricultural machinery| ]] [[Category:Agricultural technology|machinery]] [[Category:Machinery]]