Agri

IEE REVIEW
Electronics in UK agriculture and horticulture

S.W. R. Cox, QBE, BSc, CPhys, FlnstP, FIAgrE
Indexing terms: Instrumentation and measuring science, Control equipment and applications, Measurement and measuring
Abstract: This review traces the developing contribution of electronic instrumentation and control systems to UK agricultural and horticultural production. It covers applications in the livestock, arable and horticultural sectors in turn, taking the important grass crop as part of the arable sector. These main sections are subdivided by type of livestock, crop or farming operation, as appropriate. The section on livestock deals separately with feeding, weighing, quality assessment and environmental control in poultry, pig, sheep and cattle production. Much of the material on cattle is concerned with developments in dairy parlour automation, including automatic identification of cows. The section on arable crops and grass covers instrumentation and control of tractors and implements generally before dealing separately with planting, spray and fertiliser application, harvesting, crop drying and crop grading and storage. In the section on horticulture, fruit and vegetables are considered separately from protected cropping in greenhouses and mushroom units. Forecasts are made of likely commercial developments in each of the three sectors. A concluding section provides an overall assessment of the present status of electronic monitoring and control equipment in agriculture and horticulture, together with the objectives of research and development in this sphere.
Introduction
Until this century instrumentation in agriculture and horticulture was mainly concerned with weights and measures for trading purposes. Temperature measurement found a place earlier than this although on a limited scale in greenhouses and dairies. Otherwise, farmers and growers everywhere relied upon tradition and experience to judge the state of their soils, crops and animals before making the many, varied and often complex operational and management decisions that are needed for successful food production. Then, in the 1930s, instrumentation of field machinery began when tractor manufacturers followed the automobile industry in fitting electrical gauges to their machines. At the same time, the
Paper 5371 A, received in final form 3rd September 1986. Commissioned IEE Review The author was formerly with the National Institute of Agricultural Engineering, Wrest Park, Silsoe, Bedford MK45 4HS, United Kingdom. He now resides at 18 Lister Avenue, Hitchin, Herts, SG4 9ES, United Kingdom
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spread of farm electrification [1] led to the widening use of electrical instrumentation and control equipment for heating, ventilation and illumination of animal houses, crop stores and greenhouses. Electronic equipment began to appear on the farm in the late 1940s and early 1950s, making its first major impact by facilitating the measurement of moisture in cereals during and after harvest. Since then, farm electronics has slowly but steadily extended into many spheres of crop and animal production, greatly assisted in recent years by the development of microelectronics. This development has considerably reduced initial concern about the cost, complexity and reliability of electronic equipment under farm conditions. In the UK many fanners and growers now accept that electronic instruments provide reliable data which they can use to improve the short-term and long-term management of their enterprises. Many also accept the value of regular, automatic monitoring of particular operations. Fewer are yet ready to hand over their operations to automatic control systems, because, in some circumstances, a malfunction or breakdown of the control equipment could put a whole year's production at risk. Nevertheless, automatic control systems have been introduced successfully on UK farms. In general, farm electronics is no longer a novelty and it will find application where it fits into farming practice and can offer an economic return on the investment incurred. A review of farm electronics must place emphasis on the economic issues. Over the past 40 years many attempts have been made to develop electronic equipment for farm use. The literature on this subject is extensive. Most of these developments have failed to gain acceptance in farming and the reasons have been more often economic than technical. The electronics engineer who works with the agricultural engineering industry therefore needs to appreciate the special problems that are posed by farming, to judge how and where electronics is likely to succeed commercially. It is the purpose of this Review to describe electronic equipment which has found application in food production, together with the farming and economic factors which led to its uptake, and to indicate areas for further development, in the light of those factors. Although farm electronics is established internationally particularly in Western Europe and North America the Review concentrates on progress in the UK. This does not reduce the range of topics covered appreciably, because farmers and growers in the UK have been among the first to adopt electronics, on a broad front. The factors which have influenced their attitude can be deduced from the development of UK food production over the past 40 years.
IEE PROCEEDINGS, Vol. 134, Pt. A, No. 6, JUNE 1987
Post-Second World War, the UK has been and still is committed to a large measure of self-sufficiency in food production, to meet the needs of a population that now exceeds 56 million. Self-sufficiency is currently over 80% in the foodstuffs that can be produced under UK conditions. However, in the same period there has been a steady decline in the farming workforce to its present level [2] of about 700000 farmers, managers and employees (full- and part-time), which is a much smaller proportion of the national workforce than elsewhere in Europe or North America. This achievement has been made possible by intensive methods of production on highly mechanised farms and horticultural enterprises of increasing size. Crop and animal breeding, coupled with the use of a wide range of agrochemicals and the improving products of the agricultural engineering industry have greatly increased yields per hectare and per animal. However, these developments have also brought problems such as environmental pollution caused by the wastes from intensively housed animals; drift of crop sprays; safety hazards to farm staff and livestock, and a greater dependence on fossil fuels (directly and indirectly). Public concern over many aspects of intensive farming has to be reckoned with. In addition, the large food processors and retailers who now meet most of the needs of the home market are insisting on produce of ever higher and more uniform quality, delivered on schedule, to meet changing consumer standards. When these factors are added to increasingly intense international competition in the marketing of food and food products, both at home and overseas, the UK producers have needed to take advantage of every available aid to improve efficiency and control over their operations to remain profitable. It is therefore not surprising that innovative producers have been ready to adopt electronics (indeed, some have been pioneers in this field) and others have been quick to follow. The nature of the market for farm electronics varies considerably from sector to sector in agriculture and horticulture, therefore each sector will be examined separately. Tables 1-3 provide some relevant background
Table 1 : Agricultural use of land in the UK, 1984 [2] Area Mha Total land area Total agricultural area Agricultural use: young grass permanent pasture rough grazing all other crops 24 18.7 1.8 5.1 6.1 5.7 % 100 78 7.5 21 25.5 24
Table 2: Quantity and value of UK farm produce, 1984[2-4]

Commodity Crops: cereals potatoes sugar beet other arable crops all horticultural crops Total crops Livestock: cattle sheep and lambs pigs poultry Livestock products: milk and milk products eggs other Total livestock sector Total crops and livestock Area/Number Area, Mha 4.0 0.2 0.2 0.7 0.2 Numbers, * 1 0 8 13.2 34.8 7.7 127 Yield, Mt 26.5 7.3 9.0 Meat, Mt 1.13 0.30 0.96 0.85 15590 Ml 12300 M Value, (M) 2361 582 242 356 1241 4782 1922 579 1000 664 2293 537 156 7151 11933
Table 3: Selected inputs UK agriculture, 1984 [4] Input Feeding stuffs Machinery Maintenance Fertilisers Seeds Livestock Other* Total expenditure Labourt Cost, M 2857 943 246 963 264 180 1062 6515 1925
* Includes fuel and power, spray chemicals, veterinary expenses f Hired, family and partners
information on the relative sizes of the different sectors, together with the scale of UK agriculture and horticulture overall. However, before embarking on the sector reviews, some general comments can be made about this market. First, given the variation in the environmental conditions under which most food production takes place in the UK, together with the variability of the crop and anjj^al products themselves and our limited models of crop and animal development, the establishment of reliable methods of measurement and data analysis for farm use is usually a slow and difficult process. Second, the environment the equipment must withstand is often harsh, yet farmers and growers expect a high degree of reliability from it, combined with ease of
use and minimal maintenance all at low cost. Fortunately, a high level of accuracy is rarely justified. Except where trading standards are concerned (i.e. at the marketing stage) accuracies of 2-3% are normally sufficient. Facilities for multiple sampling and averaging of results, combined with ready calibration and fault diagnosis, are of greater importance. Third, the availability of suitable sensors is often a major problem. Although some standard industrial transducers have found applications on farms, many others are too costly, frequently due to their high performance. In the latter cases suitable low-cost sensors are unlikely to be manufactured for the small agricultural and horticultural market, which must hope to take advantage of developments for other industries. The manufacturer of new types of sensor specifically for agriculture or horticulture faces this problem in greater measure. This is one of the most serious barriers to the extension of farm electronics. Finally, little information can be given on design and performance standards in farm electronics at present, due to the often isolated and still formative nature of developments in this field. Nevertheless, the British Standards Institution (BSI) and International Standards Organisation (ISO) Committees responsible for promoting standards and codes of practice for farm buildings and machinery have begon to address this subject and a measure of standardisation can be expected to emerge in the 1990s.
2 Livestock production
In the UK the livestock sector accounts for almost twothirds of the total value of agricultural and horticultural produce. Within this sector, milk and milk products make the largest contribution (Table 2). The importance
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of the ruminant animals (cattle and sheep) is a consequence of the abundance of the country's main crop grass particularly in the west, with its higher rainfall. The need for cattle and sheep farmers to make best use of this valuable crop can be seen by reference to the cost of animal feedstuff's (Table 3). For all livestock farmers, the optimal use of feedstuff's is a major concern. Another feature common to the livestock sector is its greater use of labour, arising from the need for regular attention to the animals, in the interests of their welfare and safety. Despite this, automatic monitoring and control systems have developed faster in the livestock sphere than in the arable sector, partly because they help to reduce the long hours and demanding chores which have been inseparable from animal husbandry in the past and partly because they can improve the efficiency of production in substantial ways. To enlarge on these and other points it is necessary to consider the special requirements of each type of livestock.
2.1 Poultry
Chicken form the majority of UK poultry. Intensive production of broilers and eggs began in the 1950s and has always depended on electric power in all phases of production, from incubation of eggs, through control of feed, water and environment in growing and laying houses, to egg collection, cleaning and grading and, finally, to manure collection [1]. Most of this power is still controlled by simple time switches and thermostats, although since the late 1960s, electronic control of air temperature has been used in hatcheries and fan ventilation systems have been used for bird housing. The latter use thermistor sensing for control of variable-speed fan motors, rather than thermostats and on-off control. However, these have the disadvantage that at low speeds their operation can be affected by external winds. Further applications of electronics on the farm had to await the outcome of research and development in the 1970s. 2.1.1 Feeding and weighing: Feed represents 75 to 80% of the poultry farmer's production costs. This economic fact gave rise to two lines of research and development in the 1970s, one aimed at improved control of rationing and the other at improved monitoring of feed utilisation by the birds. Commercially, feed is distributed almost continuously, in compound granular form, by conveyor (Fig. 1) from
Fig. 1
Broiler house with feed conveyors
Reproduced by permission of the NIAE
central hoppers of up to 10 t capacity. Distribution rates are up to 200 g/bird/day and there may be 20 000 birds in one house [5]. Some producers now monitor this process by mounting their hoppers on electrical load cells, but, for consistent accuracies of 3%, subhoppers of 1 t capacity are needed. Larger enterprises are progressing to computer-based equipment which combines the load cell outputs with electrical outputs from water meters (each bird drinks up to 0.2 I/day), to provide a complete history of the birds' dietary intake. This form of monitoring is common in other industries, of course, but the determination of the birds' feed/weight conversion rate presents problems of a more unusual kind. The most obvious of these is the number of birds in a production unit. Clearly, they cannot all be weighed regularly. Furthermore, any attempt to catch and weigh even a small, representative sample risks the creation of alarm or panic among them, with the consequent danger that they may suffer a setback in their performance or, worse, that some may be injured and suffocated. For these reasons manual weighing is generally carried out on a very limited scale, although more regular information on weight gain would greatly improve the producer's ability to achieve target weights on specified market dates, through feed control. Regular weighing also provides a sensitive indicator of feeding, environmental and health problems. An electronic system which overcomes this problem has been marketed as a result of research at the National Institute of Agricultural Engineering (NIAE) [6]. The key to the system is a weighing perch which makes use of the birds' natural behaviour to weigh them automatically, without any disturbance, to the required accuracy of better than 3%. The development of this perch raised some interesting design problems. In particular, it was necessary for the platform to be stable enough to encourage perching but not so stable that individual birds would be content to spend long periods on it. Overload protection had to be provided for the commercial load sensor, which is a strain-gauged cantilever beam, with a maximum rating of 50 N. Then, a convenient platform height for birds at different stages of growth had to be found experimentally. This proved to be in the range 30-60 mm above floor level. The marketed design is shown in Fig. 2a. The stirrup-shaped perch is suspended vertically, via a sprung overload protection device, from the cantilever beam, which is attached to one of the stanchions in the poultry house. Some lateral sway of the perch is possible: this discourages long-stay perching. The output of the sensor is examined by a microcomputer, which tests it for validity, rejecting any reading that falls outside preset limits. These are set to allow through only those signals expected from a single perching bird, free from interference from others. Normally the set limit is 35% from a running average of accepted weights, calculated by the computer. At any time the computer can display or print this average, as well as a variety of other information, including daily mean weight, weight distribution (in histogram form) and the standard deviation of the distribution. One form of display is shown in Fig. 2b. Fig. 2c shows the results obtained from an automatic weighing installation over the lifetime of a single broiler crop, with comparative results obtained manually. The change in growth rate between days 42 and 46 was due to a fault in the ventilation system. The significant difference between manual and automatic weighings towards the market date was ascribed to the increased crowding that occurs as the
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birds grow, which in this case resulted in fewer, less representative automatic weighings. However, with no more than three perches in a 20000 bird house automatic and manual weighings rarely differ by more than 50 g at market weight. This system has also been validated with birds being raised for layer flocks, although if these are only fed at set times, recording should be restricted to periods when their body weight is relatively stable. The objective is to achieve target weights at the planned start of laying. The system is equally applicable to breeder flocks, whose diet affects the level of production of fertile eggs. 2.1.2 Environment: The health and performance of the birds is strongly influenced by their aerial environment. Close control of air temperature through heating and ventilation is therefore essential. Chicks need 27-30C; optimum production from broilers is attained between 18 and 21C, and the optimum for layers lies between 21 and 24C. These narrow limits call for good control of air distribution in the houses, independent of external air temperature and wind velocity. Improved means of establishing the desired ventilation pattern have been provided by an NIAE system [7] developed initially for pig houses (Fig. 3). This controls ventilation automatically by adjusting the height of an air inlet baffle which runs along the apex of the roof, while controlling an array of exhaust fans in the side-walls of the house. The fans are switched on (at full speed), in sequence, as the need for ventilation increases and the baffle opens progressively (step-wise) to maintain a constant 5 m/s air stream along the underside of the roof (which must not impede the flow). The air stream generates a stable air circulation under a wide range of external conditions, as shown in Fig. 3a. The input to the control system (Fig. 3b) is the averaged reading of thermistor elements distributed within the building. Each fan is fitted with a backdraught shutter which prevents wind interference when it is switched off. However, as in all environmental control systems for closed animal houses, an unchecked rise in air temperature must lead to the emergency opening of doors and baffles. A separate thermostat system is often installed for this purpose. 2.1.3 Quality grading of eggs: Research at the Scottish Institute of Agricultural Engineering (SIAE) produced a semi-automatic electronic grader for potatoes (see Section 3.4.3) which has been adapted to egg grading. Eggs moving along a conveyor are illuminated from below and an operator views the light transmitted through them, to detect internal blood spots and other defects. Defective eggs are tapped with a hand-held device which then transmits their position to a control unit. The latter diverts them into the reject channel. 2.7.4 Future developments: Electronic control can be usefully extended in several areas of the poultry industry, given the necessary engineering research and development. For example, precise environmental control is essential to the efficiency of the hatchery [8]. Incoming eggs pass through several incubating stages, each with its own recommended temperature and relative humidity (RH), covering the ranges 13-5OC and 50-75% RH, respectively. Hatchability can vary by 10%/C change in air temperature at any stage. In addition, ventilation must be regulated to keep oxygen levels above 15% and CO 2 below 0.5% in the interests of the developing embryo. More information is needed on the environment achieved in practice but hatcheries would almost certain469
0.450 age of crop, days c Automatic weighing of poultry
Fig. 2
a Strain-gauged perch b Computer display of bird weights c Comparison of manual and automatic weighing of a broiler crop, showing the effect of heat stress at about 42 days # Manual weighings automatic weighings Reproduced by permission of the NIAE
ly benefit from the availability of low-cost O 2 and CO 2 sensors, operating in the above ranges. These could become elements in the fully integrated computer control of hatchery operations. It would be advantageous to monitor the RH and CO 2 in broiler houses inexpensively, too, because abnormal levels of each, if prolonged,
environment to which broilers are subjected during transport to the processing factories could lead to the requirement for some form of ventilation control in these vehicles. Of more concern in the environmental context, though, is the apparent lack of a suitable fire sensor and alarm system to meet the safety requirements in poultry houses and other livestock buildings [9]. Automatic weight grading of chicks is another desirable objective, offering advantages to breeders and to poultry, meat and egg producers. The NIAE weighing perch is being used experimentally for this. More generally, the perch in its existing form is likely to become part of integrated feeding, weighing and environmental control systems which will monitor the birds and regulate their weight gains so as to meet marketing targets.
2.2 Pigs
(iii)
fans switched in groups
electric motor for vents
control panel
vent position SWI tches
thermistors
16
D 12
K 8
8 12 16 ventilation rate, rrf/s c
20
Intensive production [10] also dominates the pig industry, which has followed and has many parallels with broiler production, including the importance of feed costs (50 to 80% of total costs). Piglets are reared in heated 'creeps' at a temperature of about 35C initially; the temperature is reduced with their size and group numbers thereafter. Unless they are needed for breeding, they are then grown to their market weight of up to 100 kg in about six months, living in social groups of about ten animals, fed collectively. In contrast, breeding sows receive individual care and rations. A special feature of the pig industry is the problem created by the animals' excreta, usually called slurry, which amounts to 10 Mt annually. Many pig units have insufficient land on which to spread their slurry as a fertiliser, and many are also close enough to towns, villages and watercourses to cause pollution problems. Therefore stored slurry is treated aerobically and/or anaerobically to reduce its odour and biological oxygen demand, pending its transfer to suitable land. However, other ways of using it are being explored. These will be referred to later, because they may provide new applications for electronics. In general, electronics has not established a strong base in UK pig production, although in the 1970s it seemed a more promising target for research than the poultry industry. This can be attributed to persistent economic problems in the industry. Nevertheless, there is progress to report. 2.2.1 Feeding and weighing: Unlike intensive poultry, pigs are fed wet or dry rations (up to 3 kg/day), the former giving better weight gains, according to many experts. Pig producers frequently feed their stock on any suitable material that is available cheaply, too, rather than relying solely on commercial compound rations. As a result, pig feeding systems take many forms but larger units are likely to use labour-saving pipeline distribution systems for either liquid or dry feed. Some of the liquid feed systems now use microcomputers to control the mixing of ingredients (water, skimmed milk, grains, chopped roots etc.) in preset proportions and to control the subsequent circulation of the mixture to individual pens, in metered quantities. The pipeline is in the form of a complete loop, with a metering dispenser at each pen. Fig. 4 illustrates a commercial installation of this type for up to 200 pens. The mixing tank of up to 10 t capacity collects the preset amount of each ingredient, under computer control. The computer then initiates and monitors
Fig. 3 Automatic control of fan ventilation in livestock buildings a Pig house (schematic), showing (i) adjustable baffle, (ii) shutter, which is closed when fan is not running, (iii) dunging channel and (iv) feeding passage b Control system (schematic). The vent position switches control the setting of the baffle in relation to the number of fans running. c Ventilation requirements of a pig house over a range of ambient temperatures, calculated from the thermal insulation of the building and the number and size of the pigs. A 6-stage, stepped-fan system operates at equal temperature intervals, as shown Reproduced by permission of NIAE
present a health risk to the birds. RH should lie between 50 and 75%, while CO 2 should remain near normal ambient levels (0.03% by volume). The problem for electronic RH sensors in this environment is the presence of ammonia (itself a potential health hazard) in the birds' litter at levels that can exceed 0.5% by weight. Research into the environment of caged birds (layers) may reveal a need for other forms of environmental monitoring and control, while current studies of the
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the flow of the mixture through the pipe circuit and actuates each dispenser the number of times needed to deliver the programmed feed to that pen. Programmed, individual feeding of sows is a recent development, based on the out-of-parlour feeders for dairy cows, which will be described later. Essentially, each sow is fitted with an electronic identification unit which enables her to gain access to her preset ration at a communal feeding station. By this means a group of sows can be housed in one pen and share one feeder but be fed to their own needs.
2.2.2 Environment: The system of stepped fan control with a variable inlet, outlined in the section on poultry, was originally developed for, and proven technically and economically in, intensive pig production (Fig. 3) [13]. One advantage of the stable air circulation pattern produced by this system is that cooler regions are established over dunging channels near the walls of the house, whereas it is warmer in the feeding and lying areas (Fig. 3a). As pigs prefer to use the cooler regions for dunging
electronic weighing system Fig. 4 Automatic feeding of pigs: pipeline feeding of solid/liquid mixtures, under computer control (schematic)
Reproduced by permission of Big Dutchman
Commercially, electronic weighing of farm livestock began with modified mechanical weighcrates for pigs. NIAE research in the early 1970s [11] showed that the difficulty of reading a restive animal's weight by observation of the vibrating pointer on a spring balance could be overcome by simple electronic means. A linear displacement transducer (in this case a linear variable differential transformer) was mounted in parallel with the spring balance on a pig weigher and its output integrated over a weighing period of two to three seconds, to provide an average reading, displayed as a steady value on a digital meter. The weighcrate's lightly damped suspension was found to have a resonant frequency of about 2.5 Hz, from which it could be calculated that the error due to the pig's movement during the integration period was unlikely to exceed 2%, unless the animal became unusually agitated. In fact, extensive farm trials showed that a 100 kg animal would normally be weighed with an accuracy of 1%. This is more than adequate, bearing in mind that daily variations in a larger pig's weight can amount to about 2 kg, due to eating, drinking and excretion [12]. The electronic system therefore achieved a worthwhile increase in the speed and accuracy of weighing, although at additional capital cost. Further advantages followed from improvements to the pig handling aspects of the weighing. Pneumatically operated gates, driven from a farm compressor, were fitted to the entrance and exit of the weighcrate and controlled by a man stationed at the entrance, as shown in Fig. 5. This reduced the total weighing time per pig to about 10 s. The overall rate of weighing was about 100 pigs per hour, including the time needed to return one group of pigs to their pen after weighing and to bring up another. Despite the labour-saving features of the electronic/ pneumatic system, its use has been limited so far. However, several manufacturers supply weighcrates with optional electronic units, which use averaging techniques and are based on load cells.
Fig. 5
Semi-automatic pig weighing
The weighcrate (foreground) is fitted with pneumatically-controlled inlet and outlet gates. A linear displacement transducer (arrowed) is fitted to the spring balance Reproduced by permission of the NIAE
the result is cleaner pens and cleaner pigs, to the benefit of the animals and the farmer. However, the primary objective is to maintain the air temperature in the lying area a little above the animals' lower critical temperature (LCT). This is the temperature below which they begin to use a significant amount of the energy supplied by their food simply to keep warm. There is also a higher critical temperature (HCT) above which they use energy in an attempt to keep cool, but usually this is a minor problem in the UK. As a general indication, the LCT for pigs is normally below 20C and the HCT is around 30C. However, the actual values depend on several factors. A mathematical model developed for the LCT relates it to pig weight, the number of pigs per pen, the energy content of the feed ration, the air speed over the pigs and the type of flooring or floor covering in the pen (e.g., straw, wood, concrete [14]. This model has been adopted for the control algorithm in a microprocessor-based development of the stepped fan control system [15], as shown in Fig. 6. The Figure shows that air speed is a manual input (derived from measurements with a handheld instrument at different ventilation settings). No suit471
ably robust and inexpensive sensor for the required range (0.15 to 1.0 m/s) has been found to date. 2.2.3 Ultrasonic monitoring: Ultrasonic pulse-echo equipment developed for internal flaw detection in metals was first applied to agricultural operations by engineers in the USA in the 1960s [16]. The equipment was used to determine the depth of backfat in live pigs, as a means of assessing carcass quality. A 25 mm ceramic transmitter/ receiver probe, energised at about 2 MHz, was pressed to
automatic input temperature computer controller fan control varies air throughput
manual input air flow pig weight group size feed level floor type
management information environment animal performance
inlet vent control maintains air flow pattern
Fig. 6 Lower critical temperature (schematic) Reproduced by permission of the NIAE
control of pig environment
an animal's back after smearing it with bland oil to improve acoustic coupling. The time delays from the transmission of pulses to the receipt of echoes from acoustic discontinuities in the animal were determined with an oscilloscope. Echoes arise at the interfaces between lean and fatty tissue because the speed of ultrasound in live pigs is about 1.6 km/s in lean tissue (muscle) and about 1.43 km/s in fatty tissue. The figure for pig skin is about 1.5 km/s. Developments of this form of monitoring have taken place in the USA, Denmark and The Netherlands. The more recent equipment scans laterally across the back of the immobilised animal and produces an image of the corresponding cross-section of its body, in which the fat and lean areas are delineated. Onfarm use of this technique in the UK is mainly restricted to specialist advisers and breed evaluators because it requires skilled and experienced operators. The cost of the scanning types is also too high for individual producers. Ultrasonics also found agricultural application in the 1960s for pregnancy detection in ewes [17] and this technique was subsequently adopted for sows. Pulse-echo measurements reveal the existence of the fluid-filled uterus early in gestation and details of the developing foetuses emerge later. More commonly, though, the foetuses are detected through the Doppler shift induced by the pulsations in the sow's uterine artery or by the foetal heartbeats. The frequency shift causes the monitor to emit an audible signal. Pregnancy can be detected within four weeks from service, thereby enabling the producer to take timely action. Pregnant sows are given rations appropriate to their condition and nonpregnant ones returned to service in the next fortnight or culled as unproductive stock. 2.2.4 Future developments: Research is in progress on automatic weighing of penned pigs, which is a prerequisite for fully automatic control of weight gain in porkers and baconers. This can be done relatively easily if the
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animals eat at a communal feeding stall, because the stall can be fitted with a weighing platform or suspension system. The programmed feeders for sows, mentioned earlier, can be adapted in this way, so enabling the associated computer to record each sow's weight as she is identified automatically. However, this system is very costly for use with meat animals, because a weigher is required for each pen. Indirect methods of weight determination, such as remote sensing of pig size, may provide an acceptable, economic solution in this case. Automatic weighing would also facilitate LCT control of the animals' environment, which could be integrated with feeding control in a system programmed to monitor and control growth rates, starting from ration data and targets provided by the farmer. The development of an automatic air-speed sensor for such a system would be beneficial, too. Research into new ways of using pig slurry has led to pioneering farm installations of two types, namely equipment for 2- to 3-week anaerobic digestion of the slurry, to generate biogas (methane/CO2) for farm use [18], and for vermiculture the use of slurry as a feed for earthworms, which are grown as a protein feed for livestock [19]. Both processes alleviate the pollution problem mentioned earlier and both leave a residual compost of agricultural value. As these processes develop commercially they are likely to require special monitoring and control equipment. At present the requirements are not well defined but it is established that efficient biogas production takes place at temperatures between 30 and 35C and that the digester should be fed at a controlled rate with slurry of about 8% dry matter. Clearly, vermiculture is a temperature-dependent process, too.
2.3 Sheep
UK sheep production is still largely nonintensive, therefore existing applications of electronics in this sector are limited. Electronic weighing of sheep is practised, particularly in lowland, grain-fed flocks, but there is more interest in ultrasonic pregnancy detection (Fig. 7) because it can indicate not only which ewes are pregnant but also by the 50th day of gestation how many foetuses each sheep is carrying. This information enables the farmer to feed ewes according to their needs, thereby reducing the risks of mortality among lambs and ewes. The more advanced equipment uses a linear array of transducers, which is moved over the ewe's abdomen. The echo pattern is imaged on an oscilloscope. The tissue interfaces can be resolved to a depth of 200 mm, using 3.5 MHz transducers [20]. Looking further ahead, New Zealand workers [21] have shown that ultrasonic backfat measurements can be made without the need for local clipping of thefleeceor a consequent loss of signal due to the twitching of these nervous animals. Adequate coupling can be obtained with petroleum jelly on dry fleeces and with an aqueous gel on wet ones. Signal fluctuations are countered by fast digitisation and averaging of the raw return signals from the animals. A storage oscilloscope displays and updates the raw and processed signals together. When the operator is satisfied (on the basis of experience) that a valid signal has been received, the depth measurement is taken from the processed trace. Using 5 MHz, 100 ns pulses the New Zealand workers could estimate backfat depth to 0.5 mm in the 0-10 mm range. This technique could find application in the UK, given the move to leaner lambs.
Closer control of feeding and of the sheep's environment seems unlikely, unless lowland production and winter housing of flocks develop substantially.
2.4 Beef cattle
2.5 Dairy cattle
The UK beef sector, like the sheep industry, is mainly associated with low capital inputs. Therefore, again, applications of electronics are limited. Automatic control of the environment is restricted to some calf-rearing units, using simple electrical controls. Where automatic feeding equipment is used this is of the kind covered in the following Section. Weight gain can be monitored with the aid of a larger version of the semi-automatic pig weigher (Fig. 8).
The UK milking herds produce not only calves for future beef and milk production but also over 20% of all agricultural and horticultural output by value. This has been achieved by breed and herd development, coupled with capital-intensive methods of production, involving continually improving utilisation of the grass crop and continually advancing technology in the dairy parlour. The average size of UK dairy herds is large by European standards, at over 60 cows, and milk yields are high at
Fig. 8
Semi-automatic weighing of beef cattle
The operator is controlling the pneumatically-powered gates. The animal's weight is displayed on a meter above its head (arrowed) Reproduced by permission of the NIAE
Fig. 7 Ultrasonic pregnancy detection in ewes: mobile trailer with scanning equipment Each ewe is held in a cradle, upside down, while the real-time scan is performed Reproduced by permission of the Scottish Institute of Agricultural Engineering (SIAE)
Future onfarm applications may include ultrasonic fat/ lean estimation. A new method, developed at the Food Research Institute, Bristol [22], measures the speed of transmission of ultrasound through the animal's hindquarters, using a separate transmitter and receiver, mounted on a calliper frame (Fig. 9). The method provides information on fat content (but not its distribution) within a few per cent and is less prone to operator error than the pulse-echo method, which is especially difficult with cattle. The cost of the equipment makes it more a tool for specialist advisers and breed evaluators at present, though. The same applies to real time scanning of cows in suckler (beef raising) herds a technique which is being developed at the Hill Farming Research Organisation (HFRO) in Scotland. As in the case of sheep, it can detect pregnancy at an early stage (about 30 days post-conception) when the probe is used rectally. Repeated measurements of the size of the growing foetus also make it possible to predict calving dates to within three days [23].
Fig. 9 Ultrasonic measurement of animal fat, in vivo, by the transmission method Reproduced by permission of the Food Research Institute, Bristol, UK
over 5000 kg per cow per annum. Intensive dairy production is the province of highly skilled managers and stockmen (the dairy worker is the best paid among agricultural workers), in which the valuable, increasingly productive cow receives a considerable measure of individual attention and treatment. Nearly half of the national dairy herd is 'recorded' by the UK Milk Marketing Boards [24], which collect milk samples regularly and perform quality analyses on them, including measurement of percentage butter fat and solids-not-fat, which affect the producers' returns on the milk taken by the Boards. Hygiene is an important factor in determining milk quality, of course, and in this context one of the dairy farmer's continuing problems is cow mastitis, which has
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serious effects on output and, if unchecked, makes the affected cows' milk unsaleable. Regular monitoring for signs of this infection is therefore imperative, in addition to preventive action such as regular udder and teat disinfection. Another important factor in the profitability of a dairy enterprise is the 'calving interval' of the herd, which is the average period between successive calvings by individual cows. Ideally, this should be 365 days. Should it extend to 405 days, for example, the annual yield of the herd could be reduced by over 5%. Therefore the farmer needs to determine the onset of oestrus (heat) and pregnancy in each cow with the greatest possible reliability. For all of the above reasons, electronic monitoring, control and data processing has found more application in the dairy sector than any other in UK agriculture. 2.5.1 Feeding: Since the Second World War, grass has been conserved increasingly as silage during its growing period, to provide a high-value bulk feed for housed cattle, either alone or in combination with additives such as barley and minerals in granular form. Proper fermentation of the ensiled crop requires the exclusion of air, which quickly causes deterioration of the product. Therefore the cut crop is stored in vertical 'tower' silos or in horizontal bunkers, clamps or bales, sealed with plastic sheets [25]. The towers are more costly but they facilitate the production of high-quality silage, especially in regions of high rainfall. The type of silo used is a big influence on the mechanisation of silage feeding to cattle. Tower silos, holding 250 t of crop or more, have top or bottom unloading mechanisms (the former requiring occasional manual intervention to lower them as the silo is emptied). Silage is always difficult to handle, because it
is moist (less than 40% dry matter), fibrous and corrosive. Unloading rates are always uneven typically 100 kg/ min maximum and 40 kg/min average, corresponding to about 0.25 and 0.1 m3/min, respectively. Nevertheless, these rates are suitable for feed conveyor systems, which were first adopted in the 1960s as the basis for automation of a labour-intensive operation. Pioneering development in the USA [26] was followed up in the UK at one of the Ministry of Agriculture's experimental farms (Fig. 10a) [27]. There, groups of about 60 high-yielding cows were bulk fed with controlled amounts of silage (up to 40 kg/cow/day), with rolled barley and mineral pellets (up to 5 kg/cow/day, together). Each group received a ration based on its stage in the annual lactation cycle. The silage and barley for each ration were unloaded from a silo and a hopper, respectively, and then dropped into dispensers supported by electrical load cells until preset loads had been reached. Then the two ingredients were dispensed onto a conveyor, and minerals were added by a vibratory feeder for a preset time. The composition of each ration and its routing to the appropriate group of cows via a conveyor network was set up manually on a central controller. Flow and motion monitors at unloading points and on conveyors ensured correct sequential control and fail-safe operation of the system. Subsequently, the NIAE developed a continuous belt weigher for silage [28] as part of a similar farm installation in which mixed rations could be routed to an inhouse conveyor/feeder (the tumbler-feeder in Fig. 10b) or to a mobile feeder wagon for external distribution. Mechanically, the weigher (Fig. 10c) was designed to restrict the clinging and corrosive silage to the upper section of the plastic belt and to cope with flow rates up to 400 kg/min, as a precautionary measure. The 600 mm
weigher . \ number 3 belt
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a Farm, with group housing and feeding installation for dairy cows. The picture shows two of the group houses, with forage and grain silos behind them b Farm installation with continuous belt weigher (schematic) c Belt weigher Reproduced by permission of the NIAE
wide belt ran at 46 m/min. Electrically, the output from the weigher's 10 kg capacity load cell was used directly to control the proportional metering of additives to the silage, while the integrated signal was used to stop the feeding when a preset weight of silage had been distributed. In this way the total amounts and proportions of feedstuffs could be dispensed with an acceptable accuracy of 5%. Although this form of mixed feed distribution is little used in the UK at present, the method of metering and mixing the ingredients is used in some onfarm feed preparation plant. The distribution of feed from horizontal silos is usually done with mobile machines. These include feeder wagons with a load capacity of several tonnes, which can mix ingredients loaded into them sequentially and dispense the resulting ration along feeding troughs in the cattle lots. Some of these machines are self-propelled; others are tractor-drawn. Either type may be fitted with an electronic weighing system, based on load cells which support the feed container. A digital display of the container's load during filling enables the operator to monitor the amount of each ingredient discharged into the wagon (Fig. 11). Indicator lamps which warn of the
this will be described in Section 2.5.2). The controller then refers to her preset ration level and unloads a preset fraction of it from the feeder's hopper into its manger, volumetrically or gravimetrically. Most controllers can support 10 to 20 feeding stations, at up to 100 m range, to serve herds of 250 cows or more. The sidewalls of the stall prevent one cow from acquiring another's ration.
Fig. 11
Controlled bulk feeding of cattle by feeder wagon
Tractor-drawn wagon with load cells and progammable meter (front of wagon) Reproduced by permission of the NIAE
approach to preset weights are sometimes fitted: these help the operator to avoid overshoot. Additionally, cumulative error can be reduced by an autotaring facility, which is activated when the operator switches from the preset level of one ingredient to the next [29]. The weight indicator can also be used to monitor discharge of the load at the feeding points. Dairy cows are also fed individual concentrate rations, both inside and outside the milking parlour, in preset daily amounts up to 8 kg, depending on their yield and stage of lactation. Increasingly, this is done automatically, with the aid of an automatic identification device carried by each cow, thereby saving man-hours and minimising human error. Out-of-parlour feeding has gained favour at the expense of in-parlour feeding, because milking times are short and research has also shown that cows make better use of concentrates fed at intervals through the day. Although out-of-parlour feeders differ in detail they normally have several common features, exemplified by Fig. 12a. A microcomputer-based controller identifies the cow when she enters a feed stall (Fig. 12b) and lowers her head into the manger. This action results in her identification via a transponder carried on her collar (Fig. 13a
Fig. 12
Individual feeding of dairy cows with concentrates
a Automatic out-of-parlour feeder with transponder collar (on ledge of manger) and control unit b Feeders in use Reproduced by permission of Hunday Electronics
Once a cow has eaten the dispensed fraction of her ration she has to wait until the next ration period before she is given more. The period can be varied throughout the day but is rarely less than one hour. A cow that does not return to the feeder in any period or periods is allowed to carry over at least part of the deficit into succeeding periods. However, if she becomes an 'alarm' cow, that is, her appetite is seriously below standard, the controller lists her as such. This and other programmed information, such as the feed consumed per cow and by the herd overall, can be displayed, printed or transmitted to the farm's central computer, where there is one [30].
475
energising and receiving equipment oscillator 58kHz
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Automatic identification of cows
a Collar-borne transponder b Transponder system (schematic) c Code format and timing Reproduced by permission of the NIAE
2.5.2 Dairy parlour operations: Automatic feeding in the parlour, together with automatic cow weighing and the herd management computer are all elements of dairy parlour automation and will be covered in this Section.
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In 1968 a 1300 cow dairy herd in California was fitted with electronic equipment to record each cow's milk yield automatically at each milking, as a means of monitoring her physiological state [31]. This stimulated research in the UK and The Netherlands, which began in the 1970s. It was soon realised that the key to future developments lay in the production of a low-cost automatic identification system capable of recognising at least 250 cows individually, to cope with increasing herd sizes. The first commercially successful systems were based on the transponders developed at NIAE (Fig. \2>b) [32]. These devices, which have to conform to strict radio regulations, contain a ferrite-cored coil, through which the transponder is energised by an external coil, radiating 1 W maximum at 58 kHz. The coding circuit uses serial registers to generate a 16-bit sequence (two 7-bit words with opposite parity), which identifies the animal concerned. Pulsewidth modulation of a 27 MHz carrier, at 906 Hz, is used to identify the animal (Fig. 13c). After decoding, the received signal passes to the parlour computer. A 16-bit code allows for many more identities than an individual farmer is likely to need, but it leaves room for the future addition of other herd information, such as a farm code. This identification system provided the starting point for integrated, computer-based monitoring and control of dairy parlour operations on the lines defined in the UK during the 1970s (Fig. 14) [33]. In the parlour the transponder energising coil is mounted under a plastic feed manger at each milking stall. Even where the farm uses out-of-parlour feeders it is common to give each cow a token amount of concentrates, to encourage her to enter the stall quickly and to relax her at the start of milking. Therefore, as each batch of animals takes up position for milking, the computer quickly identifies which individuals are at which stalls. Then, if the farm feeds all concentrates in the parlour the cows are automatically dispensed their rations for that milking. Meanwhile, a parlour worker cleans each cow's udders and teats, looking for signs of damage or inflammation, before attaching a vacuum milking cluster to the teats and initiating her milking. Her milk flow is automatically measured and transmitted to the computer, which uses the information to determine the effective end-point of the cow's milking and her yield. At the end-point the computer actuates pneumatically powered automatic cluster removers (ACRs) and the cow is ready to leave the parlour. She and the others in the batch file out when they are all ready, returning to their quarters via passages or 'races'. En route they may pass through an automatic udder wash and be weighed automatically (These are optional parts of the system). Taking some of the elements of the system in more detail, milk flow and yield per cow can be measured in several ways. If graduated recording jars (one at each stall) are used to collect the cow's milk before it is despatched by pipeline to the central bulk tank, the rate of flow (up to 5 kg/minute) and yield (up to about 20 kg) can be obtained by weighing each jar continuously. Fig. 15a shows the base of a jar, supported on a strain-gauged beam. Other parlours use devices in the pipeline which collect, release and count small, fixed weights or volumes of each cow's milk throughout her milking. The example shown in Fig. \5b has a metering chamber which contains electrical conductivity probes at two levels, to define a volume of 0.2 1 within it and to control its charge/ discharge cycle between these two levels. The meter also incorporates a milk sampling attachment, for MMB
recording. This and all other milk meters have to meet the standards established by the Board. Recorded yield must be within 5% or 500 g of true milk weight (whichever is the greater) in 95% of the measurements made. The parts in contact with the milk must be readily cleaned by (and able to withstand) the strong, hot (85C) detergent fluids circulated through the pipelines between milkings. It is fortunate that the required accuracy is not high, because the accuracy of weighing of recording jars is limited by the influence of connecting pipes, while inline meters have to deal with the pulsating flow of
parlour
frothy milk caused by the vacuum milking process. However, apart from MMB requirements, measurement of individual yields helps the farmer with herd management in various ways, including production to quota. (Note: Sales of milk are mostly based on collections made by bulk tankers, which now have calibrated turbine fiowmeters with printers, to record milk transfers in litres to better than 0.35% [34]) The determination of when a cow has finished milking is not straightforward, because milk release tails off in a generally exponential manner, at a rate that varies from
feeder unit feed processor
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disk storage
Reproduced by permission of the NIAE
Fig. 15
Automatic milk yield recording
a Recorder jar with strain-gauged support (arrowed) Reproduced by permission of the NIAE b Pipeline measuring unit, with milk sampling device (associated digital display unit not shown) Reproduced by permission of Fullwood and Bland
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cow to cow, giving milking-out times between 5 and 10 minutes. To avoid undermilking some cows and overmilking others, both of which can be harmful, conventional ACRs operate about 30 s after a simple flowmeter has indicated that a cow's milk flow has fallen below about 0.2 kg/minute. However, under computer control the time delay can be tailored to the cow's individual release rate. The cow's udder and teats can be disinfected automatically, as she leaves the parlour, by a set of floor-mounted jets, actuated photoelectronically when she fully interrupts a horizontal array of light beams. This system is normally independent of the computer. Automatic, walk-through weighing can be carried out subsequently, as the emerging batch of cows files along the external passage or race. The animals walk in turn over a weigh platform (which must be firm, to avoid unsettling them) and are automatically identified by the parlour computer as they pass through a transponder energising coil at the exit end of the weigher (Fig. 16a). The computer also receives the output from the weigher's electrical load cell (in Fig. 16a, a 2 t tension link, environmentally protected by a length of plastic drainpipe). It relates loads to identities and rejects any reading that shows an abnormal departure from the running average of a cow's weight, started from a manual weighing. With cows of common size, weighing from 450 to 750 kg, the maximum allowed departure is about 30 kg, which accommodates normal daily weight variations, largely due to changes in gut fill [35]. This limit
virtually eliminates readings which do not arise from the steady passage of an animal over the platform (see fig. 16b). The computer is thus able to monitor the weight trend of most, if not all, of the herd. By this means the farmer obtains valuable information on the animals' condition, usually on a weekly basis, without the expenditure of time and labour required by traditional static weighings, whether electrical load cells are used or not. All of the elements in Fig. 14 are available commercially, although few farmers have the complete system at present. The only element not described so far is the parlour keyboard and display equipment through which an operator can send information on individual cows (e.g., detected mastitis or oestrus) to the computer and receive from it data or instructions on action to be taken in individual cases. In particular, the computer reports failure to receive a valid identity, or no identity, at any stall. Then, if the cause is found to be a malfunctioning or lost transponder the operator can key in the cow's number, read from a back-up system (collar, tail marker or freeze brand). In the office the computer also provides the records of individual and herd performance including data on yields, feeding, breeding and health that are essential to good management of a dairy enterprise. 2.5.3 Future developments: Research in the 1980s is concentrating on more extensive monitoring of cattle and milk, and on changes to milking mechanisation. The economic importance of early detection of mastitis, oestrus and pregnancy makes these the prime objectives. Work in the USA on detection of mastitis through consequent change in the electrical conductivity of the milk has shown that over 80% of the cows at risk can be detected in this way [36]. Conductivity must be measured separately in all four teat attachments of the milking cluster at each milking, because infection may first appear in one quarter of a cow's udder. Detection depends on computer processing of the resulting time series, taken over several days, because the effect is small (e.g., from 7 to 9 mS/cm at the normal milk temperature of 38.5C) and irregular, even in closely controlled experiments. The method shows promise but a conductivity sensor for use in the milking cluster has to be developed for farm tests. Research workers in The Netherlands advocate similar monitoring of milk temperature to detect its rise at oestrus, which occurs on a 18 to 21 day cycle [37]. This is likely to prove more difficult, because the rise is barely 0.5C and the variations due to illness or, under normal farm conditions, local cooling of the milk, can be of this order. However, many cows become more restless at oestrus, which makes it possible to detect their condition by clamping a small, electronic activity monitor to their forelegs [37]. The monitor is essentially a simple accelerometer and peak displacement counter, which can be interrogated by an external radio receiver in the dairy parlour. The change in activity at oestrus may be 200% but it is not always so well defined. Further evaluation of the method is needed. With regard to pregnancy detection and its effect on a herd's calving index, the farmer needs to know within 30 days of a cow's service whether she must be returned to service, or he may miss her next heat. Ultrasonic pregnancy detection does not qualify on cost or earliness for this purpose. MMB laboratory tests for progesterone in milk samples (at the 30 nmol/1 level) identify over 98% of nonpregnant cows about 25 days after service but this is
load cell output
0 Fig. 16 Automatic weighing of dairy cows
10s
a Walk-through weigher. The cow is automatically identified as she passes through the wood-framed transponder energising coil at the weigher's exit. Reproduced by permission of Fullwood and Bland c Chart records of load cell outputs before and after processing (i) cow rubbing her neck on weigher (weight recorded = 612 kg) (ii) normal form of signal: 604 kg recorded (cow's actual weight) (iii) cow chased through weigher: 585 kg recorded Reproduced by permission of the NIAE
478
still marginal. Clearly, there is room for a relatively inexpensive onfarm monitor which can shorten the period of uncertainty. It is natural to seek a CHEMFET or BIOFET for this purpose. The same applies to the prospects for online monitoring of milk in the parlour, to determine its lactose, fat and protein content (approximately 4.7%, 4% and 3.3%, respectively) and its bacteriological properties. However, the MMB's central laboratory facilities for determination of milk quality are now highly automated and results are normally available in a week [38], which reduces the justification for these measurements on the farm. In the transponder sphere, miniaturisation is already in progress. Reprogammable commercial units, less than 50 mm square and 20 g in weight are now available in ear-tag form. These can be interrogated at a range of 1 m and are suitable for both cattle and pigs. Subdermal implanting of such transponders, in the interest of security, may follow if no insuperable difficulties arise over their location in the animals, the range of detection and considerations of animal welfare. Implants could meet the requirements of the meat processors for quick, reliable checks on the sources of their supplies. Major changes in the mechanisation of milking may follow from research evidence that milk yields are greater when cows are milked four or five times a day. To do this manually would be very labour consuming, therefore the concept of milking on demand has emerged, i.e. the cow will be free to visit an unmanned milking station whenever she chooses. This calls for robotic equipment to clean her udder and attach the teat cups. Work began on this development in West Germany [39], followed by the UK and The Netherlands. If the concept proves to be practicable the milking parlour will be replaced by a group of concentrate feeding, weighing and milking stalls. The stockman will be free to inspect and treat cows in need of attention, aided by information from the associated computer system.
recent applications to harvesting and post-harvesting operations. However, all field operations benefit from the monitoring and control equipment carried by general purpose machines and implements such as tractors and crop sprayers, while many crops have common needs in postharvest operations. Therefore the remainder of this section will deal with the application of electronics to the agricultural sequence of operations from cultivations to harvest and beyond, rather than crop by crop.
3.1 Cultivations and crop growth
Arable crop and grassland production
Table 2 shows that cereals dominate all other UK arable crops in area, yield and value. Cereal production has the longest history of applications of electronics, too. This arose from the introduction of the combine harvester, which displaced the reaper/binders and threshers in the 1940s and 1950s. The combine harvester enables the farmer to harvest grain quickly during favourable weather but this calls for high-capacity grain drying installations for reducing the grain moisture content to a safe storage level. Consequently, the farmer needs to measure grain moisture quickly and inexpensively, with an accuracy of 1 to 2% moisture content (wet weight basis) in the 10 to 25% moisture content range. Electronic instruments were able to meet this requirement in the 1940s. Subsequently, electronics was applied to drying, to monitoring of the combine itself, and to seed drilling and crop spraying earlier in the season. Specific applications of electronics to the production of other crops have been fewer. Automatic thinning of sugar beet and other rowcrops, such as field lettuce, made a brief commercial appearance in the 1960s but gave way to precision drilling or transplanting and is unlikely to return unless poor spring germination conditions become a settled feature of the UK climate. Planting, harvesting and grading of potatoes has given rise to some specialised electronic equipment, while the grass crop provides some
3.1.1 Tractors: All aspects of UK field crop production involve self-propelled machines. The majority of these machines are tractors: there are over 450 000 of them in the UK. Few tractor functions are controlled electronically at present but electrohydraulic control of draught implements (mainly cultivators), coupled to the tractor by its standard 3-point linkage (Fig. 17a), has replaced purely hydraulic control on some large machines of 130 kW power and more. The lift angle of the linkage arms and the draught load on them (up to 150 kN) are sensed by electrical transducers, coupled to the electronic control units which actuate an electrohydraulic servo-valve. Apart from reducing hysteresis and increasing the speed of response to changing field conditions, the electrohydraulic system eliminates bulky mechanical couplings between the driver's cab controls and the hydraulic lift mechanism, thereby removing constraints on cab layout and enhancing its noise immunity. When cultivating, the driver can select 100% draught control (depth of cultivation varying), 100% depth control (draught varying) or a combination of the two control modes, as required by soil conditions. The sensitivity of the system can be varied, too [40]. The system shown in Fig. 17a uses LVDT transducers with a 10 mm range but recently these have been challenged by lowcost torque-sensing pivot pins and by strain-sensing inserts in the linkage arms. However, at present the cost of the complete system restricts its use to larger machines. Larger tractors are now being fitted with microprocessor-based monitoring equipment, too, as an aid to the driver. LED bar graph arrays display the level of engine fuel, coolant temperature, oil pressure and battery voltage, while LCD panels display engine speed, ground speed and the rotational speed of the machine's PTO (mechanical power take-off for mounted or trailed implements), when this is engaged. Ground speed is important in many field operations. Unfortunately, it is also the most difficult to determine, because the tractor's driven wheels slip in the field, and the speed of rotation of any nondriven wheel is not always a sufficiently accurate basis for the determination. Nevertheless, undriven front wheels on many medium size tractors are fitted with magnets and their rotation is detected by a simple magnetic field sensor, which is mounted on a wheel support (Fig. 17b). The pulse output from the sensor is displayed on a ratemeter, calibrated for field speeds (0-25 km/h, generally). The accuracy attained depends on speed, effective wheel diameter, wheel yaw and tyre/ground pressure the last varies with the dynamic weight distribution of the tractor/implement combination. These limitations have led to the introduction of the much more costly Doppler speed meter, operating at about 10 or 24 GHz, for some speedsensitive tasks. Fig. 17c shows a 24 GHz, 5 mW
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transmitter/receiver of this type, downwardly and rearwardly directed at an angle of 37 2 to the horizontal, from about 1 m above ground level, and midmounted to reduce the influence of the tractor's rotational and vertical movements. The antenna produces a 5 2-way 3 dB
(vii) (vi) (v)
(in)
(i)
(ii)
(iv)
(v)
beam width, with circular polarisation, and the output is a square wave at 35 Hz/km/h. Tested over a range of agricultural surfaces in the USA [41] it achieved accuracies of 3 % or better above 1 km/h. However, until equipment operating at this frequency is authorised in the UK, farmers will be restricted to the less accurate 10 GHz meters. One of the most important applications of ground speed measurement is to the determination of wheel slip, which is quoted as the difference between the distance travelled by a driven wheel and the distance that it would have travelled under no-slip conditions, expressed as a percentage of the latter. Wheel slip is inevitable in most field operations but if it exceeds about 15% it brings risk of damage to soil structure, in addition to tyre wear and waste of time and fuel. Some of the tractor monitors mentioned above now display slip, derived from a drivenwheel tachometer and a ground speed sensor. The driver's welfare can be at risk from slip of another order, particularly during work on hillsides. In this connection, the SIAE developed a 'safe descent meter' which sounds an alarm in the cab when the slope is such that the tractor and implement could slide downhill out of control (Fig. 18) [42]. SIAE research had shown that the
A/D convertor damped pendulum alarm
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microprocessor
digital display slope in degrees
stabilised power supply
function lamps
XT
tractor battery Fig. 18 Safe descent meter for work on sloping ground (schematic) Reproduced by permission of the SIAE
Fig. 17
Tractor instrumentation
a Electrohydraulic implement control (schematic), showing the (i) hydraulic pump and (ii) control valve; (iii) rams; (v) lift sensors; (iv), (vi) electronic control units; (vii) cabling Reproduced by permission of Robert Bosch b Ground speed measurement: magnetic wheel sensor Reproduced by permission of RDS Farm Electronics c Ground speed measurement: Doppler speed sensor Reproduced by permission of TRW 480
slope at which an accident of this type is likely to occur can be predicted from the deceleration measured during a locked-wheel braking test, carried out on a near-level surface similar in condition to that on the hillside. In the test the pendulum sensor, which has near-critical damping, has an angular displacement equal to the critical slope. This can lie between 15 and 30. The microprocessor stores this information and uses it as the alarm level. 3.1.2 Crop establishment: Soil preparation, seed drilling and seedling thinning are covered here, leaving reference to transplanting and irrigation to the section on horticulture. The application of electronics to cultivation is almost entirely confined to the electrohydraulic control systems already described. Applications to drilling are somewhat wider. Grain drill monitors warn the tractor driver if a blockage occurs in any row of a multirow drill. A photocell and LED placed at the outlet of each delivery chute monitor the flow of seeds into the soil. Cessation of flow triggers an audible alarm and the position of the blocked row is indicated by the in-cab display. Electronic level sensors are also used on drills to warn the driver when a seed hopper is almost empty.
Tramlining' is a feature of cereal drilling on many farms. This operation involves the suppression of seed flow in selected drill outlets, periodically, to create undrilled bands in the growing crop. These provide tracks for the tractor to follow in subsequent spray and fertiliser applications. Tramlining helps to reduce overor underlapping applications and limits the area of soil compaction caused by field machines to the detriment of crop yield. Of course, the spray and fertiliser distributors must cover the same width as the seed drill, or a multiple of it. Usually it is the latter, therefore the tramlines are not needed in every field bout (traverse). This has led to the development of tramlining aids for the driver. These units count the number of bouts worked by registering the lifting of the drill by the driver (via the drill's hydraulic control) during the end-of-bout turn. The driver is alerted to the tramlining bout by an audible alarm and solenoid valves cut off the seed supply to the preselected rows. If necessary, the driver can advance or inhibit the count at any time, via the control unit, otherwise the latter will regularly operate the tramlining mechanism after a preset number of bouts (up to five in the unit shown in Fig. 19).
(iv)
detected. The solenoid was energised via a thyratron valve and the whole device was powered by a tractormounted generator. This concept was revived in the 1960s, using solid-state logic [43], but was overtaken by precision drilling, as already stated. 3.1.3 Crop spraying and fertiliser application: The application of expensive, and often highly toxic, pesticides, fungicides and herbicides to field crops (including grass) and soils is an important aspect of UK crop production. It calls for careful timing and the minimisation of waste, especially in the form of spray drift, which can result when droplets below 200 fim in diameter are generated. Most spray equipment uses hydraulic nozzles to generate the droplets, although disks are also used. Some of both types also have means to charge the spray electrostatically, to aid deposition on the intended target. The comparative efficiencies of the various systems under farming conditions are not easy to determine but hydraulic nozzles seem likely to retain their dominance and the electronic metering aids that farmers use to limit overand under-dosing of their crops largely relate to these devices. Nozzles are made in a range of standard sizes, operating at pressures between 100 and 400 kPa and generating droplets from 150 to over 300 /im diameter (smaller sizes at higher pressures). They are mounted at intervals along booms up to 24 m in length, to apply sprays at dosages of 100 1/ha or more, depending on their size, at ground speeds around 8 km/h. The simplest aids monitor ground speed and the fluid pressure in the line from the spray tank to the nozzles, the latter providing an indirect measure of the total discharge rate. The driver keys the width of the boom into the monitor, then its display can be switched to show the instantaneous ground speed, total area worked and volume of spray applied from the start of a monitoring period, or the instantaneous rate of application in 1/ha. In theory, the driver can use the instantaneous rate of application to hold the application rate at the required value by maintaining the appropriate speed. In practice this is not always easy, especially in the region of turns. This difficulty can be overcome by the use of spray-rate controllers (Fig. 20a), which automatically change the discharge rate to counteract changes in ground speed, as well as providing the above work data. A constant overall rate of application does not guarantee a uniform spray deposit, unfortunately, for several reasons. One of these can be the difference in output from nozzle to nozzle, possibly due to wear and tear. This can be checked by a hand-held instrument (Fig. 206) which uses a rotary vane flow sensor. The sensor is held up to each nozzle in turn and the meter indicates the flow rate with a claimed accuracy of about 2% in the range 0.08 to 4.5 1/min. Unsatisfactory nozzles are easily replaced. Another, more serious, cause of nonuniform application is the boom sway and whip induced by the sprayer's movement across uneven ground. Vertical sway has been more than halved by the introduction of passive boom suspensions, using springs and dampers, but it requires an active suspension to hold the boom approximately parallel with and close to the ground surface [44]. Ultrasonic height sensors at the boom tips are used to control the attitude of the boom via an electrically controlled adjustable link in the suspension (Fig. 20c). The transducers incorporate inexpensive range sensors developed for photographic use, which enable the controller to limit their height differential to about 100 mm [45].
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programme advance
(i) Fig. 19 Tramlining aid (schematic)
(i) solenoid-actuated mechanism for suppressing seed flow in selected rows (ii) end-of-bout switch (iii) power unit (iv) control unit with audible warning (top) (v) details of panel Reproduced by permission of Hestair
Turning to rowcrops, the 6-row, high-speed, precision potato planter developed at SIAE provides another application for ground speed measurement based on a nominally nonslipping wheel. An electronic control unit changes the speed of the planting mechanism as ground speed varies, to maintain the planting distance at its preset value. Electronics applied to thinning of sugar beet and other rowcrop seedlings had its origins in the 1930s, when a M. Ferte patented an automatic thinner which detected the position of the seedlings with an electrical conductivity probe, mounted horizontally and laterally to the row, just above the soil surface. The forward travel of the machine was measured electrically via contacts on a ground wheel. The two inputs were used to control a solenoid-actuated blade which eliminated all seedlings in the row for a preset distance, then left unscathed the next seedling
In the spraying context the Meteorological Office's crop disease environment monitor (CDEM) assists the farmer with the crucial timing of spray application. The CDEM is a small weather station which computes the duration of specified combinations of temperature, humidity, rainfall and wind speed from its collected data and, on this basis, classifies the risk of incidence of several major crop diseases. Its predictions are based on
driver to determine when the machine's separation and cleaning mechanisms are losing efficiency through heavy loading. The monitor detects the grain emerging from the combine's rear waste discharge ports, where two sensors are mounted (Fig. 21a). The amount of grain lost at the rear is normally of the order of hundreds of grains per second but this increases steeply when the threshing and cleaning stages become less effective. The sensors are
speed sensor magnetic (radar)
(ii) Fig. 20 Crop spraying instrumentation and control
a Spray-rate monitoring and control unit (schematic) Reproduced by permission of RDS Farm Electronics b Hydraulic nozzle calibration unit Reproduced by permission of RDS c Active boom suspension based on ultrasonic range sensors (i) traditional passive boom suspension system (ii) Contour active boom suspension system Contour is a trademark of J.W. Chafer Reproduced by permission of J.W. Chafer
crop disease-risk models developed by scientists at the UK Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (MAFF). Other equipment of this type also uses evapotranspiration models to compute soil moisture deficit, as an aid to irrigation scheduling [46]. The application of liquid and granular fertilisers can be monitored and controlled by means similar to those employed for crop spraying. In fact, some of the electronic units used are common to all of these operations. 3.2 Crop harvesting The expensive combine harvester is worked to the full during the brief, hectic grain harvest period in late summer and early autumn. A malfunction or breakdown can be extremely costly to the farmer. Therefore, many combine harvesters carry engine and shaft speed monitors which warn the driver of sudden overloads, due to changing crop conditions, which call for reduced speed. Many now carry a special electronic aid for avoidance of overload, too. This is the loss monitor, which helps the
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essentially rectangular impact detectors, which can be over 3 m wide, to cover the full width of the discharge ports. The impact of grain on them produces an electrical output which is transmitted to a ratemeter in the driver's cab. There, the driver must decide whether the indicated loss rate is acceptable, bearing in mind the pressure at harvest time, or whether to slow down. The meter has a threshold adjustment, to cut out background signals, and a gain control which is used to set the level of acceptable loss at midscale on its analogue display. These meters can be used with other combined crops, such as beans, peas, oilseed rape and even grass seed. Fig. 21a also shows the level sensors (pressure plates) which inform the driver when the grain tank is first near and then at full capacity (usually 4-5 t). These also activate the beacon which warns the driver of the attendant tractor and trailor that the combine is ready to discharge its load. Discharge of the harvested grain from the combine into the trailer provides another application of elecIEE PROCEEDINGS, Vol. 134, Pt. A, No. 6, JUNE 1987
tronics the yield meter which gives the farmer information on the variations in yield that occur in and between fields and different varieties of grain, under different circumstances. Two types of meter are available. The simpler uses a magnetic sensor to count the revolutions of the auger shaft in the combine's grain discharge tube. Constant volume discharge of grain per revolution is assumed. The counter is calibrated by reference to the volume or weight of a tank load of grain, determined by calculation or use of a weighbridge, respectively.
beacon
when a metal object passes the roll. This sensor responds to nails and short lengths of wire as well as larger objects. When an object is detected, the pick-up drive is disengaged by an electric clutch in 0.05 s. The driver then reverses this drive to expose the object, shuts off the harvester and removes the cause of the trouble. The detector is automatically reset when the harvester is restarted.
lower feed roll
sensor assembly
amplifier noise filter threshold detector Jeed roll "solenoid
alarm
object rejection flap glass fibre hood crop chute
Fig. 21
Combine harvester instrumentation
metal detecting coils
chopping cylinder
a Harvester (schematic), showing position of grain loss and tank fill sensors (i) threshing mechanism (ii) straw walkers, which shake trapped grain from the straw (iii) aspirated sieves, which remove chaff and other fine contaminants from the grain (iv) grain tank Reproduced by permission of RDS Farm Electronics b Grain yield meter mounted on the discharge auger of a combine harvester Reproduced by permission of Griffith Elder
high-speed pick-up with plastic elements
crop feed system
Fig. 22
Foreign body detection on forage harvester pick-ups
The accuracy claimed for this simple measurement is + 5%. A more advanced meter, with a claimed accuracy of + 2% in the range 50-200 t/h, uses a mass flow sensor, mounted at the discharge end of the auger tube (Fig. 21b). The sensor consists of a load cell, supporting a sloping plate, over which the grain slides before dropping into the trailer. The output from the cell is filtered, to remove the influence of the combine's mechanical vibrations, then integrated to provide a measure of the mass of grain discharged. The meter's microcomputer also predicts the weight of the grain after drying (i.e. its market weight), given the measured value of its field moisture content (frequently over 20%, wet weight basis) and the target moisture content after drying (usually 14%, by weight), via its keyboard. This meter can be used with other combined crops. Forage harvesting provides a different application of electronics. Tramp metal picked up with the crop is hazardous not only to the harvester but also, if undetected, to the welfare of ruminants who may ingest it. Some American forage harvesters [47] have a nonmetallic pick-up roll (Fig. 22a) fitted with an electrically balanced coil/magnet assembly which produces an output signal
a Magnetic sensor and block diagram of circuit Reproduced by permission of New Holland b Impact and magnetic sensors on high-speed pick-up Reproduced by permission of the NIAE
The NIAE has developed more general foreign body sensing for high-speed rotary forage pick-ups (Fig. 22b). The entry of any substantial object (metal or nonmetal) is sensed acoustically, through its impact on the rotor casing, and this actuates a deflector which returns the object (with a tell-tale heap of forage) to the ground, behind the machine. The deflector quickly resets itself and the machine does not stop. The foreign objects can be removed from thefieldlater. As both the rotor and the hood of the pick-up are mainly nonmetallic a detector of small metal objects can also be incorporated. Potato harvesting introduces another contaminant separation problem in some regions of the UK, where the stones and clods gathered by the harvester can outnumber the potatoes in size grades over 30 mm. In the 1960s this led the SIAE to develop a harvester which removed these contaminants with the aid of X-rays [49]. The elements of the separation system are shown in Fig. 23. The harvested potatoes, stones and clods are dropped onto an
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hydraulically levelled belt conveyor, where rollers reduce them to a single layer. On leaving the 0.7 m wide belt they fall freely through an array of 17 X-ray beams, generated by a single 30-40 kV source with 1 mA beam current. A corresponding row of sensors (scintillators coupled to photocells) measures the attenuation of each beam, which is greater with the silicon-based contaminants. The system can distinguish between 25 mm stones and clean 150 mm potatoes a decision taking about 0.1 s. Pneumatically powered, retractable fingers return the stones and clods to the ground. In practice, over 90% of them can be rejected in this way.
rotating rollers ntation belt
X-ray collimator X-ray sensors
catching belt
Fig. 2 3 X-ray separator for a potato harvester (schematic) Reproduced by permission of the SIAE
3.3 Future developments in crop production Tractor monitors are slowly developing towards integrated monitoring and control systems, such as that outlined in Fig. 24, designed to accept inputs from a range of transducers on the tractor itself and on the accompanying implements. This requires the implement-borne coded receive/transmit interface units shown in the Figure, which will enable the computer to recognise the function and range of a coupled transducer. With this information the computer can process the transducer's output, to generate standard displays and, where appropriate, the necessary control action. This will demand a degree of standardisation by manufacturers of farm electronics that does not exist but the agricultural engineering industry is now debating the issue, nationally and internationally. Clearly, the manufacturers would be well advised to adopt communications standards such as RS232C as far as possible. Existing monitoring and control systems for the tractor's 3-point linkage, seed drills and spray booms can be merged with the above system. Additional inputs are likely to come from safety devices, such as the SIAE pendulum sensor, and from torque overload sensors on the PTO (1000 kNm range). Among a variety of potentially useful inputs from implements, crops and soils, continuous monitoring of soil moisture (in the range 10 to 50% moisture content by weight) would be of particular value in control of drilling or planting depth. Although several resistance and capacitance measuring probes are available for soil moisture monitoring, their readings vary with soil type and condition; therefore they are best used as undisturbed, static sensors, to indicate changes in local conditions. The completely driverless field machine forecast in the
alphanumeric display
implement depth meter
graphic display 12/o slip
firm
engine speed 2242 rev/min ground speed 3.6 mile/h wheel slip 12% PTO speed 1374 rev/min
flow and pressure data microcomputer
seed drill monitor/ control
connection to ^implement
future requirements
keyboard
engine speed
PTO ratio
gear ratio
microwave Doppter speedmeter
analogue signals
Fig. 24 Tractor and implement monitoring system {schematic) The graphic display indicates 12% wheelslip within the acceptable band (7-15%). H coded receive/transmit circuit Reproduced by permission of the NIAE 484 IEE PROCEEDINGS, Vol. 134, Pt. A, No. 6, JUNE 1987
1950s [50] and researched into the 1970s [51] is still only a future prospect. On the other hand, electronic control systems may contribute to the increased welfare of the driver, through improved environmental control in cabs and noise cancellation methods for reducing cab noise levels at frequencies below 500 Hz, which are difficult to counter in other ways [51].
3.4 Post-harvest operations
This is the sphere of handling, weighing, drying, grading and storage of crops, some of which may remain in store for months, or even years. It introduces some widely used electronic equipment and some less familiar outside agriculture, particularly for moisture measurement and control. 3.4.1 Weighing and handling: Vast quantities of agricultural produce are weighed into and out of store, either
on the move in transporters or on their way through conveyor systems. Normally, weighings are not to trading standards because this is not required and the equipment would be too costly. However, the development of shear web load cells has put electronic weighing platforms with an accuracy of 0.05% or better within the economic reach of UK farmers. In consequence, axle weighers of up to 15 t capacity are now finding application on farms, together with weighbeams for supporting pallets, hoppers and other loads up to 2 t. Fig. 25a shows a weighing platform in use with a twinaxle trailer. Weights can be measured statically or dynamically at speeds up to 3 km/h. A linked traffic light warns the driver if this speed limit has been exceeded. The electronic units associated with weighers of this type display and print axle and total weights. Some also print driver, vehicle, supplier or customer code numbers, acquired by manual input or automatically. Some grain handling installations employ a constanthead, volumetric flowmeter with rotating paddles, coupled to an electronic counter. The measured bulk density (kg/hi; 1 m3 = 10 hi) of the grain is entered manually and the meter reads in tonnes, with a claimed accuracy of 2% up to 60 t/h. Another inline mass flowmeter, with similar accuracy, can be obtained for throughputs up to 200 t/h. This is based on NIAE research in the 1970s [53] and is akin to the combine harvester discharge meter already referred to (Fig. 25b). 3.4.2 Drying: The drying of grain and other seeds to safe storage levels is the predominant issue in this sphere. Grain driers are broadly of two types low temperature and 'high' temperature [54]. Low-temperature drying takes place in bulk bins (Fig. 26a) or on barn
amplifier active filter strain gauge bridges SW1auto-zero circuit
differential amplifier linearity compensation voltage to frequency convenor
counter
Fig. 25
Static crop weighing
a Installed axle weigher: 3 m wide, 10 t capacity Reproduced by permission of Griffith Elder b 100 t/h mass flowmeter for grain handling installations. Sensor (schematic) and block diagram of circuit. Sensor dimensions in mm Reproduced by permission of the NIAE
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floors, over a period of a weak or two, using ventilating air at or near ambient temperature [55, 56]. The air is distributed by a fan through ducts at the base of the grain. High-temperature driers use air heated to between 40 and 100C, depending on the crop and its intended use. Grain for stock feeding can be dried at 100C but the temperature must be much lower for milling and seed grain. High temperature driers are of two kinds, some drying the seed in batches and others continuously, both taking an hour or two or reduce the seed's moisture to its safe storage level, near 14% moisture content by weight (Fig. 26b). Energy economy is a design and operational objective in all types of drying. Low-temperature grain drying merges with the following storage phase and most of the electronic equipment concerned will be dealt with later. The drying stage can be divided into three phases, programmed to avoid overdrying of the lower zone and condensation of migrating moisture in the upper zone (see Fig. 26a). In the first phase fan ventilation is continuous until the grain is at 18% moisture content by weight. The second phase takes the moisture content down to 16% by ventilation when the RH of the external air is below 70% (i.e. the equilibrium RH corresponding to 16% moisture content by weight in cereal grain). In the third phase the fan operates
air movement
only in daytime and when the air's RH is below 60% (equivalent to 14% grain moisture content by weight).
100r
50
50 moisture content,U wet basis c 10 15 b Fig. 26 Grain drying and storage a Low temperature drying and storage installation (schematic) b Safe storage limits for grain Reproduced by permission of the UK Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food 486 20 25 Fig. 27 Crop moisture meters
100
moisture content,*/.
a Resistance type Reproduced by permission of the NIAE b Capacitance type, microprocessor-based, with hectolitre weight attachment Reproduced by permission of Sinar Agritec c Moisture determination in grass by measurement of NIR reflectance at 1300 and 1450 nm Reproduced by permission of the NIAE IEE PROCEEDINGS, Vol. 134, Pt. A, No. 6, JUNE 1987
For automatic control of low temperature drying some manufacturers use resistive or capacitative RH sensors. Others prefer to use wet- and dry-bulb hygrometers with resistance thermometer elements. Grain moisture is measured on samples from all three drying zones. The flow of ventilating air from the crop surface must be checked with a hand-held anemometer occasionally, too: it should lie between 0.1 and 0.15 m/s. High-temperature grain drying was the main stimulus for the development of grain moisture meters in the 1940s. The Marconi moisture meter which emerged at that time has been widely used by UK farmers since then. This early example of farm electronics was officially tested by the NIAE, with due caution, in 1948 '. . . to determine whether the meter is a practical piece of apparatus for agricultural purposes', inter alia. The meter, shown in an early form in Fig. 27a, used a hand-operated grinder to mill a small sample of the grain, which was then placed in a measuring cell containing two concentric, stainless steel electrodes and compressed with a spring-loaded screw clamp to 1000 lb/in2 (6.9 MPa). The electrode formed part of a manually balanced, highresistance bridge circuit, with an electrometer valve and a moving coil microammeter. Calibration scales (8-25% moisture content by weight), derived from comparisons with standard oven measurements [57], were provided for common types of cereals at 70F, together with a temperature correction chart. Today, this and similar meters are in general use for grain and other seeds. Nowadays the seeds are not always milled: this matters less if the sample is taken from a batch which has reached moisture equilibrium. However, since the 1960s the capacitance meter for whole grain has achieved increasing dominance. This measures the capacitance of a cell filled with grain, at a frequency in the MHz region, to reduce the effect of seed conductance, which depends on the moisture distribution within the sample (i.e. its state of equilibrium) [58]. Fig. 21b shows a present capacitance meter for grain and other seeds, working up to 35% moisture content by weight and accepting 100-200 g samples, depending on seed size. This uses a hopper to load the cell uniformly, so reducing variations in bulk density. The loaded cell is weighed automatically. Temperature correction at about 0.5% moisture content by weight/C is also applied automatically. The microcomputer-based circuit, which stores calibration data for seven types of seed, automatically displays the moisture content of the sample, corrected for weight and temperature, in a few seconds. The meter also averages the results of up to 30 measurements, thereby encouraging the desirable practice of multiple sampling. A hectolitre weight (bulk density) attachment is shown in Fig. 21b. This is a simple volume measure which is filled with grain and then emptied into the meter's cell, where it is weighed. The meter displays the bulk density in kg/hi. One of the earliest commercial applications of electronic control to arable farming arose from the NIAE's use of capacitance measurement to control a continuousflow, high-temperature grain drier [59]. A capacitance sensor, with built-in temperature compensation, was placed in the downward moving grain stream, at a point of minimum bulk density variation, below the drying zone. The sensor's output, was employed to vary the throughput rate of the grain, in accordance with a proportional plus integral (P + I) control algorithm. A more recent development is the application of the near infra-red (NIR) reflectance ratio method to the
determination of crop moisture content on the farm. The development of LEDs which radiate at a waterabsorption wavelength, such as 1450 nm, has considerably reduced the cost of moisture meters of this type. In combination with a standard 1300 nm LED, which conveniently provides the water-insensitive reference wavelength for the ratio measurement, and a germanium photocell to detect the reflected infra-red radiation, the meter can be used for moisture determination over a wide range (Fig. 27c) [60]. The LEDs, which are energised alternately, are fitted with 200 fim diameter lenses, to increase the illumination of the crop surface, which is viewed at a range of 20-40 mm. Moisture determination takes less than 1 ms, which makes this microprocessorbased instrument suitable for scanning the crop and averaging the measurements very rapidly. Its obvious limitation is that it measures surface moisture only, so in most cases it is important for the crop to be in moisture equilibrium. 3.4.3 Storage and grading: In the arable sector electronics has applications to the storage and grading of potatoes and to the storage of grain. Temperature control is vital in potato and grain stores. Potatoes must be kept above their freezing point (near 2C) and below 10C for long storage life [61], whereas grain temperature should not exceed 15C (Fig. 26b). Temperatures are commonly checked with hand-held digital thermometers, using 1 to 2 m probes, with thermistor or metal resistance sensors, for measurements at representative depths. Automatic temperature control is also common. Here a scanned array of probes (up to 100) is installed. The layout of a control system in a potato store is shown in Fig. 28. When any of the probes detects a temperature
pressure relief vent potato level internal motor, operated louvres. airflow ^ S s ^ external 5: 1 motor )
stuck temperature sensors duct temperature sensor safety thermostat to air distributing system
ambient temperature sensor ~7an
Fig. 28
Temperature control in a potato store (schematic)
Depth of crop = 3-5 m Reproduced by permission of the Electricity Council
rise above a preset level the associated controller monitors the ambient temperature. If the latter is cooler than the desired crop temperature by a preset amount (frequently, 2C) and above the frost setting, the fan is switched on and the louvres positioned to ventilate the crop with external air for a set time. Should the ambient air temperature fall outside the above limits the louvres are set to circulate the internal air. Internal circulation can also be initiated at set intervals, regardless of sensor readings, to even out crop conditions. The controller also logs fan running hours and it may log daily maximum, minimum and average temperatures, because supermarket buyers are now interested in recorded evidence of the regimes under which potatoes and other food crops have been stored. Potato grading in large packhouses, at up to 40 t/h, has provided another outlet for X-ray sorting of potatoes from stones and clods, as well as for microcomputer
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control of size and quality grading. During grading the position of each potato on the conveyor is fixed, so it is possible to determine its major dimensions by optical imaging and subsequently to channel it according to its size. The additional quality grading carried out by operators on the grading line can now be performed more rapidly with the aid of a sensor developed at the SIAE and generally known as the 'magic wand' [62]. With this in hand the operator taps any defective tuber as it passes along the line (Fig. 29a). The impact excites a
3.4.4 Future developments: The increasing use of electronic axle weighers and in-barn weighers will advance the integration of data collection on the materials passing into and out of the farm. Control of materials handling on larger farms should provide applications for programmable logic controllers of the latest type. Mathematical modelling of high temperature grain drying is developing steadily, through computer simulations. This may lead to new forms of microcomputerbased control, which will allow the farmer to select a particular mode of operation, such as maximum fuel efficiency or minimal damage risk to seed grain. If suitable LEDs can be developed, the NIR method of quality determination in grain (1600-2300 nm waveband [63]) and forage (1400-2400 nm band [64]), will become more suitable for onfarm monitoring of these crops. Equally, research into automatic detection of defects in potatoes (500-1900 nm band [65]) may lead to important improvements in the market quality of this crop.
Horticulture
Although the horticulture sector produces about 10% of UK farm output by value, from about 0.2 Mha of land (Table 2), it embraces a wide range of outdoor and indoor crops, often with individual cultural requirements. No single crop dominates this sector but it is worth noting that 2000 ha of greenhouses produces one fifth of horticultural output by value, and 400 ha of mushroom houses yield nearly half that amount. In fact, protected crops need to be discussed separately from field vegetables and fruit, which will be considered first. No section is devoted to 'ornamentals' (flowers, bulbs and shrubs) although these contribute nearly one fifth to the value of horticultural output. The electronics associated with their production is covered by the section on protected crops, however.
4.1 Field vegetables and fruit
Fig. 29
Crop grading installations
a Quality grading of potatoes with 'magic wand' Reproduced by permission of the SIAE b Automatic tomato grading line, showing individual conveyor cups (some in the foreground have swung downwards to release their contents). A colour grader is mounted over the line, in the background Reproduced by permission of Van Heyningen Brothers
piezoelectronic element, which causes the wand to transmit the position of the potato at that instant to the control circuit, by inductive coupling between the wand and a matrix of fixed coils beneath the conveyor. This primes a memory circuit which causes the potato to be rejected downstream. The system is also being used for egg handling, as already mentioned. A more elaborate quality grading system for potatoes uses a TV camera, mounted above the grading conveyor, to transmit a picture of the tubers to a TV monitor, where an operator (seated) taps the screen with a penshaped sensor wherever a defective potato appears. The sensor picks up the monitor's line scan at that instant, so pin-pointing its position on the conveyor. This is relayed to the controller, as before, and the potato is rejected downstream.
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About 2.5 Mt of field vegetables account for nearly one third of the value of horticultural produce [4]. These crops are normally grown on prime soil by intensive methods, involving irrigation when and where it is advantageous economically. Other operations specific to this intensive production include growing and transplanting of seedlings in compost blocks on a large scale. Although in decline over recent years, tree and bush fruit generate about one quarter of horticultural output by value, from about 50 kha of land. In comparison with arable farming, fruit production is still labour-intensive, like much of horticulture, and this has stimulated research on planting and training the trees and bushes in ways suitable for greater mechanisation. Whatever the prospects for electronics in outdoor horticulture, though, at present, it has only made a significant contribution in the post-harvest sphere of grading and storage. Automatic thinning of lettuce and brassicas seems unlikely to challenge transplanting. In the 1960s, a driverless tractor which followed buried, AC-energised leader cables [66] was used for routine spraying and grass mowing in orchards. It also offered potential labour saving in rowcrop production but it has not been developed further commercially. Robotic picking of ripe fruit from orchard trees is an active area of research at present, internationally [67, 68], but its application in the UK will depend on changes in cultural practice, men1EE PROCEEDINGS, Vol. 134, Pt. A, No. 6, JUNE 1987
tioned above, and on the future size and structure of the UK fruit sector. Outdoor irrigation in the UK depends very little on electronic instrumentation, too. Resistive and capacitative soil moisture sensors are available commercially but as their output depends on soil type and condition, as previously noted, they need careful management under field conditions. On the other hand, large fruit and vegetable packhouses now employ high speed, computer-based grading and packing lines particularly for the supermarkets (their major customers), who demand uniformity and high quality. Packaging to EEC average weight standards is normal. Automatic weighing on the grading line is based on conveyors consisting of rows of hinged cups, into which individual items of produce are fed singly (Fig. 29b). Each item is weighed when it reaches a load cell, which briefly bears the weight of the cup and its contents. This information is memorised by the computer and the item is discharged at the appropriate outlet, where it is packed with others of its grade. Quality grading is still often by eye and hand but in the case of tomatoes and some tree fruit high-speed colour grading is well established. Typically, a photoelectric unit views tomatoes from two sides and classifies them into two or three colour grades, covering colour ranges that can be modifeid to meet changing market requirements. The combined colour/weight grader in Fig. 29b can process 120000 tomatoes/h. Storage is the other main area for electronic instrumentation and control in this sector, as mentioned earlier. Short- and long-term storage may be used for fruit and vegetables. In the short term, the product is held for possibly two or three days, in a ventilated enclosure at near 0C and 95% RH or higher, until it can be transported to the retailer or food processor. This form of storage is now increasingly concerned with the 'cool' (or 'cold') chain which starts with hydro- or vacuum-cooling immediately after harvesting and leads on through storage and refrigerated transport to the supermarket. This low-temperature chain minimises all forms of deterioration of the produce, including water loss. However, up to now, conventional refrigeration instruments and controls have been used in these operations: electronics applications have been reserved for the long-term storage of onions, root crops and fruit. The requirement is to achieve temperatures and humidities appropriate to the crop. For example, onions need to be stored at about 0C and 70-80% RH [69]. The operation of an onion store is similar to that shown in Fig. 28 but onions, like grain, need a preliminary drying stage, with air at 70-75% RH, and heated, if necessary. Electronic thermometers and hygrometers are used, as in grain drying and storage. The market requirement for maintenance of quality over storage periods up to six months led to the introduction of gas-tight controlled atmosphere (CA) stores for apples [70]. In these stores the CO2 level is high (1% or greater) and the oxygen level low (1-3%). Temperature is held at about 5C and RH is maintained around 95%, to avoid serious evaporative loss from the crop but without risking condensation on the fruit, which could lead to fungal or bacteriological damage. Also, if the oxygen level becomes too low ethanol can be generated by the crop, which becomes worthless. Clearly, close control of the environment is necessary. Fortunately, with the high-value crops concerned, CA storage can bear the cost of standard industrial gas analysers for oxygen and CO 2 , together with central monitoring and control by a computer.
4.2 Protected crops
The heated glasshouse represents another high-capital investment. Running costs are considerable, too; the major inputs are heating (usually by oil) and labour. Growers in this sector also face intense competition from overseas producers. Inevitably, they seek greater efficiency, products of higher and more uniform quality, and improved timing of their production, to maximise their market returns. Therefore, greenhouses (glass or plastic clad) are designed for maximum light transmission, although this makes them costly to heat. Also, when automatic control of heating and ventilation is used, this must maintain close control of the aerial environment, despite changes in external air temperature, wind velocity and solar radiation. To meet the needs of tomato growers, in particular, who require temperature control to 0.5C in the 15-25C range, P + I environmental controllers were adopted in the early 1960s. Control was (and still is) based on measurement of air temperature by sensors placed in aspirated screens, to protect them from solar radiation and consequent error [71]. Humidistats (hair type) were also introduced, to open the ridge ventilators when the internal RH reached an upper level considered to bring risk of plant disease (around 80%). External meteorological instruments were also needed to over-ride the normal ventilator control in conditions of strong wind or rain. Also in the 1960s, 3-fold enrichment of aerial CO 2 (i.e., to about 0.1%) was first used in the UK to increase photosynthesis at high light levels for lettuce, particularly. Infra-red gas analysers found early application to crop production in this way [72]. Then increased oil prices in the 1970s led to the development of 'thermal screens', made of film plastic and drawn over and around the crop at night, to achieve energy savings of 30% and more. These were akin to the photoperiod covers already used by flower growers to control the date offloweringof some plants. In the plant root zone closed loop control of watering has been based on the electrical probes previously mentioned, or on a tensiometer a sealed, water-filled tube with a porous ceramic tip, through which water is withdrawn as the surrounding soil dries, to create a measurable vacuum [73]. Nutrient levels in watering systems are monitored and controlled through electrical conductivity and pH meters of normal industrial pattern. This form of control is essential when the grower uses the nutrient film or culture technique (NFT or NFC) [74] a form of hydroponics in which plant roots are placed in gently sloping (about 1) plastic channels, along which a shallow stream of nutrient liquid flows (Figs. 30a and b). Conductivity is typically maintained in the 2-3 mS region (cell K = 1) and pH between 6.5 and 7, by the addition of mixed nutrient solution and phosphoric or nitric acid, respectively. Other forms of instrumentation are required in the heated greenhouse, to provide the grower with information helpful to efficient management. Apart from the meteorological data produced by the instruments already mentioned, heat input and water use in each house should be monitored, as should the efficiency of the boiler installation. The heat input provided by the commonly used piped hot-water system can be determined by measuring the flow/return temperature difference in the pipe circuit, multiplying this by the circulation rate and integrating the product electronically. The temperature difference is rarely as much as 10C, however, and the water often contains contaminants, including magnetic
489
Fig. 30
Greenhouse crop production
a Nutrient Film Technique. Young plants set out in plastic channels b NFT installation (schematic) c Integrated computer model systems (schematic) (i) central monitoring and control (ii) distributed monitoring and control Reproduced by permission of the NIAE
other greenhouses
sensors meteorological sensors

air ternp. pH conductivity
actuators
steam valve vent motors acid pump salts pump
A/D convertor relay unit
memory
processor floppy disk data store 1st unit VDU and keyboard analogue central to digital processor convertor (CPU) digital output to memory actuators printer
(i) (ii)
up to 48 sensors and actuators
up to 30 other units
data store minicomputer host
2 wire
u p t o 3km
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1EE PROCEEDINGS, Vol. 134, Pt. A, No. 6, JUNE 1987
particles, therefore orifice plate or venturi flow sensors are preferred and resistance thermometers accurate to 0.1C are essential. Then, given precise integration, an overall accuracy of 4% is possible [75]. Monitoring and control of heated greenhouses grew piecemeal, inevitably, until the late 1970s, when computer control, developed in The Netherlands, began to appear in the UK. Fig. 30c shows, schematically, a central monitoring and control system for a house with NFC, together with the distributed processing system, using a central host computer, which is now favoured in the UK [76]. These systems can manage all of the functions mentioned so far, as well as control of supplementary lighting, where this is used. At the same time the grower acquires summarised data on weather conditions, aerial and root zone environments attained in the house, and the consumption of fuel, water and CO2
4.3 Future developments
Automatic grading of fruit and vegetables can be expected to develop, bringing in image analysis for detection of abnormal shapes and other visible defects, or for more complex colour sorting. This will be equally applicable to robotic harvesting, if required. CA storage will make use of any reliable, low-cost sensors that become available for oxygen, CO2 and ethanol measurement. In the field, sensors for continuous monitoring of soil moisture on machines will be valuable for depth control in drilling and transplanting, as well as for irrigation control. In the protected crops sector, control of NFC solutions would be improved by the introduction of reliable ion-specific sensors, to measure major constituents potash (300 parts in 106); calcium and nitrogen (200 parts in 106); magnesium (40-50 parts in 106); soluble phosphate (30-40 parts in 106) and others, such as iron (10 parts in 106). Greenhouse controllers may have to accommodate inputs from heat pumps, wind generators and other energy sources, in addition to oil and coal-fired boilers. At a deeper level, research on computer control of greenhouses is looking beyond P 4-1 algorithms to those based on statistical time series analysis of the environment obtained in changing weather conditions, and to expert systems based on decisions made by growers. One major crop mushrooms provides opportunities to improve production through more accurate environmental control, in the way that tomato production has benefited over the past 40 years. Mushroom production proceeds in four stages, from initial pasteurisation of the compost, through incorporation of the spawn, subsequent spawn 'running' and on to a final, 2-phase growing stage. At each step there are temperature constraints and in all but the first there are RH and CO2 limits. Ammonia levels are important at the first stage. However, the initial requirement as was the case in tomato production is for research on engineering of the environment, on a broad front. 5 Conclusion
equipment, rather than considerations of accuracy, continue to determine the rate at which farmers and growers adopt this technology, but some capital-intensive enterprises already invest heavily in electronic equipment. A measure of standardisation in farm electronics will be needed as the market increases and is beginning to take shape. The equipment in present use emerged from interactions between progressive farmers and growers, the agricultural engineering industry and multidisciplinary research groups over the past decade and more. This time scale is largely dictated by the nature of farming itself, with its many variables and often harsh environment. The farm electronics of the 1990s will be determined by present, multidisciplinary research and development, in which electrical and electronic engineers have a crucial part to play. This research and development is concentrated first on the development or application of sensors either for new forms of onfarm measurement or to perform existing measurements at lower cost. Second, the increasing power of microcomputers is being exploited to produce integrated monitoring and control systems, and to develop robotics and expert systems for agriculture and horticulture.
References
Electronics has established its potential in UK agriculture and horticulture, through onfarm monitoring of operational variables, data processing and automatic control, leading to the amelioration of working conditions, improvements in efficiency, and preservation of food quality. The cost and reliability of electronic
1 BAYETTO, R.A., PATERSON, H., and WAKEFORD, P.O.: 'Electricity in agriculture' Proc. IEE, 1974,121, (11R), pp. 1249-1272 2 UK Government Statistical Service: 'Agricultural Statistics, United Kingdom, 1984' (HMSO, 1986) 3 UK Government Statistical Service: 'Output and utilisation of farm produce in the United Kingdom, 1978 to 1984' (HMSO, 1985) 4 Central Statistical Office: 'Annual abstract of statistics number 122' (HMSO, 1986) 5 SAINSBURY, D.: 'Poultry health and management' (Collins Professional and Technical Books, London, 1980) 6 TURNER, M.J.B., GURNEY, P., CROWTHER, J.S.W., and SHARP, J.R.: 'An automatic weighing system for poultry' J. Agric. Eng. Res., 1984, 29, pp. 17-24 7 RANDALL, J.M.: 'A handbook on the design of a ventilation system for livestock buildings using step control and automatic vents'. Report 28, NIAE, Silsoe, Beds., UK 8 LUNDY, H.: 'The fertility and hatchability of the hen's egg'. UK Eggs Marketing Board, 1969 9 RANDALL, J.M.: improvements in animal welfare', Agric. Eng., 1986, 41, pp. 84-90 10 WHITTEMORE, C.T.: 'Pig production: the scientific and practical principles' (Longman, 1980) 11 SMITH, R.A., and TURNER, M.J.B.: 'Electronic aids for use in fatstock weighing', J. Agric. Eng. Res., 1974, 19, pp. 299-311 12 TURNER, M.J.B., and COX, S.W.R.: 'Automatic weighing of livestock'. Proceedings of National Conference on Agricultural electronics applications, Chicago, IL, USA, Dec. 1983, Publication 9-84, ASAE, St. Joseph, MI, USA, 1984, pp. 563-570 13 'The Terrington integrated piggery. Advances in ventilation, feeding equipment and slurry treatment a joint NIAE/ADAS project'. Report 42, NIAE, Silsoe, Beds., UK, 1983 14 BRUCE, J.M., and CLARK, J.J.: 'Models of heat production and critical temperature for growing pigs'. Animal Prod., 1979, 28, pp. 353-369. 15 BOON, C.R.: 'The control of climatic environment for finishing pigs', J. Agric. Eng. Res., 1984, 29, pp. 295-303 16 JOHNSON, E.K., HINES, R.L., ALSMEYER, R.H., CAMPBELL, E.L., PLATT, W.T., WEBB, J.C.: 'Ultrasonic pulse-echo measurement of livestock physical composition' Trans. Am. Soc. Agric. Eng., 1964, 7, pp. 246-249 17 LINDAHL, I.L.: 'Detection of pregnancy in sheep by means of ultrasound', Nature, 1966, 212, pp. 642-643 18 PAIN, B.F., HEPHERD, R.Q. (Eds.): 'Anaerobic digestion of farm wastes'. Technical bulletin 7, NIRD, Shinfield, 1985 19 PHILLIPS, V.R.: 'Engineering problems in the breakdown of animal wastes by earthworms'. Proceedings of International Conference on Earthworms in waste and environmental management, Cambridge, UK, July 1984 (NIAE, Silsoe, 1984) 491
20 'The determination of foetal numbers in pregnant ewes', AFRC News, Winter 1983/84 (AFRC, London) 21 BEACH, A.D., TUCK, D.L., and TWIZELL, R.J.: 'Ultrasonic equipment for the measurement of backfat on unshorn live sheep' Ultrasonics, July 1983, pp. 184-187 22 MILES, C.A., FURSEY, G.A.J., and POMEROY, R.W.: 'Ultrasonic evaluation of cattle' Animal Prod., 1983,36, pp. 363-370 23 RUSSEL, A., and WRIGHT, I.: 'Scanning: an aid to management in suckler herds' in 'Science and quality in beef production' (AFRC, London, May 1986), pp. 22-23 24 The Federation of United Kingdom Milk Marketing Boards: 'Dairy facts and figures' (Milk Marketing Board, Thames Ditton, 1985) 25 UK Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food: 'Silage'. Bulletin 37 (HMSO, 1977) 26 PUCKETT, H.B.: 'Automatic livestock feed preparation and distribution in the United States'. CIGR 2nd International Conference on Applications of electricity in agriculture, Silsoe, Beds., UK, April, 1968 (CIGR, Paris) 27 TURNER, M.J.B.: 'Conveyor feeding of cattle'. Report 34, NIAE, Silsoe, Beds., UK, 1980 28 DAWSON, J.R., HOOPER, A.W., AMBLER, B.: 'A continuous weigher for agricultural use' J. Agric. Eng. Res., 1976, 21, pp. 389-397 29 BRUCE, D.M., SMITH, R.A., MEEKS, I.R.: 'Mobile feeding equipment a weighing unit with auto-taring and batching facilities', ibid., 1980, 25, pp. 155-160 30 'ADAS Farm business management: computing in the farm office. 3 Dairy management'. Booklet B2453, UK Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, Alnwick, Northumbs, UK, 1983 31 BRETH, F.E.: 'World's most modern dairy goes electronic', Dairy Farmer, January 1968, pp. 22-25 32 STREET, M.J.: 'A pulse-code modulation system for automatic animal identification' J. Agric. Eng. Res., 1979, 24, pp. 249-258 33 BURGESS, A.D.: 'Control, data recording and retrieval techniques' Occasional Note 2, The mechanisation and automation of cattle production, British Society of Animal Production, Reading, UK, 1980, pp. 183-190 34 'Opening the door to flowmeters', Milk Prod., 1980, 27, (6), pp. 16-17 35 FILBY, D.E., TURNER, M.J.B., and STREET, M.J.: 'A walkthrough weigher for dairy cows', J. Agric. Eng. Res., 1979, 24, pp. 67-78 36 PUCKETT, H.B., FERNANDO, R.S., SPAHR, S.L., and RODDA, E.D.: 'A system for analysis of milk production and conductivity data in real time'. Proceedings of National Conference on Agricultural electronics applications, Chicago, IL, USA, Dec. 1983, Publication 9-84, ASAE, St. Joseph, MI, USA, 1984, pp. 508-516 37 ROSSING, W., IPEMA, A.H., KERKHOF, J.A., PLUYGERS, H.G., GARSEN, G.E., and MAATJE, K.: 'Microelectronics in dairy herd management'. Proceedings of National Conference on Agricultural electronics applications, Chicago, IL, USA, Dec. 1983, Publication 9-84, ASAE, St. Joseph, MI, USA, 1984, pp. 606-613 38 HURST, M.: 'The analysis of milk in England and Wales for quality payment'. Proceedings of International Symposium on Farm electronics and computing, RASE, Stoneleigh, Warks., UK, Oct. 1985, pp. 159-167 39 O R D O L F F , D.: 'Investigations on a system for automatic teat cup attaching'. Proceedings of National Conference on Agricultural electronics applications, Chicago, IL, USA, Dec. 1983, Publication 9-84, ASAE, St. Joseph, MI, USA, 1984, pp. 501-507 40 HOBBS, J., and HESSE, H.: 'Electronic/hydraulic hitch control for agricultural tractors'. SAE Technical Paper Series, 801018, Society of Automotive Engineers, Inc., Warrendale, PA, USA, 1980 41 RICHARDSON, N.A., LANNING, R.L., KOPP, K.A., and CARNEGIE, E.J.: 'Getting a true measure of groundspeed', Agric. Eng., 1984, 65, (6), pp. 14-20 42 SPENCER, H.B., OWEN, G.M., and GREENHILL, A.L.: 'A microprocessor-based safe descent slope meter', J. Agric. Eng. Res.,, 1983, 28, pp. 269-272 43 COX, S.W.R., and McLEAN, K.A.: 'Electrochemical thinning of sugar beet', ibid., 1969,14, pp. 332-343 44 MARCHANT, J.A., and FROST, A.R.: 'Spray boom attitude control'. Proceedings of Agrimation 1 Conference, Chicago, IL, USA, Feb. 1985, ASAE, St. Joseph, MI, USA, 45 'Sprayer developments', Power Farming, 1986,65, (2), p. 137 46 MATHIESON, I.: 'Monitoring soil moisture content for irrigation scheduling', Soil & Water, 1986,14, (2), pp. 15-16 47 BOHMAN, C.E., STIEFVATER, T.L.: 'Electronic metal detection for forage harvesters' in 'Grain and forage harvesting'. Publication 1-78, ASAE, St. Joseph, MI, USA, 1978, pp. 270-273 48 KLINNER, W.E.: 'Towards more efficient machines for harvesting grass' Dairy Science Now, Sept. 1984, pp. 20-21 (AFRC, London) 49 PALMER, J., KITCHENMAN, A.W., MOORE, A.B., and OWEN, 492
50 51
52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60
61 62 63
64 65 66 67
68
69 70 71 72 73 74 75 76
G.M.: 'Adaptation of a commercial potato harvester to a commercial X-ray separator', J. Agric. Eng. Res., 1973, 18, pp. 355-367 'Driverless farm tractors' JIEE, Oct. 1959, 5, pp. 584-586 HARRIES, G.O., and AMBLER, B.: 'Automatic ploughing: a tractor guidance system using opto-electronic remote sensing techniques and a microprocessor-based controller', J. Agric. Eng. Res., 1981, 26, pp. 33-53 TALAMO, J.D.C., and PEACHEY, R.O.: 'Active noise control for tractor cabs?'. Proceedings of CIGR/IAAMRH/IUFRO Ergonomics Symposium, NIAE, 1985 HOOPER, A.W., and AMBLER, B.: 'A combine harvester discharge meter', J. Agric. Eng. Res., 1979, 24, pp. 1-10 ADAS: 'Grain storage methods. Grain drying and storage No. 1'. Booklet 2415, UK Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, Alnwick, Northumb., 1982 ADAS: 'Bulk grain driers. Grain drying and storage No. 2'. Booklet 2416, UK Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, Alnwick, Northumb., 1982 ADAS: 'Managing bulk grain driers'. Booklet 2447, UK Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, Alnwick, Northumb., 1984 ADAS: 'Measuring grain moisture content. Grain drying and storage No. 4'. Booklet 2418, UK Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, Alnwick, Northumb., 1985 MATTHEWS, J.: 'The design of an electrical capacitance-type moisture meter for agricultural use', J. Agric. Eng. Res., 1963, 8, pp. 17-30 MATTHEWS, J.: 'Automatic moisture content control for grain driers', ibid., 1963, 8, pp. 207-220 BOWMAN, G.E.: 'The NIAE moisture meter'. Proceedings of National Conference on Agricultural electronics applications, Chicago, IL, USA, Dec. 1983, Publication 9-84, ASAE, St. Joseph, MI, USA, 1984, pp. 787-794 'Vegetable conditioning and storage potatoes'. Technical Information AGR 8-1, The Electricity Council, Farm Electric Centre, Stoneleigh, Warks., UK, 1985 CARLOW, C.A.: 'An instructive rejection system for quality grading of potatoes and other produce', J. Agric. Eng. Res., 1983, 28, pp. 373-383 OSBORNE, B.G., BARRETT, G.M., CAUVAIN, S.P., and FEARN, T.: 'The determination of protein, fat and moisture in bread by near infrared reflectance spectroscopy', J. Sci. Food Agric, 1984,35, pp. 940-945 NORRIS, K.H., BARNES, R.F., MOORE, J.E., and SHENK, J.S.: 'Predicting forage quality by infrared reflectance spectroscopy', J. Animal Sci., 1976, 43, pp. 889-897 MUIR, A.Y., PORTEUS, R.L., and WASTIE, R.L.: 'Experiments in the detection of incipient diseases in potato tubers by optical methods', J. Agric. Eng. Res., 1982, 27, pp. 131-138 FINN-KELCEY, P., and OWEN, V.M.: 'Leader cable tractor guidance'. Proceedings of Agricultural engineering Symposium, Silsoe, Beds., UK, Sept. 1967, 2/1345/18 PEJSA, J.H., and ORROCK, J.E.: 'Intelligent robot systems: potential agricultural applications', Proceedings of 1st International Conference on Robotics and intelligent machines in agriculture, Tampa, FL, USA, Oct. 1983, Publication 4-84, ASAE, St. Joseph, MI, USA, 1984, pp.104-111 GRAND D'ESNON, A.: 'Robotic harvesting of apples'. Proceedings of 1st International Conference on Robotics and intelligent machines in agriculture, Tampa, FL, USA, Oct. 1983, Publication 4-84, ASAE, St. Joseph, MI, USA, 1984, pp. 112-113 'Vegetable conditioning and storage onions'. Technical Information AGR 8-2, The Electricity Council, Farm Electric Centre, Stoneleigh, Warks., UK, 1981 SHARPLES, R., and JAMESON, J.: 'Computerised atmosphere control in apple stores', Fruit, Veg. & Science., Feb. 1984, (AFRC, London) WINSPEAR, K.W.: 'Automation and control in glasshouses', Ada Hon., 1965, 2, pp. 61-71 HAND, D.W., and BOWMAN, G.E.: 'Carbon dioxide assimilation measurement in a controlled environment glasshouse'. J. Agric. Eng. Res., 1969,14, pp. 92-99 BEBB, D.: 'Controlling water supply', The Grower, 1981, 95, pp. 37-42 WINSOR, G.W., HURD, R.G., and PRICE, D. 'Nutrient Film Technique' Grower's Bulletin 5, Glasshouse Crops Research Institute, Littlehampton, Sussex, UK, 1979 BAILEY, B.J.: 'Measuring glasshouse heat inputs', The Grower, 1975,83, pp. 69-70 SANGER, T.R.: 'Measurement and control of temperature, humidity and carbon dioxide concentrations in greenhouses'. Proceedings of International Symposium on Farm electronics and computing, RASE, Stoneleigh, Warks., UK, Oct. 1985, pp. 269-287 IEE PROCEEDINGS, Vol. 134, Pt. A, No. 6, JUNE 1987

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IEE REVIEW

Electronics in UK agriculture and horticulture

Table 2: Quantity and value of UK farm produce, 1984[2-4]

Broiler house with feed conveyors

Reproduced by permission of the NIAE

0.450 age of crop, days c Automatic weighing of poultry

IEE PROCEEDINGS, Vol. 134, Pt. A, No. 6, JUNE 1987

fans switched in groups

electric motor for vents

vent position SWI tches

8 12 16 ventilation rate, rrf/s c

Semi-automatic pig weighing

management information environment animal performance

inlet vent control maintains air flow pattern

Fig. 6 Lower critical temperature (schematic) Reproduced by permission of the NIAE

control of pig environment

2.5 Dairy cattle

Semi-automatic weighing of beef cattle

weigher . \ number 3 belt

conveyor <=>- tumbler j=|-feeder

Automatically controlled bulk feeding of cattle, by conveyor

IEE PROCEEDINGS, Vol. 134, Pt. A, No. 6, JUNE 1987

Controlled bulk feeding of cattle by feeder wagon

Individual feeding of dairy cows with concentrates

energising and receiving equipment oscillator 58kHz

I energisation amplifier r reception coil

identity number to processor

serial communications decoder

pulse code modulated RFsignal radio receiver

906 Hz clock JUITUUIJ1

t1st word-42nd word\ -complete frame V level

stop stop bit bit

LSB 0 ' 0 ' level c

Automatic identification of cows

feeder unit feed processor

walk through weigher f / / /

aerial manger coil

keyboard and display

identification transponder aerial weigher identification

I strain gauge ' I ' beam

parlour control processor

radio receiver identification processor

I shared memory I office

Reproduced by permission of the NIAE

Automatic milk yield recording

IEE PROCEEDINGS, Vol. 134, Pt. A, No. 6, JUNE 1987

load cell output

0 Fig. 16 Automatic weighing of dairy cows

Arable crop and grassland production

brake pedal switch function select switches

digital display slope in degrees

stabilised power supply

(i) Fig. 19 Tramlining aid (schematic)

speed sensor magnetic (radar)

(ii) Fig. 20 Crop spraying instrumentation and control

lower feed roll

amplifier noise filter threshold detector Jeed roll "solenoid

object rejection flap glass fibre hood crop chute

Combine harvester instrumentation

metal detecting coils

high-speed pick-up with plastic elements

crop feed system

Foreign body detection on forage harvester pick-ups