A Farm Fit for the 21st Century – How to Save Time and Money Thanks to Technology
Agriculture is a profession that is nearly 10,000 years old.
For centuries, our ancestors worked in the fields equipped with simple tools, relying on the strength of their own muscles and the endurance of animals. In the second half of the 20th century, combustion-powered machines took over the landscape of the Polish countryside – tractors, harvesters and agricultural vehicles became widespread.
Today, with the development of automation, the way farms are run is changing. After all, modernity is not only about unmanned space flights and electric cars.
Let’s take a look at how modern technology can improve the operation of your farm. Here is a list of five devices.
1. Screw Conveyors – Simple Automation
Screw conveyor, also known as a trough conveyor, is a device designed to transport bulk materials, most often within a simple production line. Its operation is based on the rotation of a characteristic spiral screw, from which the conveyor takes its name. This element, called the transport screw, forms a kind of concave channel filled with the conveyed material. It can rotate faster or slower, thereby regulating throughput. The entire mechanism is extremely simple and therefore reliable.
Thanks to their simplicity and reliability, screw conveyors are used in silos, feed mills, and irrigation systems.
They are also suitable for processing plants and sawmills. They enable precise dosing of materials and ensure their even transport over short distances. Their advantages include the ability to operate in difficult conditions and easy adjustment of transport speed, which makes them versatile devices in agricultural production processes.
2. Grain Crushers – Better Feed Quality
Grain crushers are agricultural machines used to crush cereal grains, improving their digestibility and absorption by animals.
It is a relatively simple, mobile and fairly compact device. It consists of a hopper – feeder, a crushing mechanism in the form of steel rollers with grooves, and an outlet. The entire structure stands on four adjustable legs. Some crushers are also equipped with a magnetic separator that captures unwanted metal particles that may have entered the grain.
Crushing the grain breaks the husk and facilitates access to starch and proteins. This simple processing increases the digestibility of grain by animals by 20 percent compared to uncrushed grain – resulting in greater weight gain in livestock.
In agriculture, crushers are mainly used in feed plants, feed mills and livestock farms.
It is a very cost-effective solution for farms engaged in both crop cultivation and animal breeding. In such a setup, independent production of high-quality feed guarantees full control and independence.
Crushers are efficient and productive, enabling the production of high-quality feed in large quantities both for own use and for sale.
However, it is worth remembering that appropriate permits are required to trade feed.
3. Briquetting Machine – Cheap Energy from Waste
Every farm generates a certain amount of natural-origin waste, the so-called biomass. An alternative to composting or other forms of disposal of such residues is the production of ecological biomass fuels.
For this purpose, we will need a briquetting machine.
Briquette production involves generating high pressure inside the briquetting machine, which binds material particles together, forming durable, easy-to-store and easy-to-transport fuel briquettes.
The finished fuel most often takes the form of small rectangular blocks.
Materials suitable for briquette production include: sawdust, straw, leaves, grass, sawmill waste, cereal husks, plant stems, unused processing residues of plants, fruits or vegetables.
Briquettes are a fuel with a wide range of applications when it comes to combustion devices. They achieve the highest efficiency in stoves adapted for biomass, but they can also be used without problems in universal boilers, coal stoves with air supply regulation, and industrial boilers. Although less frequently, they can also be burned in fireplaces or so-called “goat” stoves. The energy efficiency of high-quality briquettes reaches up to 19 MJ/kg.
A device similar to a briquetting machine but somewhat more specialized is a pellet machine. On farms generating wood-based waste, it may be an even more profitable solution.
To learn more about this device, click here – everything about pellet machines.
4. Grain Aerator – Safe Storage of Crops
Loss-free storage of harvests can be a challenge, considering the number of parasites lurking around stored crops.
It is even believed that many centuries ago farmers domesticated cats precisely for this purpose.
However, pests far more dangerous to stored grain than mice – which are no longer a major problem today – are fungi and molds. Their breeding ground is, among other things, moisture. This is where the aerator comes into action.
It is a device used to aerate grain during storage. It works by blowing air into silos or other containers where crops are stored. In this way, the development of fungi and molds is prevented.
Grain aerators are equipped with ventilation systems that distribute air evenly, ensuring optimal storage conditions. As a result, the grain does not overheat, rot, or ferment, which could lead to loss of nutritional value and quality.
5. Wood Chipper – Helps Maintain Order
Wood chipper is a device used to shred branches, trunks and other wood waste into smaller pieces, chips or shavings. Wood chippers are used to clear areas of branches after pruning trees and shrubs or after logging. Shredded wood can be used as animal bedding, composting material, or as fuel for biomass stoves. Wood shavings are also an ideal base for the production of pellets and briquettes.
Wood chippers help maintain order on the farm and increase the efficiency of organic waste management. They are available in various versions, from small manual models to larger machines requiring engine drive.
Summary
The use of high-quality agricultural machinery increases the quality of the final product and allows you to save time and money. The use of specialized machines also enables reuse and minimization of waste of many raw materials.
In the case of many devices, what may seem like a one-time expense can prove to be a profitable investment in the long term.
