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Published by Programme B
Farming is one of the oldest and most important human activities that civilization can not live without. The activity started with some very basic methods many years ago when man probably did not know the science behind growing plants. Now that science and technology are at such a high, it was sure to have had an influence on farming. The prehistoric tools and methods now developed into machines with cutting-edge technology increase hybrid corn yield to speed up and replace manual labor. Different processes around the farm now require less than half the time it used to take than before. Most of these developments came due to the rising demand for food grains. The industrial age saw a boom in population all over the world. Scientists and researchers scrambled to make farming a fast process. A modern-day farm now requires multiple machines and modern tools which are considered essential to have on a farm. Let’s have a look at them.
Combine Harvester
A combine harvester is probably the largest machine you would witness on a farm and also a very useful one. A combine harvester is an important invention as it helps to combine 3 essential parts of farming during the harvest season which are reaping, threshing, and winnowing.
Reaping
Reaping is the process of plucking the crop from the soil when it is ready. This was tedious labor work before the combine was invented. After the invention, the combine helped replace manual labor which had to first work in the burning sun for hours.
Threshing
Threshing is the process that comes after reaping. When the crop is removed from the soil, the food grain needs to be loosened from the chaff. This job was again very laborious and used to consume most of the time of labor. They used to spend hours on threshing before we mechanized the process with a combine.
Winnowing
Even though the combination uses new technology the method of winnowing is quite ancient. It helps to completely separate the food grain from the straw. The procedure is quite simple. Since the grain is heavier than the chaff, wind helps to blow away the chaff and the grain falls down ready to be collected. Even though this method was not all that laborious in the beginning, the combination has helped speed up the process nonetheless.
Tractor/UTV
A tractor or a utility vehicle is quite essential on a farm to carry out various jobs all around it, pulling or carrying a heavy load from the field to a shed can be easily done. A tractor can be equipped with multiple tools like plows, rakes, sickles, and more. They have a big engine and use a lot of fuel so people usually strap diesel tanks to keep it running for long hours on the field. To learn more about the fuel holding capacity and safety parameters you can search for Poly Diesel Tanks Portable Fuel Tanks | Poly Fuel Tanks on the internet. Due to its wide range of utilities, a tractor or a UTV is quite essential to have on a farm. Health and safety is of course crucial, so tractor safety is an increasingly important topic. You will need to check the vehicle regularly, keep it well maintained, and be fully aware of how to operate it safely.
Sprayers/Sprinklers
Sprayers are a common sight on any farm nowadays especially since the use of pesticides peaked. Pesticides that come in the liquid form need to be spread evenly over the field to achieve the desired effect. Similarly, herbicides, a range of which can be found at farmer coop shops, also need to be sprayed evenly over plants and soil. Sprayers reduce wastage and increase efficiency. They can be worn as a backpack, can be attached to a vehicle, or can simply be handheld like a briefcase.
Seed drills
A seed drill is a machine that replaces human effort in sowing seeds for crops. The objective of a seed drill is not only to reduce human effort but also to increase productivity. A seed drill is a machine and obviously shows much more precision while drilling holes and covering it in the desired depth with soil. The seeds are evenly spaced every time and the depth is never off the mark. This makes sure that no two crops grow too close to each other because if that happens then neither crop will be able to get full nutrition.
Cultivator
A cultivator is a much more advanced form of harrow. Its main job is to till the soil but it does so in a very specific pattern. Cultivators are used before seeding to get the soil aerated and to get rid of the weeds as well as when the crop has grown. Modern-day cultivators are so advanced that they can till the soil while getting rid of the weeds without damaging a grown crop. There are many types of cultivators and they come with different attachment options depending on the type of soil and the specific functions a farmer desires.
Broadcast seeder
There are some seeds that can simply be dropped and don’t need to be drilled. A broadcast spreader or a broadcast seeder evenly drops the seeds using a mechanism that allows for a perfect spread of seeds. This mechanism prevents the formation of large clusters of crops that don’t tend to grow properly. Crops that are grown using a broadcast seeder show almost 45% improvement in yield.
Truck
All the yield of harvest needs to be transported to markets and distributors for sale. You need to transport large quantities and for that, you need a farm truck. A lot of waste products of the farm like straws and crop leftovers need to be disposed of in far-off dumping grounds. Using smaller vehicles is not economical. There are of course other uses of a truck on a farm like carrying large amounts of manure and so on. Truck sizes are also dependent on the type of farming that you do and the amount of produce.
The gifts of science and technology can be seen everywhere in the world and some vital human activities have been blessed with its inventions. The process of farming required a much-needed boost due to the alarming growth of the population all over the world. Thanks to the new inventions of machines and mechanisms, farming has been able to match the supply to the demand. They have also greatly reduced manual labor and made farming a much easier process
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