1. Off-Road Equipment Management TSM 262: Spring 2016
LECTURE 2: Problem Solving
and Unit Factor System
Off-Road Equipment Engineering
Dept of Agricultural and Biological Engineering

2. Homework and Lab

3. Class Objectives Students should be able to:
Understand what is meant by precision agriculture
Understand and apply problem solving methodologies
Apply the unit factor system in solving a problem

4. Precision Agriculture
World’s first farmers planted & fertilized each seed by hand
With today’s large scale agriculture, individual treatment of each plant impossible without new technologies - PRECISION AGRICULTURE
Condition driving adoption of precision farming - spatial variability

6. Variability Variability over distance, depth and time
Spatial variability is variation in measured crop & soil characteristics over distance & depth found in all farm fields
Variability in
soil fertility
moisture content
soil texture
topography
plant vigor
pest population
weed population
Variability over distance, depth and time

7. Economics
Most important factor affecting transition from whole-field to site-specific crop management
Potential for:
Greater yields with same level of inputs, simply redistributed
Same yields with reduced inputs
Greater yields and reduced inputs
Environmental stewardship
Energy and resources conservation
Efficiency

8. Aspects of Machinery Management
Selection of operations, equipment to use
Tillage
Planting
Pest Control
Harvesting
Environmental impact
Timing of operations

9. Aspects of Machinery Management
Equipment operation and related costs
Productivity and quality of an operation
Energy consumption
Machinery service, repair, maintenance procedures, costs, and time to replacement

10. Crop Production Costs Dominated Machinery optimization Land cost
Machinery cost
Machinery optimization
Considers a producer’s specific machinery, fields, and operational strategies
Requires computers for solution

11. Problem Solving Methodology
General rules apply to solution of any problem
Define the problem
Generate alternative solutions to that problem
Decide which alternative to choose
Implement the solution
Evaluate the solution

12. Problem Solving: TSM 262
Read the given information and write an abbreviated description
Determine what is required
Identify data pertinent to the solution
State assumptions
Make a unit analysis
Perform calculations

13. Unit Factors Ratio with a value of one. 60 s/1 mile or 5280 ft/1 mile
Given: A tractor travels 100 meters in 40 seconds
Required: Determine speed in km/h and miles/h
Solution: Simple problem of converting units

14. Unit Factors: Class problem
Convert 200 bu/ac corn to Mg/ha
How many lb per bushel corn?
How many acres per hectare?
How many lb per kg?

15. Unit Factors: Class problem
A combine harvester with a 12-row corn head (30” spacing) travels 45 m in 40 seconds. Determine speed in km/h and miles/h and area covered in ha/h and acres/h

16. Unit Factors: Class problem
Given:
Combine fitted with 12-row corn head with 30” spacing
Combine travels 45 meters in 40 seconds
Required:
Determine speed in km/h and miles/h
Determine area covered in ha/h and ac/h

17. Unit Factors: Class problem
Solution:

18. Unit Factors: Class problem
Solution: