Agriculture has benefited considerably from the wide-scale use of tractors and associated implements. Tractors have developed along two, at times contradictory, design paths. The first of these has resulted in functional improvements to the vehicle, making it capable of im proved performance in the often harsh environmental conditions in which it is required to operate. For example, agricultural tires have improved the versatility of tractors by allowing them to operate at relatively high speeds on a variety of terrains, and hydraulics have provided for flexibility in controlling and operating implements. It can also be seen that these particular functional design improvements have contributed significantly to the second design pathway, that of ergon omics, and the human-machine interface. Recent stress on the working environment for the tractor operator has led to design improvements relative to tractor cabs, the placement and labeling of controls, etc. This text discusses those factors relevant to the design, selection, and operation of tractor-implement systems. The audience for which it is intended is undergraduate and graduate students of agricultural engineering studying power and machinery. However, the text is suf ficiently applied to have relevance for those extension personnel in volved with advising farmers on the selection and operation of tractor implement combinations. The tractor cannot be regarded in isolation from the implement, nor from the environment in which both the tractor and implement are ix x Preface working.

Get the whole story behind the most popular farm implement sytem of all time, beginning with Henry Ford's and Harry Ferguson's shared dream of making the farmer's job less strenuous and more efficient. Modern color photos of restored equipment, archival photography, and period advertisements show the plows, cultivators, planters, middlebusters, mowers, rakes, rotary hoes weeders, dozers, scoops, loaders and other implements that revolutionized the agricultural industry. Covered in detail are Ferguson's creation of the ingenius three-point attachment system; the Sherman brothers, pivotal figures who brought Ferguson together with Ford's deep pockets; and the infamous handshake agreement that made Ferguson implements standard equipment on Ford tractors.

This textbook offers a comprehensive review of tractor design fundamentals. Discussing more than hundred problems and including about six hundred international references, it offers a unique resource to advanced undergraduate and graduate students, researchers and also practical engineers, managers, test engineers, consultants and even old-timer fans. Tractors are the most important pieces of agricultural mechanization, hence a key factor of feeding the world. In order to address the educational needs of both less and more developed countries, the author included fundamentals of simple but proved designs for tractors with moderate technical levels, along with extensive information concerning modern, premium tractors. The broad technical content has been structured according to five technology levels, addressing all components. Relevant ISO standards are considered in all chapters. The book covers historical highlights, tractor project management (including cost management), traction mechanics, tires (including inflation control), belt ground drives, and ride dynamics. Further topics are: chassis design, diesel engines (with emission limits and installation instructions), all important types of transmissions, topics in machine element design, and human factors (health, safety, comfort). Moreover, the content covers tractor-implement management systems, in particular ISOBUS automation and hydraulic systems. Cumulative damage fundamentals and tractor load spectra are described and implemented for dimensioning and design verification. Fundamentals of energy efficiency are discussed for single tractor components and solutions to reduce the tractor CO2 footprint are suggested.

A link between machine functionality, operations, performance and decision making in the management of power sources and field operations were presented in this book. Depreciation and functional deviation of a machine from its original state at manufacture could put the life of a machine in danger of breakdown or obsolescence, which is counted a loss to any such organization or the entrepreneur. To avoid such losses, an understanding of machine systems functionality and a well organized maintenance programme designed to maintain, prevent or restore machine to near original state is required. Vocational training and entrepreneurship education in Nigeria's tertiary institutions has made possible a do-it-yourself skill acquisition in machine fault tracking, maintenance and repairs. A bimodal training programme packaged and presented in this book is all that is required for managerial decision making, maintenance and qualitative service delivery.

Advocates the "salad bar beef production model" that is supposed to be "land and farmer friendly."

This book presents the subject of farm machinery from the engineering viewpoint, emphasizing functional requirements and principles of operation for the basic types of field machines. Methods for testing or evaluating the performance of certain types of field machinery are included in the appropriate chapters. Contents: Abbreviations; Research and Development in Farm Machinery; Field Capacities and Cost Analysis; Materials of Construction; Elements of Rotary Power-Transmission Systems; Hydraulic Controls and Power-Take-Off Drives; Tillage Force Analysis and Hitching; Soil tillage: Moldboard-Type Tools; Disk Tools; Miscellaneous Tillage Equipment; Earth-Moving Equipment; Crop Planting; Row-Crop Cultivation, Flaming, and Thinning; Application of Fertilizers; Hay Harvesting: Mowing, Raking, and Baling; Forage Chopping and Handling; Seed Cleaning and Sorting; Grain and Seed Harvesting; Corn Picking and Shelling; Cotton Harvesting; Harvesting of Root Crops; Spraying and Dusting; Farm Transport. This book contains classic material dating back to the 1900s and before. The content has been carefully selected for its interest and relevance to a modern audience.