In the branch of Agricultural Engineering, especially in Farm Machinery and Power sector, there is a need for a book exclusively dealing with various concepts and their applications in transparent and clear manner. So, an effort has been made to prepare this book entitled "Concepts of Farm Machinery and Power" to meet the demand of students, teachers, RS. The book will be useful immensely to the students preparing for GATE examination in AG papers and also for JRF, ARS, IFS examinations. The chapters of the book deals with conceptual analysis of farm machineries, which are confusing and difficult to understand. It is expected that the theoretical as well as numerical analysis of this book will sharpenthe ingenious power of the readers and help them to solve problemsquickly. Moreover, many problems are solved in different ways, which will help the readers in understanding and applying the concepts properly. I am extremely grateful to my teachers Dr. Subrata Karmakar, Associate Professor, Dept. of Farm Machinery and Power, Bidhan Chandra Krishi Viswavidyalaya; Prof. Partha Sarathi Chattopadhaya, Professor, Dept. of Farm Machinery and Power, Bidhan Chandra Krishi Viswavidyalaya; Er. Ravi Reddy, Senior Technician, CFMTTI, Budni, M.P., and my B. Tech friends for their encouragement and kind cooperation. Sagacious suggestions and discrete criticism are welcome to improve the book further, so that it becomes more relevant and more beneficial to the readers in real terms. Finally, I envisage this attempt as an important step in removing hurdles in the path of popularization of Agricultural Engineering. I hope that it will fire imaginations and ability of many Agricultural Engineers in the profession to produce such innovative works in future. “Agricultural Engineering— galvanizing agriculture”.

Economic performance. Costs. Operations. Power. Equipment selection. Laboratory exercises.

The latest, extensively updated edition of Farm Power and Machinery Management continues the tradition of providing students, farmers, farm operators, and farm managers with comprehensive information on how to properly manage and optimize the use of mechanized equipment to reduce costs and maximize profits. This full-featured text analyzes the factors that comprise machinery management, explains the functions of the various machines and mechanisms as they affect economic operation, and offers contemporary approaches and procedures for making management decisions. The authoritative coverage of current management principles and the machinery-operating details make this text an outstanding choice for courses in agricultural education, agricultural mechanization, agricultural business, and agricultural engineering. An understanding of agricultural practices, college algebra, and trigonometry are adequate preparation for using this text. Abundant figures, photographs, and charts, along with problems and laboratory exercises, reinforce the applicability of significant concepts, thereby empowering readers to become successful farm machinery managers and operators. New or updated features and coverage in the Eleventh Edition . . . • photos of tractors, implements, and special crop machines • IRS policy related to farm machinery • expanded list of timeliness factors • instrumentation available to farm machines • tractor test results • required diesel engine emission control • constantly variable transmission (CVT) • tire data and oil specifications • custom, rental, and estimated costs for farm machinery operations • remote sensing of field conditions • farm safety data • number of machines on US farms • US crop areas and values

The manual work carried out by farmers and their families is often both arduous and time consuming and in many countries this is a major constraint to increasing agricultural production. Such day-to-day drudgery is a major contributoring factor in the migration of people, particularly the young, from the rural countryside to seek the prospect of a better life in the towns and cities. Farm production can be substantially increased through the use of mechanical technologies which both are labor-saving and directly increase yields and production. This document provides guidelines on the development and formulation of an agricultural mechanization strategy and forms part of FAO's approach on sustainable production intensification.

This framework presents ten interrelated principles/elements to guide Sustainable Agricultural Mechanization in Africa (SAMA). Further, it presents the technical issues to be considered under SAMA and the options to be analysed at the country and sub regional levels. The ten key elements required in a framework for SAMA are as follows: The analysis in the framework calls for a specific approach, involving learning from other parts of the world where significant transformation of the agricultural mechanization sector has already occurred within a three-to-four decade time frame, and developing policies and programmes to realize Africa’s aspirations of Zero Hunger by 2025. This approach entails the identification and prioritization of relevant and interrelated elements to help countries develop strategies and practical development plans that create synergies in line with their agricultural transformation plans. Given the unique characteristics of each country and the diverse needs of Africa due to the ecological heterogeneity and the wide range of farm sizes, the framework avoids being prescriptive.

Many previous publications on farm mechanization, draught animal power, hand tool technology, etc. have tended to be narrowly focused. The topic of farm power and mechanization also tended to be separated from the actual process of growing crops. This manual looks at putting the different sources of farm power, mechanization, machines, equipment and tools in a much broader context. Farm power requirements need to be viewed with reference to rural livelihoods and to farming systems as well as to the critical area of labour saving in HIV/AIDS-hit populations. No one particular type of technology is advocated.