Economics of field size and shape for autonomous crop machines.

ABSTRACT: Field size and shape constrain spatial and temporal management of agriculture with implications for farm profitability, field biodiversity and environmental performance. Large, conventional equipment struggles to farm small, irregularly shaped fields efficiently. The study hypothesized that autonomous crop machines would make it possible to farm small, non-rectangular fields profitably, thereby preserving field biodiversity and other environmental benefits. Using the experience of the Hands Free Hectare (HFH) demonstration project, this study developed algorithms to estimate field times (h/ha) and field efficiency (%) subject to field size and shape in grain-oil-seed farms of the United Kingdom using four different equipment sets. Results show that field size and shape had a substantial im

SUBMITTER: Al-Amin AKMA 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10103047 | biostudies-literature | 2023 Apr

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature