Agricultural engineering, also known as agricultural and biosystems engineering, is the field of study and application of
engineering
Engineering is the use of scientific principles to design and build machines, structures, and other items, including bridges, tunnels, roads, vehicles, and buildings. The discipline of engineering encompasses a broad range of more speciali ...
science and designs principles for
agriculture
Agriculture or farming is the practice of cultivating plants and livestock. Agriculture was the key development in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that enabled people t ...
purposes, combining the various disciplines of
mechanical
Mechanical may refer to:
Machine
* Machine (mechanical), a system of mechanisms that shape the actuator input to achieve a specific application of output forces and movement
* Mechanical calculator, a device used to perform the basic operations of ...
,
civil
Civil may refer to:
*Civic virtue, or civility
*Civil action, or lawsuit
* Civil affairs
*Civil and political rights
*Civil disobedience
*Civil engineering
*Civil (journalism), a platform for independent journalism
*Civilian, someone not a membe ...
,
electrical
Electricity is the set of physical phenomena associated with the presence and motion of matter that has a property of electric charge. Electricity is related to magnetism, both being part of the phenomenon of electromagnetism, as described ...
,
food science
Food science is the basic science and applied science of food; its scope starts at overlap with agricultural science and nutritional science and leads through the scientific aspects of food safety and food processing, informing the development ...
,
environmental
A biophysical environment is a biotic and abiotic surrounding of an organism or population, and consequently includes the factors that have an influence in their survival, development, and evolution. A biophysical environment can vary in scale f ...
,
software
Software is a set of computer programs and associated software documentation, documentation and data (computing), data. This is in contrast to Computer hardware, hardware, from which the system is built and which actually performs the work.
...
, and
chemical engineering
Chemical engineering is an engineering field which deals with the study of operation and design of chemical plants as well as methods of improving production. Chemical engineers develop economical commercial processes to convert raw materials int ...
to improve the efficiency of
farm
A farm (also called an agricultural holding) is an area of land that is devoted primarily to agricultural processes with the primary objective of producing food and other crops; it is the basic facility in food production. The name is used ...
s and
agribusiness enterprises as well as to ensure sustainability of natural and renewable resources.
An agricultural engineer is an
engineer
Engineers, as practitioners of engineering, are professionals who invent, design, analyze, build and test machines, complex systems, structures, gadgets and materials to fulfill functional objectives and requirements while considering the limit ...
with an
agriculture
Agriculture or farming is the practice of cultivating plants and livestock. Agriculture was the key development in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that enabled people t ...
background. Agricultural engineers make the engineering designs and plans in an agricultural project, usually in partnership with an
agriculturist
An agriculturist, agriculturalist, agrologist, or agronomist (abbreviated as agr.), is a professional in the science, practice, and management of agriculture and agribusiness. It is a regulated profession in Canada, India, the Philippines, the U ...
who is more proficient in
farming
Agriculture or farming is the practice of cultivating plants and livestock. Agriculture was the key development in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that enabled peopl ...
and
agricultural science.
History
![Irrigation canal in Pisac, Peru 2019-10-16-1](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/82/Irrigation_canal_in_Pisac%2C_Peru_2019-10-16-1.jpg)
The first use of agricultural engineering was the introduction of
irrigation
Irrigation (also referred to as watering) is the practice of applying controlled amounts of water to land to help grow crops, landscape plants, and lawns. Irrigation has been a key aspect of agriculture for over 5,000 years and has been devel ...
in large scale agriculture in the
Nile
The Nile, , Bohairic , lg, Kiira , Nobiin: Áman Dawū is a major north-flowing river in northeastern Africa. It flows into the Mediterranean Sea. The Nile is the longest river in Africa and has historically been considered the longest ...
and the
Euphrates
The Euphrates () is the longest and one of the most historically important rivers of Western Asia. Together with the Tigris, it is one of the two defining rivers of Mesopotamia ( ''the land between the rivers''). Originating in Turkey, the Eup ...
rivers before 2000 B.C. Large irrigation structures were also present in
Baluchistan and
India
India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...
before
Christian era. In South America irrigation was practiced in
Peru
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, image_coat = Escudo nacional del Perú.svg
, other_symbol = Great Seal of the State
, other_symbol_type = National seal
, national_motto = "Firm and Happy f ...
by the
Incas
The Inca Empire (also known as the Incan Empire and the Inka Empire), called ''Tawantinsuyu'' by its subjects, ( Quechua for the "Realm of the Four Parts", "four parts together" ) was the largest empire in pre-Columbian America. The adm ...
and in North America by the
Aztecs.
[Davidson J.B. 1913. Agricultural engineering, Webb Publishing]
![Henry Herbert La Thangue - The Last Furrow 1895](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/cc/Henry_Herbert_La_Thangue_-_The_Last_Furrow_1895.jpg)
The earliest plough was the
ard or scratch-plough
Settlers practiced irrigation in the vicinity of
San Antonio
("Cradle of Freedom")
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, mapsize = 220px
, map_caption = Interactive map of San Antonio
, subdivision_type = Country
, subdivision_name = United States
, subdivision_type1= State
, subdivision_name1 = Texas
, subdivision_t ...
in 1715, the
Mormons practiced irrigation in
Salt Lake Valley in 1847.
With growing
mechanization
Mechanization is the process of changing from working largely or exclusively by hand or with animals to doing that work with machinery. In an early engineering text a machine is defined as follows:
In some fields, mechanization includes the ...
and
steam power in the
industrial revolution
The Industrial Revolution was the transition to new manufacturing processes in Great Britain, continental Europe, and the United States, that occurred during the period from around 1760 to about 1820–1840. This transition included going f ...
, a new age in agricultural engineering began. Over the course of the industrial revolution,
mechanical harvesters and
planters would replace field hands in most of the food and
cash crop industries.
Mechanical threshing was introduced in 1761 by John Lloyd, Magnus Strindberg and
Dietrich. Beater bar
threshing
Threshing, or thrashing, is the process of loosening the edible part of grain (or other crop) from the straw to which it is attached. It is the step in grain preparation after reaping. Threshing does not remove the bran from the grain.
History ...
machine was built by
Andrew Meikle
Andrew Meikle (5 May 1719 – 27 November 1811) was a Scottish mechanical engineer credited with inventing the threshing machine, a device used to remove the outer husks from grains of wheat. He also had a hand in assisting Firbeck in the inve ...
in 1786.
[H. Klaus, Milestones in the history of agricultural engineering, The world of agricultural engineering 2011] A
cast iron
Cast iron is a class of iron– carbon alloys with a carbon content more than 2%. Its usefulness derives from its relatively low melting temperature. The alloy constituents affect its color when fractured: white cast iron has carbide impur ...
plow was first made by
Charles Newbold between 17960 and 1796.
James Smith constructed a
mower
A mower is a person or machine that cuts (mows) grass or other plants that grow on the ground. Usually mowing is distinguished from reaping, which uses similar implements, but is the traditional term for harvesting grain crops, e.g. with reape ...
in 1811.
George Berry used a steam
combine harvester in 1886.
John Deere made his first
steel plow
A plough or plow ( US; both ) is a farm tool for loosening or turning the soil before sowing seed or planting. Ploughs were traditionally drawn by oxen and horses, but in modern farms are drawn by tractors. A plough may have a wooden, iron or ...
in 1833. The two horse
cultivator
A cultivator is a piece of agricultural equipment used for secondary tillage. One sense of the name refers to frames with ''teeth'' (also called ''shanks'') that pierce the soil as they are dragged through it linearly. It also refers to ...
was first about 1861.
![Hay tedder p](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/26/Hay_tedder_p.jpg)
The introduction of these engineering concepts into the field of agriculture allowed for an enormous boost in the productivity of crops, dubbed a "
second agricultural revolution
The British Agricultural Revolution, or Second Agricultural Revolution, was an unprecedented increase in agricultural production in Britain arising from increases in labour and land productivity between the mid-17th and late 19th centuries. Agric ...
" which consisted of:
#Shift from peasant subsistence-farming to cash-farming for the market
#Technical changes of
crop rotation
Crop rotation is the practice of growing a series of different types of crops in the same area across a sequence of growing seasons. It reduces reliance on one set of nutrients, pest and weed pressure, and the probability of developing resistant ...
s and livestock improvement
#Labour being replaced by machinery
![Farm](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/be/Farm._Tractor_-_Farm%2C_Ville_LaSalle_BAnQ_P48S1P08968.jpg)
In the 20th century, with the rise in reliable engines in airplanes,
cropduster
Aerial application, or what is informally referred to as crop dusting, involves spraying crops with crop protection products from an agricultural aircraft. Planting certain types of seed are also included in aerial application. The specific s ...
s were implemented to disperse pesticides.
Benjamin Holt
Benjamin Leroy Holt (January 1, 1849 – December 5, 1920) was an American businessman and inventor who patented and manufactured the first practical crawler-type tread tractor. The continuous-type track is used for heavy agricultural and engi ...
built a combine harvester powered by
petrol
Gasoline (; ) or petrol (; ) (see ) is a transparent, petroleum-derived flammable liquid that is used primarily as a fuel in most spark-ignited internal combustion engines (also known as petrol engines). It consists mostly of organic c ...
in 1911.
Erwin Peucker constructed
bulldog tractors 1936.
Deutz-Fahr
Deutz-Fahr () is a German agricultural machinery manufacturer. It was established in 1968 after the acquisition of the majority of share capital in FAHR, a leading company already producing agricultural equipment in the previous century, ...
produced the rotary
hay tedder in 1961.
In the late 20th century,
genetically modified foods
Genetically modified foods (GM foods), also known as genetically engineered foods (GE foods), or bioengineered foods are foods produced from organisms that have had changes introduced into their DNA using the methods of genetic engineering. Gene ...
(GMOs) were created, giving another large boost to crop yields and resistance to pests.
Sub-Disciplines
Agricultural engineering has many sub-disciplines, the most common of which are listed here:
Agricultural Machinery
Agricultural Structures
Agricultural Surveying
Aquaculture
Biomechanics & Ergonomics
Forestry Engineering
Irrigation
Land Development
Pesticides
Precision Agriculture
Soil Management
Roles of agricultural engineers
Agricultural engineers may perform tasks such as planning, supervising and managing the building of dairy effluent schemes,
irrigation
Irrigation (also referred to as watering) is the practice of applying controlled amounts of water to land to help grow crops, landscape plants, and lawns. Irrigation has been a key aspect of agriculture for over 5,000 years and has been devel ...
,
drainage
Drainage is the natural or artificial removal of a surface's water and sub-surface water from an area with excess of water. The internal drainage of most agricultural soils is good enough to prevent severe waterlogging (anaerobic condition ...
,
flood
A flood is an overflow of water ( or rarely other fluids) that submerges land that is usually dry. In the sense of "flowing water", the word may also be applied to the inflow of the tide. Floods are an area of study of the discipline hydrol ...
water control systems, performing
environmental impact assessments,
agricultural product
Product may refer to:
Business
* Product (business), an item that serves as a solution to a specific consumer problem.
* Product (project management), a deliverable or set of deliverables that contribute to a business solution
Mathematics
* Produ ...
processing
Processing is a free graphical library and integrated development environment (IDE) built for the electronic arts, new media art, and visual design communities with the purpose of teaching non-programmers the fundamentals of computer programming ...
and interpret research results and implement relevant practices. A large percentage of agricultural engineers work in academia or for government agencies. Some are consultants, employed by private engineering firms, while others work in industry, for manufacturers of agricultural machinery, equipment, processing technology, and structures for housing livestock and storing crops. Agricultural engineers work in production, sales,
management
Management (or managing) is the administration of an organization, whether it is a business, a nonprofit organization, or a Government agency, government body. It is the art and science of managing resources of the business.
Management includ ...
,
research
Research is " creative and systematic work undertaken to increase the stock of knowledge". It involves the collection, organization and analysis of evidence to increase understanding of a topic, characterized by a particular attentiveness ...
and development, or
applied science.
Armenia
In 2006 Armenia's agricultural sector accounted for about 20 percent of the GDP. By 2010, it grew to about 25 percent.
["Kocharian Orders Tax Exemption For Armenian Farmers"](_blank)
Armenia Liberty (RFE/RL
Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL) is a United States government funded organization that broadcasts and reports news, information, and analysis to countries in Eastern Europe, Central Asia, Caucasus, and the Middle East where it says tha ...
), August 8, 2006. This was and is higher than in Armenia's neighboring countries of Georgia, Azerbaijan, Turkey and Iran, in which the contribution of agriculture to the GDP in 2017 was 6.88, 5.63, 6.08 and 9.05 percent, respectively.
Philippines
In the
Philippines
The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no),
* bik, Republika kan Filipinas
* ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas
* cbk, República de Filipinas
* hil, Republ ...
, the professional designation is registered agricultural and biosystems engineer. They are licensed and accredited after successfully passing the Agriculturist and Biosystems Engineering Licensure Examination. A prospective agricultural and biosystems engineer is required to have a four-year
Bachelor of Science
A Bachelor of Science (BS, BSc, SB, or ScB; from the Latin ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for programs that generally last three to five years.
The first university to admit a student to the degree of Bachelor of Science was the University o ...
in Agricultural and Biosystems Engineering.
The practice of agricultural and biosystems engineering also includes the following:
* Consultation, valuation, investigation and management services on agricultural and biosystems engineering;
* Management or supervision and the preparation of engineering designs, plans, specifications, project studies and estimates for agricultural and biosystems, aquaculture and fishery, and forest product machinery, agricultural and biosystems buildings and structures, farm electrification and energy systems, agricultural and biosystems processing equipment, irrigation and soils conservation systems and facilities, agricultural and biosystems waste utilization systems and facilities;
* Conducting research and development, training and extension work, and consultancy services on agricultural and biosystems engineering facilities/services, system and technologies;
* Testing, evaluation and inspection of agricultural and biosystems, fishery and forest product machinery and other related agricultural and biosystems engineering facilities and equipment.
* Management, manufacturing and/or marketing of agricultural and biosystems machinery and other related agricultural and biosystems engineering facilities and equipment;
* Teaching, agricultural and biosystems engineering subjects in institution of learning in the Philippines;
* Employment with the government provided such item or position requires the knowledge and expertise of an agricultural and biosystems engineer.
United Kingdom
In the United Kingdom the term agricultural engineer is often also used to describe a person that repairs or modifies agricultural equipment.
United States
The American Society of Agricultural Engineers, now known as the
American Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineers
The American Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineers (ASABE) is an international professional society devoted to agricultural and biological engineering. It was founded in December 1907 at the University of Wisconsin–Madison as the A ...
(ASABE), was founded in 1907.
[
] It is a leading organization in the agricultural engineering field. The ASABE provides safety and regulatory standards for the agricultural industry. Thes
standardsand regulations are developed on an international scale for fertilizers, soil conditions, fisheries, biofuels, biogas, feed machinery, tractors, and machinery.
See also
![Soufli - playground, agricultural machine](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/6f/Soufli_-_playground%2C_agricultural_machine.jpg)
*
Agricultural education
Agricultural education is the teaching of agriculture, natural resources, and land management. At higher levels, agricultural education is primarily undertaken to prepare students for employment in the agricultural sector. Classes taught in an ...
*
Agricultural science
*
Agronomy
*
Bioresource engineering
*
Biosystems engineering
Biological systems engineering or Biosystems engineering is a broad-based engineering discipline with particular emphasis on non-medical biology. It can be thought of as a subset of the broader notion of biological engineering or bio-technology t ...
*
Copper alloys in aquaculture
Copper alloys are important netting materials in aquaculture (the farming of aquatic organisms including fish farming). Various other materials including nylon, polyester, polypropylene, polyethylene, plastic-coated welded wire, rubber, patent ...
*
Industrial agriculture
Industrial agriculture is a form of modern farming that refers to the industrialized production of crops and animals and animal products like eggs or milk. The methods of industrial agriculture include innovation in agricultural machinery and f ...
*
Institution of Agricultural Engineers
The Institution of Agricultural Engineers (IAgrE) is a British professional engineering institution founded in 1938. It is licensed by the Engineering Council to assess candidates for inclusion on its Register of professional Engineers and Techni ...
*
List of agricultural machinery
Agricultural equipment is any kind of machinery used on a farm to help with farming. The best-known example of this kind is the tractor.
Tractor and power
*Tractor / Two-wheel tractor
* Tracked tractor / Caterpillar tractor
Soil culti ...
*
Mechanized agriculture
Mechanised agriculture or agricultural mechanization is the use of machinery and equipment, ranging from simple and basic hand tools to more sophisticated, motorized equipment and machinery, to perform agricultural operations. In modern times, po ...
*
Water softening
Water softening is the removal of calcium, magnesium, and certain other metal cations in hard water. The resulting soft water requires less soap for the same cleaning effort, as soap is not wasted bonding with calcium ions. Soft water also exten ...
References
Further reading
* Brown, R.H. (ed). (1988). ''CRC handbook of engineering in agriculture.'' Boca Raton, FL.: CRC Press. .
* Field, H. L., Solie, J. B., & Roth, L. O. (2007). ''Introduction to agricultural engineering technology: a problem solving approach''. New York: Springer. .
* Stewart, Robert E. (1979). ''Seven decades that changed America: a history of the American Society of Agricultural Engineers, 1907-1977''. St. Joseph, Mich.: ASAE. .
* DeForest, S. S. (2007). ''The vision that cut drugery from farming forever''. St. Joseph, Mich.: ASAE. .
{{Authority control
Agricultural technology
Agronomy
Engineering disciplines