Operations Management in Agriculture

Dionysis Bochtis, Claus Aage Gron Sorensen, Dimitrios Kateris

• Publisher: Academic Press
• Year: 2018
• ISBN:
  9780128097168
• Topic: Technology & Engineering
• Subtopic: Agriculture
• Index: Technology & Engineering

Operations Management in Agriculture bridges the knowledge gap on operations management for agricultural machinery. It complements traditional topics (cost of using and choosing machinery) with advanced engineering approaches recently applied in agricultural machinery management (area coverage planning and sequential scheduling). The book covers new technologies in bio-production systems (robotics, IoT) and environmental compliance by employing a systems engineering perspective with focuses on sub-systems, including advanced optimization, supply chain systems, sustainability, autonomous vehicles and IT-driven decision-making. It will be a valuable resource for students studying decision-making and those working to improve the efficiency, effectiveness and sustainability of production through machinery choice.

• Covers agricultural machinery management related courses and a number of other courses within the agricultural engineering discipline
• Provides core tools for machine operations management, including machinery selection and cost of usage
• Presents current knowledge for agricultural machinery management in a science-based format

1

Agricultural Production Through Technological Evolution

Abstract

The “green revolution” is a well-known term for the period between the 1930s and the 1960s, referring to the number of technology transfers to agricultural production, including high-yielding varieties of cereals, artificial fertilizers, and agrochemicals and various new cultivation practices. The application of all these initiatives was not possible without the mechanization of agricultural production. During the mechanization phase muscle-powered tasks were gradually taken over by machines, and agricultural production was transformed to an industrial-type system. Following that, and as a natural consequence, there was a period dedicated to rationalization of the management of the work performed by workers and machines, in parallel with continuous increased replacement of manpower. During the most recent phase, as in all other application domains, the need for human sensory and mental input has been replaced by information and communication technologies in association with automation systems, which provided an increase in capacity, performance speed, and work repeatability. During this evolution a number of advantages emerged, including increased capacity (i.e., work performance), reduced labor cost and labor availability dependence, increased flexibility of the production system (easier adoption of new production practices), decreased material inputs (i.e., agrochemicals and fertilizers), and increased product quality (better control of processes). However, production systems have become more complex, requiring higher investment and service costs.

Keywords

Agriculture; Production processes; Technology

1.1. Key Phases in Agricultural Production Systems

The “green revolution” is a well-known term for the period between the 1930s and the 1960s, referring to the number of technology transfers to agricultural production, including high-yielding varieties of cereals, artificial fertilizers, and agrochemicals and various new cultivation practices¹. The application of all these initiatives was not possible without the mechanization of agricultural production. During the mechanization phase muscle-powered tasks were gradually taken over by machines, and agricultural production was transformed to an industrial-type system. Following that, and as a natural consequence, there was a period dedicated to rationalization of the management of the work performed by workers and machines, in parallel with continuous increased replacement of manpower. During the most recent phase, as in all other application domains, the need for human sensory and mental requirements has been replaced by information and communication technologies in association with automation systems, which provided an increase in capacity, performance speed, and work repeatability. Fig. 1 presents the time period of each of these phases. During this evolution a number of advantages emerged, including increased capacity (i.e., work performance), reduced labor cost and labor availability dependence, increased flexibility of the production system (easier adoption of new production practices), decreased material inputs (i.e., agrochemicals and fertilizers), and increased product quality (better control of processes). However, production systems became more complex, requiring higher investment and service costs (Fig. 2).

Figure 1 Agricultural production phases in terms of technology advances.

Figure 2 Advantages and disadvantages resulting from the technological evolution in agricultural production.

1.1.1. Mechanization Phase (1950–70)

In Europe the 1950s represent a very special period in the course of the modernization of agriculture, sometimes defined as a true agricultural revolution. In this period, agricultural machines were introduced to replace, for example, working horses and reduce by a large amount the use of labor. Mechanized production in comparison to muscle-powered methods has a number of benefits, such as:

1. • increased capacity, and thus increased cropped area
2. • reduced time for various operations
3. • independence of labor availability and seasonal labor shortages
4. • improved working environment and conditions for humans.

The introduction of mechanization in agriculture led to the implementation of industrial production methods, hence the organizational structures and management systems of industry also became an object of study in the agricultural domain. The model of economies of scale was adopted as a natural consequence. Economies of scale in agricultural production provide cost advantages due to the increased size of the operational environment (considering the field entity as the production “floor”) and the processing units (machinery), and also the increased scale of operations. The red...