Automated ag equipment could address compaction

An ag engineer says the trend toward automated field equipment could improve soil compaction issues in the future.

Ohio State University’s Chair of the Department of Food, Agricultural and Biological Engineering Scott Shearer tells Brownfield the scale of equipment can become smaller if manufacturers remove human operator components.

“I think that with current equipment sizes we’re paying a pretty significant price in terms of soil compaction,” he says.  “One of the game changers could be when we automate this equipment, I think the scale of this equipment becomes much smaller.”

He tells Brownfield smaller equipment might be more cost-competitive compared to fixed frame tractors which typically run about $1,000 per 100 horsepower.

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