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Agricultural engineering

 
Sci-Tech Dictionary: agricultural engineering
(¦ag·rə¦kəl·chə·rəl ′en·jə′nir·iŋ)

(agriculture) A discipline concerned with developing and improving the means for providing food and fiber for human needs.


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Sci-Tech Encyclopedia: Agricultural engineering
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A discipline concerned with solving the engineering problems of providing food and fiber for the people of the world. These problems include designing improved tools to work the soil and harvest the crops, as well as developing water supplies for agriculture and systems for irrigating and draining the land where necessary. Agricultural engineers design buildings in which to house animals or store grains. They also work on myriad problems of processing, packaging, transporting, and distributing the food and fiber products. Agricultural engineering combines the disciplines of mechanical, civil, electrical, and chemical engineering with a basic understanding of biological sciences and agricultural practices. Some agricultural engineers work directly with farmers. Most, however, work with the companies that manufacture and supply equipment, feeds, fertilizers, and pesticides. Others work for companies that provide services to farmers, such as developing irrigation and drainage systems or erecting buildings and facilities. Still others work with food-processing companies. See also Agricultural machinery; Agriculture.


Wikipedia: Agricultural engineering
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A modern farm tractor

Agricultural engineering is the engineering discipline that applies engineering science and technology to agricultural production and processing. Agricultural engineering combines the disciplines of animal biology, plant biology, and mechanical, civil and chemical engineering principles with a knowledge of agricultural principles. [1]

Wheat harvest with a combine in Denmark

Contents

History

The first curriculum in Agricultural Engineering was established at Iowa State University by J. B. Davidson in 1905. The American Society of Agricultural Engineers, now known as the American Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineers, was founded in 1907. [2]

pivot irrigation of cotton

Agricultural engineers

Agricultural Engineers may perform tasks as planning, supervising and managing the building of dairy effluent schemes, irrigation, drainage, flood and water control systems, perform environmental impact assessments, agricultural product processing and interpret research results and implement relevant practices. A large percentage of agricultural engineers work in academia or for government agencies such as the United States Department of Agriculture or state agricultural extension services. 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, research and development, or applied science.

See also

References

  1. ^ Hills, David. (2004). "Agricultural engineering." in The Engineering Handbook (2nd ed). CRC Press. ISBN 0849315867. pp. 190-1 - 190-9.
  2. ^ ASABE website. Accessed May 15, 2009.

Further reading

  • Brown, R.H. (ed). (1988). CRC handbook of engineering in agriculture. Boca Raton, FL.: CRC Press. ISBN 0849338603.
  • Field, H. L., Solie, J. B., & Roth, L. O. (2007). Introduction to agricultural engineering technology: a problem solving approach. New York: Springer. ISBN 0387369139.
  • Stewart, Robert E. (1979). Seven decades that changed America: a history of the American Society of Agricultural Engineers, 1907-1977. St. Joseph, Mich.: ASAE. OCLC 5947727.
  • DeForest, S. S. (2007). The vision that cut drugery from farming forever. St. Joseph, Mich.: ASAE. ISBN 1892769611.

External links


 
 

 

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Sci-Tech Dictionary. McGraw-Hill Dictionary of Scientific and Technical Terms. Copyright © 2003, 1994, 1989, 1984, 1978, 1976, 1974 by McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.  Read more
Sci-Tech Encyclopedia. McGraw-Hill Encyclopedia of Science and Technology. Copyright © 2005 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.  Read more
Wikipedia. This article is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Agricultural engineering" Read more