The agriculture industry has come a long way from what it was in the last fifty or hundred years. Today, technology and innovative solutions play a massive role in agricultural development. Farmers and agricultural scientists have worked together to find new methods for increasing food production. The earliest innovation of agricultural machinery was the plows that emerged over 5000 years BC and were used to scratch trenches in the dirt for planting seeds. After that, there is no looking back for the agricultural industry.
Here are the top agricultural innovations that have changed the way the industry works:
- Corn combine harvesters: For farmers who have thousands of acres of farming land and want to work more efficiently, corn combine harvesters allow them to perform multiple tasks at any given time. A corn combine harvester will combine reaping, threshing, gathering, and winnowing into a single process, doing days of work in hours. It is believed that the mechanical device for corn combine harvesters was invented in 1850 and it has come a long way since.
- Cotton Gin: For cotton farmers, a cotton gin will be their holy grail, as it separates seeds, hulls, and other unwanted materials from cotton efficiently in less time. Invented by Eli Whitney, the cotton gin received a patent in 1794 and has revived the economy of the South by making cotton into a highly profitable crop.
- Cotton harvester: Like corn harvesters, cotton harvesters also make it easier for farmers to harvest their cotton efficiently by removing unwanted materials. They cut down the harvesting time and allow the farmer to harvest more cotton in a day than they would in a week without the harvester. Patented in 1850, the cotton harvester became a commonly used machinery by cotton farmers in the U.S in the 1940s.
- Grain elevator: Grain elevators are one of the most valuable pieces of equipment in farming communities that store large quantities of grains before they hit the supply chains. These vertical grain storages allow the farmers to keep their grains dry and stock them in bulk rather than in small sacks or bags. Joseph Dart first built a grain elevator in 1842, and now it is an integral part of any farming community.
- Hay Cultivation: Hay cultivation machines are one of the most powerful additions to the farming industry as a whole. From mechanical mowers to crushers to machines for pelletizing or wafering in the field and everything in between, automatic baler plays a huge role in making the process easier. Before Innes, of Davenport invented the automatic baler in 1936, people used to have a stationary baler that was invented in the 1850s and became popular in the 1870s.
Conclusion: The agricultural machinery and innovations have changed the way agriculture has developed. Companies like Estes Performance Concaves has developed advanced technology that undertake difficult processes and get them done within a short amount of time. Today the farmers work hand in hand with engineers to address several agriculture-related problems and handle them efficiently to keep the world feeding. In addition, some of the top agricultural equipment has a lower maintenance cost, better functional characteristics, and less equipment downtime, helping farmers enjoy a successful harvesting season.