Shevchenko S.P., instructor of English, Foreign languages department. Автор статті наводить приклади використання електричного та електронного обладнання сучасного сільського господарства

Автор статті наводить приклади використання електричного та електронного обладнання сучасного сільського господарства. Надаються технічні характеристики деяких електричних насосів, що широко використовуються у рослинництві та тваринництві.

The impact of electric power on modern agriculture has been at least as significant as that of either steam or gasoline, because electricity in its nature is far more versatile than the earlier power sources. Although there had long been scientific interest on the effects electricity had on plant growth, especially after the development of electric lamps, it was the development of the electric motor that really gained the interest of the farming community.

Modern applications of electricity in farming range from the comparatively simple to some complex in the manufacturing industries. They include conditioning and storage of grain and grass; preparation and rationing of animal feed; and provision of a controlled environment in stock-rearing houses for intensive pig and poultry rearing and in greenhouses for horticultural crops. Electricity plays an equally important part in the dairy farm for feed rationing, milking, and milk cooling; all these applications are automatically controlled. Computers have increasingly been employed to aid in farm management and to directly control automated equipment.

The engineer and farmer have combined to develop electrically powered equipment for crop conservation and storage to help overcome weather hazards at harvest time and to reduce labour requirements to a minimum. Grain can now be harvested in a matter of days instead of months and dried to required moisture content for long storage by means of electrically driven fans and, in many installations, gas or electrical heaters. Wilted grass, cut at the stage of maximum feeding value, can be turned into high-quality hay in the barn by means of forced ventilation and with very little risk of spoilage loss from wet weather.

Conditioning and storage of such root crops as potatoes, onions, carrots, and beets, in especially designed stores with forced ventilation and temperature control, and of fruit in refrigerated stores are all electrically based techniques that minimize waste and maintain top quality over longer periods than was possible with traditional methods of storage.

Large numbers of beef cattle are raised in enclosures and fed carefully balanced rations by automatic equipment. Pigs by the thousands and poultry by the tens of thousands are housed in special buildings with controlled environments and are fed automatically with complex rations. Dairy herds of up to 1,000 cows are machine-milked in milking parlous, and the cows are then individually identified and fed appropriate rations by complex electronic equipment. The milk passes directly from the cow into refrigerated bulk milk tanks and is ready for immediate shipment.

The modern farmer employs various electronic devices to control and monitor the planting process. Most electronic planting devices control the functions of tractor attachments, such as seeders. Seed-monitoring equipment and software allow the farmer to control the rate and spacing of seed distribution with great accuracy. People use different types of electric motors in agriculture. For example, DC and AC motor, three-phase motors, brushless motors and many others. Here are some examples: