PHOTO: MATTHIJS VERHAGEN ILLUSTRATION: TONY TATI


TRACTOR FUTURE ▶▶▶ Swarms poised to take over N BY BOB KARSTEN


ew large tractors are often prohibi- tively expensive, while their weight is too low to effectively convert their large engine power into trac-


tion. Increasing the weight to address this would, however, make tractors too heavy and bring the problem of soil compaction into play. Joachim Pfannstiel-Wolf, a farmer on 1150 hec- tares, delivered an incisive, critical and some- what sceptical presentation. Talking about his machinery, he mentioned that in the 1970s and 1980s his tractors cost the equivalent of € 695 per kW. In 2011 this was well in excess of € 875 per kW. He puts some of this significant cost increase down to more stringent emission standards. In recent years his machinery has become even more expensive, with costs now at € 950 per kW.


Reduction in profit per hectare Mr Pfannstiel-Wolf stated that over all those years, the number of kW used per hectare has remained relatively stable – as has the tractor engine power. The increase in the purchase price has not been matched by an increase in the resale value of his tractors. All of this means his profit has fallen by € 50 per hectare and in the farmer’s view. “The increase in the price of tractors is logical given the additional functionality and comfort. The result is that my drivers are glued to a screen and pay far less attention to the soil and their tyres, which is anything but a positive development.”


Limits reached A critical appraisal of his 500-horsepower Fendt 1000 leads Mr Pfannstiel-Wolf to con- clude that tractors have reached their maxi- mum size. His arguments are clear. His main tractor used to be a Case IH Magnum 7220, which provided 74 kg per kW with a 2,000 kg front linkage combined with wheel weights. These days he often uses a Fendt 936, which can generate a maximum of 50 kg per kW de- spite 2,500 kg in the front linkage. The farmer continues: “A 14-tonne Fendt 1050 delivers no more than 38 kg per kW. You would have to


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At a two-day forum organised by German Agricultural Society, DLG, 300 industry specialists met to discuss the challenges, opportunities and prospects for tractors. Their verdict was that wheeled tractors have now reached their limit and the future lies in swarm technology.


increase its weight by 8 tonnes to get up to 60 kg per kW. Even if traffic regulations al- lowed for a weight like that, soil compaction would become an issue.” This he demonstrated with the help of a figure. A 60:40 weight distri- bution would yield a pressure of 103 kPa at a depth of 40 cm under the rear-axle of the 1000 series, compared to 52 kPa underneath the old Magnum. The farmer lists the load ca- pacity of his loam soil as 70-110 kPa and that of a sandy soil as no more than 50-70 kPa. On this basis, he characterises the current situation as problematic.


Switching to swarm technology If tractors continue to increase in weight at the traditional rate, by 2030 the top model will come in at an impressive 33 tonnes at 800 horsepower. A graph by Agco’s Heribert


Reiter shows combine harvesters are set to reach 50 tonnes with an output of 900 horse- power. According to Reiter, this is where the growth in machine size will level off. He be- lieves the future is in small, autonomous ro- bots cooperating in a swarm. Fendt is running a development project, Xaver, which has al- ready shown good results. Compared to a standard tractor, Xaver robots are said to gen- erate 95% less heat, produce 95% less noise, reduce soil compaction by 80% and save 70% on energy. It is also claimed that the robots are more economical in the use of pesticide (re- duced by half) and seed (reduction by 5%). A downside is that a robot weighing no more than 40 kg itself will not be able to generate traction, meaning that soil tillage will still require the use of a tractor.


New natural gas technology


If Roger Stirnimann and Danilo Engelmann of the Berner Fachhochschule in Switzerland have their way, gas-powered tractors will be- come available on the market. So far there have only been prototypes, such as the 2016 methane-powered New Holland. Applica- tions have been limited to CNG-engines (compressed natural gas), for which natural gas is filled into tanks under high pressure. These only permit a limited range. Stirni- mann and Engelmann predict liquid natural gas (LNG) will offer opportunities. LNG in- volves filling natural gas into insulated dou- ble-walled tanks under extremely low tem- peratures, which has a significantly higher energy density. A litre of diesel delivers 35.7 MJ and weighs 0.83 kg per litre, which trans- lates to 43 MJ per kilogram. A litre of CNG


▶ FUTURE FARMING | 24 May 2019


(now outdated) weighs 0.14 kg and yields 6.44 MJ, or 46 MJ per kilogram. The new LNG weighs 0.41 kg per litre and delivers at least 18.86 MJ, which comes to at least 46 MJ per kilogram. Stirnimann and Engelmann are confident the first LNG-powered tractor pro- totypes are only a matter of time.


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