DEVELOPMENT OF A DECISION SUPPORT SYSTEM FOR CAPACITY PLANNING FROM GRAIN HARVEST TO STORAGE

This dissertation investigated issues surrounding grain harvest and transportation logistics. A discrete event simulation model of grain transportation from the field to an on-farm storage facility was developed to evaluate how truck and driver resource constraints impact material flow efficiency, resource utilization, and system throughput. Harvest rate and in-field transportation were represented as a stochastic entity generation process, and service times associated with various material handling steps were represented by a combination of deterministic times and statistical distributions. The model was applied to data collected for three distinct harvest scenarios (18 total days). The observed number of deliveries was within ± 2 standard deviations of the simulation mean for 15 of the 18 input conditions examined, and on a daily basis, the median error between the simulated and observed deliveries was -4.1%. The model was expanded to simulate the whole harvest season and include temporary wet storage capacity and grain drying. Moisture content changes due to field dry down was modeled using weather data and grain equilibrium moisture content relationships and resulted in an RMSE of 0.73 pts. Dryer capacity and performance were accounted for by adjusting the specified dryer performance to the observed level of moisture removal and drying temperature. Dryer capacity was generally underpredicted, and large variations were found in the observed data. The expanded model matched the observed cumulative mass of grain delivered well and estimated the harvest would take one partial day longer than was observed. Usefulness of the model to evaluate both costs and system performance was demonstrated by conducting a sensitivity analysis and examining system changes for a hypothetical operation. A dry year and a slow drying crop had the largest impact on the system’s operating and drying costs (12.7% decrease and 10.8% increase, respectively). The impact of reducing the drying temperature to maintain quality in drying white corn had no impact on the combined drying and operating cost, but harvest took six days longer. The reduced drying capacity at lower temperatures resulted in more field drying which counteracted the reduced drying efficiency and increased field time. The sensitivity analysis demonstrated varied benefits of increased drying and transportation capacity based on how often these systems created a bottleneck in the operation. For some combinations of longer transportation times and higher harvest rates, increasing hauling and drying capacity could shorten the harvest window by a week or more at an increase in costs of less than $12 ha-1. An additional field study was conducted to examine corn harvest losses in Kentucky. Total losses for cooperator combines were found to be between 0.8%-2.4% of total yield (86 to 222 kg ha-1). On average, the combine head accounted for 66% of the measured losses, and the total losses were highly variable, with coefficients of variation ranging from 21.7% to 77.2%. Yield and harvest losses were monitored in a single field as the grain dried from 33.9% to 14.6%. There was no significant difference in the potential yield at any moisture level, and the observed yield and losses displayed little variation for moisture levels from 33.9% to 19.8%, with total losses less than 1% (82 to 130 kg dry matter ha-1). Large amounts of lodging occurred while the grain dried from 19.8% to 14.6%, which resulted in an 18.9% reduction in yield, and harvest losses in excess of 9%. Allowing the grain to field dry generally improved test weight and reduced mechanical damage, however, there was a trend of increased mold and other damage in prolonged field drying

Precision Agriculture Technology for Crop Farming

This book provides a review of precision agriculture technology development, followed by a presentation of the state-of-the-art and future requirements of precision agriculture technology. It presents different styles of precision agriculture technologies suitable for large scale mechanized farming; highly automated community-based mechanized production; and fully mechanized farming practices commonly seen in emerging economic regions. The book emphasizes the introduction of core technical features of sensing, data processing and interpretation technologies, crop modeling and production control theory, intelligent machinery and field robots for precision agriculture production

Precision Agriculture Technology for Crop Farming

This book provides a review of precision agriculture technology development, followed by a presentation of the state-of-the-art and future requirements of precision agriculture technology. It presents different styles of precision agriculture technologies suitable for large scale mechanized farming; highly automated community-based mechanized production; and fully mechanized farming practices commonly seen in emerging economic regions. The book emphasizes the introduction of core technical features of sensing, data processing and interpretation technologies, crop modeling and production control theory, intelligent machinery and field robots for precision agriculture production

National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)/American Society for Engineering Education (ASEE) Summer Faculty Fellowship Program, 1993, volume 2

The JSC NASA/ASEE Summer Faculty Fellowship Program was conducted by Texas A&M University and JSC. The objectives of the program, which began nationally in 1964 and at JSC in 1965, are (1) to further the professional knowledge of qualified engineering and science faculty members; (2) to stimulate an exchange of ideas between participants and NASA; (3) to enrich and refresh the research and teaching activities of participant's institutions; and (4) to contribute to the research objectives of the NASA centers. Each faculty fellow spent at least 10 weeks at JSC engaged in a research project in collaboration with a NASA/JSC colleague. A compilation of the final reports on the research projects completed by the faculty fellows during the summer of 1993 is presented

Sustainable Agriculture and Advances of Remote Sensing (Volume 2)

Agriculture, as the main source of alimentation and the most important economic activity globally, is being affected by the impacts of climate change. To maintain and increase our global food system production, to reduce biodiversity loss and preserve our natural ecosystem, new practices and technologies are required. This book focuses on the latest advances in remote sensing technology and agricultural engineering leading to the sustainable agriculture practices. Earth observation data, in situ and proxy-remote sensing data are the main source of information for monitoring and analyzing agriculture activities. Particular attention is given to earth observation satellites and the Internet of Things for data collection, to multispectral and hyperspectral data analysis using machine learning and deep learning, to WebGIS and the Internet of Things for sharing and publication of the results, among others

CONTRIBUTIONS ON ADVANCED AUTOMATION FOR SELECTIVE PROTECTION TREATMENTS ON SPECIALTY CROPS

Food security and food safety are the main global objectives of today\u2019s agriculture. Within this framework, the recent growing sensibility of both policy makers and consumers for food safety themes appear to be a hopeful sign for the introduction of new strategies and technological systems in the next future\u2019s agriculture. A particularly challenging issue for current crops management is the control of plant\u2019s diseases while avoiding environmental pollution. Precision pest management techniques \u2013an emerging subset of precision agriculture suite- aim at facing this challenge by means of: i) sensing technologies for the early detection and localization of diseased areas in the canopy, and ii) variable rate technologies for the selective application of crop protection treatments on target areas. In this dissertation, two innovative methodologies for hyperspectral crop\u2019s disease detection are presented. The measurements were acquired by means of a hyperspectral camera mounted onto a robotic manipulator which allowed to compose the subsequent hyperspectral scans (1 spatial dimension x 1 spectral dimension) into an hypercube (2D spatial x 1D spectral) of the imaged plant. The first disease detection method is based on the combinatorial selection of the most significant wavelengths from the hypercube data by applying linear discriminant analysis, and the classification power of the optimal selected combination is then evaluated by applying a principal component analysis. The second method is based on a new spatial filter approach, acting along the different channels of the hypercube. The two methods of detection are applied by discussing two case studies of diseases, both on cucumber plants. A first set of experiments was conducted on plants artificially inoculated with powdery mildew. A second and more extensive set of experiments was conducted on plants infected by the cucumber green mottle mosaic virus (CGMMV), which is nowadays considered one of the most dangerous diseases for the Cucurbitaceae family. The application of the two methodologies was successful in identifying the major symptoms of the diseases considered, and specifically the spatial filtering approach enable to detect the subtle morphological modifications in the plant tissue at rather early stage of CGMMV infection. Due to the high cost and complexity of the technologies adopted in the disease detection and of precision spraying equipment, the second part of the thesis applies the classical methods of mechanization cost-analysis to investigate what are the economic thresholds, which may enable the introduction of new precision pest management technologies. To this aim, the analysis is focused on vineyard and apple orchard that represent a favourable case for introducing these kind of innovations, due to the high protection treatments costs typical for these specialty crops. Starting from the results obtained in research on precision spraying in speciality crops, the technical-economic analysis considers on three different technological levels of precision spraying equipment, associated with increasing levels of reduction of the distributed amount of pesticide. This reduction is assumed to be linked to the improved accuracy in targeting the application without affecting the biological efficiency of the treatment, and hence generating a net cost benefit for the farmer. To gain insights into evaluating this benefit is of primary interest, since the profitability of precision spraying technologies will be a major driver for their adoption in speciality crops. Therefore, this study aims at: a) assessing the total costs associated to spraying equipment at the different technological levels considered; b) evaluating weather more advanced equipment can be profitable compared to current conventional sprayers. Furthermore, this analysis was extended to a high-precision, robotic spraying platform, here considered as a perspective scenario for precision spraying technologies. For this specific case, the study aimed at assessing the maximum allowed cost for such a robotic platform, which could generate positive net benefits for the farmer thanks to the envisaged pesticide reduction

Research and Creative Activity, July 1, 2020-June 30, 2021: Major Sponsored Programs and Faculty Accomplishments in Research and Creative Activity, University of Nebraska-Lincoln

Foreword by Bob Wilhelm, Vice Chancellor for Research and Economic Development, University of Nebraska-Lincoln: This booklet highlights successes in research, scholarship and creative activity by University of Nebraska–Lincoln faculty during the fiscal year running July 1, 2020, to June 30, 2021. It lists investigators, project titles and funding sources on major grants and sponsored awards received during the year; fellowships and other recognitions and honors bestowed on our faculty; books and chapters published by faculty; performances, exhibitions and other examples of creative activity; patents and licensing agreements issued; National Science Foundation I-CORPS teams; and peer-reviewed journal articles and conference presentations. In recognition of the important role faculty have in the undergraduate experience at Nebraska, this booklet notes the students and mentors participating in the Undergraduate Creative Activities and Research Experience (UCARE) and the First-Year Research Experience (FYRE) programs. While metrics cannot convey the full impact of our work, they are tangible measures of growth. A few achievements of note: • UNL achieved a record $320 million in total research expenditures in FY 2020, a 43• Our faculty earned 1,508 sponsored research awards in FY 2020. University-sponsored industry activity also spurred economic growth for Nebraska. • Nebraska Innovation Campus created 1,948 jobs statewide and had a total economic impact of$372 million. • Industry sponsorship supported $19.2 million in research expenditures. • NUtech Ventures brought in$6.48 million in licensing income. I applaud the Nebraska Research community for its determination and commitment during a challenging year. Your hard work has made it possible for our momentum to continue growing. Our university is poised for even greater success. The Grand Challenges initiative provides a framework for developing bold ideas to solve society’s greatest issues, which is how we will have the greatest impact as an institution. Please visit research.unl.edu/grandchallenges to learn more. We’re also renewing our campus commitment to a journey of anti-racism and racial equity, which is among the most important work we’ll do. I am pleased to present this record of accomplishments. Contents Awards of $5 Million or More Awards of$1 Million to $4,999,999 Awards of$250,000 to $999,999 50 Early Career Awards Arts and Humanities Awards of$250,000 or More Arts and Humanities Awards of $50,000 to$249,999 Arts and Humanities Awards of $5,000 to$49,999 Patents License Agreements National Science Foundation Innovation Corps Teams Creative Activity Books Recognitions and Honors Journal Articles 105 Conference Presentations UCARE and FYRE Projects Glossar