Skilled labour is a growing issue among agricultural contractors here in Ireland and afar.
The situation is not helped by the total lack of training and accreditation for operators of agricultural machinery. So, as a career choice, the future is limited.
Add to that antisocial working hours and a lack of profitability to match the high wages paid in construction and other industries in Ireland, and it should be obvious that the availability of skilled operators for agriculture is a dwindling resource.
We also see that farmers are spending more on agricultural contractor services due to a lack of labour at their end, not a lack of machines.
The latest Teagasc National Farm Survey shows that farmers have spent 23% more on contractor services in 2022 compared with 2021, so that also confirms the extent of the labour problems in farming. But now the labour issue is also impacting on agricultural contractors more acutely.
So, who is going to do the work on farms or how is the work going to done?
Other than agricultural contracting, two groups that are aware of the labour shortage problem are the investors/venture capitalists and the farm machinery manufacturers.
Big investments are being made into the development of autonomous tractors and suitable machines to work with them. This seems to be one of the few solutions left to tackle the problem of a lack of skilled labour.
A lot of the early interest in agricultural automation has come from the specialist vegetable growing sector through the likes of autonomous hoes and planters, ie FarmDroid.
Labour is in severe crisis across Europe and in every developed world economy and clearly here in Ireland too. It should be obvious that this is part of the reason why we are importing so much vegetable products. It’s not that we can’t grow them, we can, it’s that we cannot source or afford the labour to plant and harvest them.
The lack of skilled labour has been an issue developing on dairy farms and has driven the demand for robot milking machines, which are now the norm within the sector.
The problem has moved on to mainstream farm crops including tillage crops and grass harvesting, in the case of Ireland. That situation was more in focus this year due to the late spring sowing season.
Therefore, could autonomous tractors manage the sowing of the 10,000ha national maize crop, or 130,000ha of spring cereal crops, for example?
Teagasc estimated that 105,000ha of crops other than spring cereals were to be sown in spring 2024. Much of these crops were sown by Irish agricultural contractors.
The time has come to consider new systems of automation in the mechanisation of field crops. Machine developers are taking different routes.
Some are developing technology to convert existing tractors to be operated autonomously using conversion kits with modern computer systems.
Others are developing new machinery power units that replace conventional tractors with no facility to include a driver.
Contractors will quickly identify this opportunity for 24/7 machinery operations with a monitoring role over perhaps two autonomous systems with a setup and transfer role between fields. The accuracy of the system is no longer in doubt. The outstanding issue is the reliability of the backup service.
Autonomy conversion systems
John Deere has been developing systems to autonomise conventional tractors as far back as 2010 and, more recently, has shown conventional tractors with fully autonomous control systems.
The CNH group, through Case IH and Raven, are also well on the way to commercially launching a retrofit kit for automating its latest tractor generation.
The Irish Farmers Journal saw such technology in action in Austria last year.
One of the major hurdles globally, is legislation around autonomous vehicles which we’re sure will be overcome in time.
Deere believes that those using precision technology systems such as AutoPath guidance, as well as transferring field maps and prescription data between machines, are more than halfway to full autonomy.
These tractors are equipped with a range of sensors and camera systems, which enable 360-degree obstacle detection and the calculation of distance.
Images captured by the cameras are processed in milliseconds and determine if the machine continues to move or stops, depending on if an obstacle is detected.
The autonomous equipment continuously checks the tractor’s position, ensuring it is operating where it is supposed to, and accurately.
Combined Powers is a joint project between Lemken and Krone and involves a diesel-electric autonomous tractor design concept which was showcased in the field last week.
To use the tractor autonomously, contractors and farmers only need to transport the machine to a field and configure it for autonomous operation. This is done using a mobile device or computer.
All vital information relating to the tractor’s performance can be monitored via real-time video and adjusted remotely.
Subsequently, this allows the farmer or contractor to work alongside the autonomous tractor or focus on other tasks, while monitoring the machine’s status from their mobile device.
Implement manufacturers such as Vaderstad have also started to look towards the development of ‘smart’ implements fitted with sensors and complex technology to work in tandem with autonomous tractors. Such implements can be remotely monitored and adjusted.
Fully autonomous tractors
The two best-known systems of autonomous tractors for field scale operation are the AGXeed Agbot unit supported by Claas and Amazone and the Combined Powers unit, supported by Krone and Lemken.
The AgBot 5.115T2 is AgXeed's flagship autonomus field robot, fitted with a 4.1l four-cylinder 156hp Deutz engine.
Both have third party IT partners involved in their development projects. The AgBot unit was shown in Ireland earlier this year at the Kelly’s of Borris open days.
Krone and Lemken have joined forces in the development of a ‘Combined Powers’ project, to advance and bring into focus the development of autonomous process units in farming.
Think of these futuristic-looking machines as compact autonomous tool carriers.
The Krone/Lemken machine now benefits from the addition of front linkage and has been demonstrated and grass and arable applications.
Another improvement is with the diesel-electric drive system.
This generation of machine retains its power output of 230hp (170kW) and continues to feature four-wheel steering with large tyres for maximum tractive power and minimum ground pressure.
Combined Powers, the joint autonomous tractor project between Lemken and Krone, has gained drive updates, front linkage and further developed autonomous process units for 2024 testing.
More recently, the transport solution presented at Agritechnica 2023, using a drawbar vehicle transport system (VTS), avoids the need for a low loader to move the machine between fields.
Claas, AgXeed and Amazone have set up the first autonomy group to develop highly automated and autonomous systems for fieldwork.
Called the 3A group, together the companies aim to integrate their individual areas of expertise and create further partnerships to enable the developed technologies to be rolled out more rapidly and on a broader basis.
The tractor developed by the 3A group is called the AgBot and there are three versions available, the largest being the AgXeed AgBot 5.115T2, a number of which are now at work across the UK.
The AgXeed AgBot 5.115T2 is an autonomous tractor that uses a 156hp Deutz engine and drives a diesel electric transmission. It has a speed range from 0 to 13,5km/hr and a 350-litre diesel tank for a long working day.
Planning process
The first implement product developed by 3A was the Amazone AutoTill for mulch cultivators and Claas Autonomy connect, which incorporates the entire tillage planning and implementation process. These automatic setting systems have now been tested under field conditions.
Other machinery suppliers are working with the 3A group. Kverneland has been working with the AgXeed autonomous tractor, AgBot, with an autonomous maize seeder in France, with good success this year.
A Roscommon-based company Acres Machinery has developed the smaller iTarra machine, which is about half the size of a conventional tractor.
The unit, which is not commercially available yet, is fitted with a NVidia computing engine as well as cameras and sensors that allow it to complete tasks fully autonomously.
The iTarra can be controlled in a range of other ways, including remotely and using a virtual reality headset.
Acres Machinery claims that iTarra technology can also be used to retrofit existing tractors. David Doran of Acres Machinery said that he plans to market the iTarra tractor for around €100,000, with retrofitting of existing tractors for under €10,000.
Where are the applications?
The applications are everywhere in an agricultural contractor business. The scope and flexibility of the autonomous tractors are widespread.
The scope is endless and the opportunities are vast
Field scale applications range from mowing and tedding grass to slurry spreading with umbilical systems to sowing crops and applying fertiliser.
The scope is endless and the opportunities are vast.
The issue is no longer the investment cost because regular tractors have become so expensive.
If we take it that an autonomous tractor such as the AgXeed Agbot will cost in the region of €300,000, then it is not lot more expensive than a self-propelled silage harvester, combine harvester or mower. And it has the potential for a wider range of application.
Labour costs for agricultural contractors continue to soar, while availability declines.
A machine operator will cost the agricultural contractor in the region of €25 per hour, when employers’ contributions to tax, PRSI, pension and holiday pay are now included as required by law.
Eliminating the labour costs can half the total operating costs per hour, which will be enough to consider funding the additional costs of autonomous tractors.
This technology has halved the effort of the operators, if you can get them.
Results
By replacing the operator with an autonomous tractor and suitably matched machines behind, contractors can achieve the same, if not better, results.
The need for labour availability and skill levels immediately changes, but what remains is the need for field reliability and contractor training in new skills. And that part has to come.
The Combined Powers project between Lemken and Krone has been expanded following field trials.
Can autonomous tractors cut costs?
For contractors, the breakeven cost of operating a tractor is now in excess of €50 per hour.
Labour is accounting for half of tractor operation cost. If one operator could manage two machines, then the labour cost per machine would be halved.
Could the silage harvester operator manage an autonomous tractor with a rake in the same field? Could a power-harrow operator manage an autonomous tractor with a maize seeder to follow?
Skilled labour is a growing issue among agricultural contractors here in Ireland and afar.
The situation is not helped by the total lack of training and accreditation for operators of agricultural machinery. So, as a career choice, the future is limited.
Add to that antisocial working hours and a lack of profitability to match the high wages paid in construction and other industries in Ireland, and it should be obvious that the availability of skilled operators for agriculture is a dwindling resource.
We also see that farmers are spending more on agricultural contractor services due to a lack of labour at their end, not a lack of machines.
The latest Teagasc National Farm Survey shows that farmers have spent 23% more on contractor services in 2022 compared with 2021, so that also confirms the extent of the labour problems in farming. But now the labour issue is also impacting on agricultural contractors more acutely.
So, who is going to do the work on farms or how is the work going to done?
Other than agricultural contracting, two groups that are aware of the labour shortage problem are the investors/venture capitalists and the farm machinery manufacturers.
Big investments are being made into the development of autonomous tractors and suitable machines to work with them. This seems to be one of the few solutions left to tackle the problem of a lack of skilled labour.
A lot of the early interest in agricultural automation has come from the specialist vegetable growing sector through the likes of autonomous hoes and planters, ie FarmDroid.
Labour is in severe crisis across Europe and in every developed world economy and clearly here in Ireland too. It should be obvious that this is part of the reason why we are importing so much vegetable products. It’s not that we can’t grow them, we can, it’s that we cannot source or afford the labour to plant and harvest them.
The lack of skilled labour has been an issue developing on dairy farms and has driven the demand for robot milking machines, which are now the norm within the sector.
The problem has moved on to mainstream farm crops including tillage crops and grass harvesting, in the case of Ireland. That situation was more in focus this year due to the late spring sowing season.
Therefore, could autonomous tractors manage the sowing of the 10,000ha national maize crop, or 130,000ha of spring cereal crops, for example?
Teagasc estimated that 105,000ha of crops other than spring cereals were to be sown in spring 2024. Much of these crops were sown by Irish agricultural contractors.
The time has come to consider new systems of automation in the mechanisation of field crops. Machine developers are taking different routes.
Some are developing technology to convert existing tractors to be operated autonomously using conversion kits with modern computer systems.
Others are developing new machinery power units that replace conventional tractors with no facility to include a driver.
Contractors will quickly identify this opportunity for 24/7 machinery operations with a monitoring role over perhaps two autonomous systems with a setup and transfer role between fields. The accuracy of the system is no longer in doubt. The outstanding issue is the reliability of the backup service.
Autonomy conversion systems
John Deere has been developing systems to autonomise conventional tractors as far back as 2010 and, more recently, has shown conventional tractors with fully autonomous control systems.
The CNH group, through Case IH and Raven, are also well on the way to commercially launching a retrofit kit for automating its latest tractor generation.
The Irish Farmers Journal saw such technology in action in Austria last year.
One of the major hurdles globally, is legislation around autonomous vehicles which we’re sure will be overcome in time.
Deere believes that those using precision technology systems such as AutoPath guidance, as well as transferring field maps and prescription data between machines, are more than halfway to full autonomy.
These tractors are equipped with a range of sensors and camera systems, which enable 360-degree obstacle detection and the calculation of distance.
Images captured by the cameras are processed in milliseconds and determine if the machine continues to move or stops, depending on if an obstacle is detected.
The autonomous equipment continuously checks the tractor’s position, ensuring it is operating where it is supposed to, and accurately.
Combined Powers is a joint project between Lemken and Krone and involves a diesel-electric autonomous tractor design concept which was showcased in the field last week.
To use the tractor autonomously, contractors and farmers only need to transport the machine to a field and configure it for autonomous operation. This is done using a mobile device or computer.
All vital information relating to the tractor’s performance can be monitored via real-time video and adjusted remotely.
Subsequently, this allows the farmer or contractor to work alongside the autonomous tractor or focus on other tasks, while monitoring the machine’s status from their mobile device.
Implement manufacturers such as Vaderstad have also started to look towards the development of ‘smart’ implements fitted with sensors and complex technology to work in tandem with autonomous tractors. Such implements can be remotely monitored and adjusted.
Fully autonomous tractors
The two best-known systems of autonomous tractors for field scale operation are the AGXeed Agbot unit supported by Claas and Amazone and the Combined Powers unit, supported by Krone and Lemken.
The AgBot 5.115T2 is AgXeed's flagship autonomus field robot, fitted with a 4.1l four-cylinder 156hp Deutz engine.
Both have third party IT partners involved in their development projects. The AgBot unit was shown in Ireland earlier this year at the Kelly’s of Borris open days.
Krone and Lemken have joined forces in the development of a ‘Combined Powers’ project, to advance and bring into focus the development of autonomous process units in farming.
Think of these futuristic-looking machines as compact autonomous tool carriers.
The Krone/Lemken machine now benefits from the addition of front linkage and has been demonstrated and grass and arable applications.
Another improvement is with the diesel-electric drive system.
This generation of machine retains its power output of 230hp (170kW) and continues to feature four-wheel steering with large tyres for maximum tractive power and minimum ground pressure.
Combined Powers, the joint autonomous tractor project between Lemken and Krone, has gained drive updates, front linkage and further developed autonomous process units for 2024 testing.
More recently, the transport solution presented at Agritechnica 2023, using a drawbar vehicle transport system (VTS), avoids the need for a low loader to move the machine between fields.
Claas, AgXeed and Amazone have set up the first autonomy group to develop highly automated and autonomous systems for fieldwork.
Called the 3A group, together the companies aim to integrate their individual areas of expertise and create further partnerships to enable the developed technologies to be rolled out more rapidly and on a broader basis.
The tractor developed by the 3A group is called the AgBot and there are three versions available, the largest being the AgXeed AgBot 5.115T2, a number of which are now at work across the UK.
The AgXeed AgBot 5.115T2 is an autonomous tractor that uses a 156hp Deutz engine and drives a diesel electric transmission. It has a speed range from 0 to 13,5km/hr and a 350-litre diesel tank for a long working day.
Planning process
The first implement product developed by 3A was the Amazone AutoTill for mulch cultivators and Claas Autonomy connect, which incorporates the entire tillage planning and implementation process. These automatic setting systems have now been tested under field conditions.
Other machinery suppliers are working with the 3A group. Kverneland has been working with the AgXeed autonomous tractor, AgBot, with an autonomous maize seeder in France, with good success this year.
A Roscommon-based company Acres Machinery has developed the smaller iTarra machine, which is about half the size of a conventional tractor.
The unit, which is not commercially available yet, is fitted with a NVidia computing engine as well as cameras and sensors that allow it to complete tasks fully autonomously.
The iTarra can be controlled in a range of other ways, including remotely and using a virtual reality headset.
Acres Machinery claims that iTarra technology can also be used to retrofit existing tractors. David Doran of Acres Machinery said that he plans to market the iTarra tractor for around €100,000, with retrofitting of existing tractors for under €10,000.
Where are the applications?
The applications are everywhere in an agricultural contractor business. The scope and flexibility of the autonomous tractors are widespread.
The scope is endless and the opportunities are vast
Field scale applications range from mowing and tedding grass to slurry spreading with umbilical systems to sowing crops and applying fertiliser.
The scope is endless and the opportunities are vast.
The issue is no longer the investment cost because regular tractors have become so expensive.
If we take it that an autonomous tractor such as the AgXeed Agbot will cost in the region of €300,000, then it is not lot more expensive than a self-propelled silage harvester, combine harvester or mower. And it has the potential for a wider range of application.
Labour costs for agricultural contractors continue to soar, while availability declines.
A machine operator will cost the agricultural contractor in the region of €25 per hour, when employers’ contributions to tax, PRSI, pension and holiday pay are now included as required by law.
Eliminating the labour costs can half the total operating costs per hour, which will be enough to consider funding the additional costs of autonomous tractors.
This technology has halved the effort of the operators, if you can get them.
Results
By replacing the operator with an autonomous tractor and suitably matched machines behind, contractors can achieve the same, if not better, results.
The need for labour availability and skill levels immediately changes, but what remains is the need for field reliability and contractor training in new skills. And that part has to come.
The Combined Powers project between Lemken and Krone has been expanded following field trials.
Can autonomous tractors cut costs?
For contractors, the breakeven cost of operating a tractor is now in excess of €50 per hour.
Labour is accounting for half of tractor operation cost. If one operator could manage two machines, then the labour cost per machine would be halved.
Could the silage harvester operator manage an autonomous tractor with a rake in the same field? Could a power-harrow operator manage an autonomous tractor with a maize seeder to follow?
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