The State of Farming in UK and Role of Pneumatic in it

Agriculture has always been important to UK and therefore it has evolved as a highly mechanized and productive industry. It is, and has always been a major contributor to the state economy; producing about 60% of the UK's food needs.

Most British farms produce a variety of products. The type of farming varies with the soil and climate. The better farming land is generally in the lowlands. The eastern areas are predominantly arable, and the western predominantly for grazing.

Despite experienced farmers, high expertise, fertile soil and subsidies, farm earnings are relatively low, mainly due to low prices at the farm gate. Low earnings, high land prices and a shortage of let farmland discourages young people from joining this industry. Recently, many farmers have moved towards organic farming in an attempt to sustain profits, and many farmers supplement their income by diversifying activities away from pure agriculture. So what were the main difficulties in farming? And how did farmers come up with solutions for such problems? Here we have discussed some major difficulties faced by farmers in agriculture and their solution.

The water supply situation has been a significant issue for those working in agricultural sector, as it is today. The snowpack generally provides enough water to irrigate farms. However, at the present time due to an extended drought condition, a deficiency in the volume of water that is necessary to meet the state’s agricultural needs, has become an increasingly critical issue.

The Issues and the Positives:

Farmers in UK must rely on the weather’s cooperation, if their businesses are to succeed. They are fortunate to be able to put the state’s diverse and fertile soil conditions and its Mediterranean climate, to good use. More than 40% agricultural crop value of UK comes from fruit and tree unit production and 25% from commercial vegetables. UK plays an important role in production of wheat and milk. These two areas have been hit hard by the current draught, with wheat production having been hit the hardest. Many of the state’s crops have been affected by the drought. In some cases, harvest declines and the impact on the quality of the harvested vegetables, fruits and nuts have been noticeable.

How Pneumatics Helps Farming:

Weather condition always helps in improving farming condition; the problems they can cause can be mitigated by improvements in agricultural processes, coupled with advances and improvements in technology.

Pneumatics plays an important role in agriculture. The three important elements that are brought to the table by pneumatics in planting and harvesting crops are speed, precision and consistency. The processes are being further improved by using pneumatics in farming equipment and they are also used widely in the processing andpackaging of agricultural products.

Pneumatics are used in everything from bottling machinery and automated conveyor systems to chicken inoculators. Without the assistance of pneumatics, it would be difficult, if not impossible to pack food in order to keep it fresh, or to bottle liquids without risking contamination during the bottling and sealing process. Pneumatics can also play a key role in enabling food processing companies to maintain critical control over their operations; which in turn extends the usability time of the packaged products.

The machinery used in farming is consisted of solenoid valves which are tripped through the use of compressed air. Solenoid valves are used in pneumatic processes and solenoid and pneumatic valves are used in combination. The combination is called a piloted valve. The larger solenoid valve is triggered by the smaller pneumatic valve. The pneumatic valve acts as an air cylinder which is contained in a main valve. A pneumatic solenoid valve is also referred to as a compressed air pilot valve.  These solenoid valves help in improving the efficiency of the machines.

Pneumatics and hydraulics work in amalgamation to control the robotic arm, a device that has become an assembly line staple. Without the presence of pneumatic-driven controls, manufacturers would be unable to place or position small items with anywhere near the precision often required; and a degree of precision that humans cannot consistently match. Pneumatics has also played a key role in speeding up automated processes.

Technology and Things to Come Up in Farming:

Pneumatics helps farmers directly in one application and that is in seeding. Without the benefit of accurate seed placement controls, seeding can easily become a costly proposition. Farmers will naturally tend to make a mistake on the side of too-heavy seeding as opposed to too-light or conflicting seed placement. The early spring-driven seed down-force systems that were designed to avoid these problems were generally unreliable. They had a tendency to experience slack fittings from the extreme vibration encountered, as well as experiencing performance shortcomings due to dust and dirt contamination.As was the case with the assembly line, a workable solution to the seeding issue involved a combination of hydraulics and pneumatics. Hydraulics control air pressure, while the pneumatic devices precisely control the placement and depths of the seeds. Factors such as soil hardness can be fed back to controllers, enabling adjustments to be made to the down force and thereby allowing seeds to consistently be placed at the correct depth.

Pneumatics are replacing the spring-driven seed placement mechanisms that continually had to be adjusted and had a tendency to break down or otherwise malfunction.

The use of industrial robotics is no longer confined to the factory floor. It is slowly expanding into the agricultural sector. Seed placement may not involve robotic arms, but harvesting fruits, nuts, or berries is a different story; and it is in this area that we can expect to experience new trends in farming. The combination of hydraulics, pneumatics, optical sensors, and a dash of artificial intelligence, is already making berry harvesting a faster and more efficient process than can be done by humans. Optical sensors are used to indicate whether a berry is sufficiently large and ripe enough to harvest. If not, it will not be picked. This concept can be expanded to other crop types as well, especially those where selective harvesting practices are the norm.

The application of pneumatics products will not in itself solve the water problems that are somewhat unique to farming in UK. There is however, much activity underway including legislation, to seek new and improved water preservation and usage practices. Where pneumatics can play a key role will be to provide advanced technological solutions to seeding and harvesting issues.