The UK is widely known around the world for its lush and fertile rolling green fields and it’s those green fields that feed our country. The importance of the agricultural industry cannot go understated, though it has experienced tumultuous times. In post World War II 1950s the UK was only about 35% self-sufficient in the production of its own food, while the rest was imported. Fast forward to today, due to advancements in equipment, techniques and policies, the UK produces about 60% of its domestic food consumption.
Agriculture utilises just over 70% of the country's land area, employs over 460,000 highly skilled farm workers and contributes about £10 billion in gross value added (GVA) to the national economy. As with any industry, growth comes largely from innovation. In agriculture we have seen the introduction of the cotton gin in 1793 by Eli Whitney, and almost 100 years later the 1870s saw the development of the self-propelled steam traction engine that powered threshing rigs.
Then, in 1933, Irishman Harry Ferguson developed a game changer: the first hydraulic lift with automatic draft control, which attached an implement to a tractor by three arms creating a “virtual hitch” point near the tractor’s front axle. This kept the front end of the tractor on the ground when pulling an implement. Its top link compression load was operated by an automatically regulated hydraulic valve according to the draft required to pull implements, such as harrows and tillers. Prior to this advancement, tractors faced the danger of tipping backwards when pulling anything heavy.
In the last century, hydraulic power has continued to be a primary factor in the transformation of the agriculture industry. The introduction of hydraulics has:
- Increased worker efficiency
- Lowered the risk of injury caused by physical labor or farm animals
- Reduced downtime during operational changeover
- Decreased the need for manual power
- Significantly increased planting and harvesting productivity
Agricultural operations rely on hydraulic systems in every area of the farm, from crop planting and harvesting, to animal breeding and slaughter. As with industrial machinery and construction equipment, hydraulics in agriculture can be the largest facture in reducing costly downtime.
Most traditional agricultural machines utilize hydraulic power, such as:
- Combine and forage harvesters use hydrostatically powered motors with a transmission that is an entire hydraulic system. They are used to gather fodder for cattle. Combine harvesters will simultaneously reap and thresh when harvesting crops.
- Cow hoists and slaughter machines are operated hydraulically to lift and rotate the animal in a metal box.
- Sprayers provide a uniform distribution of various agricultural chemicals. They are towed by tractors, mounted on trailers or self-propelled.
- Track loaders are slow-moving machines for loading operations that use hydraulic track drive motors.
- Tractors are used to haul a wide variety of farming equipment and incorporate hydraulic drives and may also include a hydraulic wheel motor or track drive motor.
In addition to these, there are many types of agricultural equipment that use hydraulics including balers, harrows, feeder mixers, muck spreaders, forestry machines and irrigation systems.
Britain’s Agricultural Future
As in any industry, the evolution of technology is a forgone conclusion and should be embraced. For instance, as of September 2022 there were 43 artificial intelligence startup companies for the agriculture market in the United Kingdom. Here are a handful of examples:
Antobot in London is a Farming as a Service (FaaS) technology company manufacturing robots that incorporate embedded computer vision and AI robotic controls for harvesting, fruit picking, and field monitoring.
Better Origin, based in Cambridge, has developed an AI-based automated insect farm for agriculture by using insects to convert industrial food waste and agricultural residue into animal feed.
Cattle Eye, located in Belfast, provides livestock monitoring with autonomous video analytics technology. Their solution is used to monitor cattle movements while providing insights into a herd's health and productivity, along with monitoring various farming activities and conditions.
Muddy Machines, based in London, has developed a unique AI-powered robotic technology that helps growers accomplish labor-intensive fieldwork with an autonomous field robot that incorporates custom harvesting tools. It leverages machine learning to continually evolve in its tasks of detecting, monitoring and harvesting crops.
Rezatec of Didcot, south of Oxford, provides geospatial AI technology with satellite imagery which delivers data analytics for monitoring vegetation and water infrastructure to enable farmers and producers in maximising their crop potential.
Small Robot Company of Salisbury provides a series of three small (hence the name) robots for agriculture solutions. The farm bots Tom, Dick and Harry are controlled by an AI powered brain fondly known as Wilma. The autonomous equipment literally plants, monitors and treats crops.
The drive system is the main component of an agricultural robot and, depending on the application, it can be electrically, hydraulically or pneumatically powered. Light duty AI robots typically use electric actuators in smooth handling of lightweight operations- however, heavy lifting operations in harsh environments (such as farms) require hydraulic or pneumatic actuators to perform tasks.
Underground Farming
We would be remiss when discussing the UK’s agriculture without mentioning the world's first belowground farm. In an underground World War Two air raid shelter, 33 metres below Clapham High Street in south-west London, is an LED-lit subterranean farm where London tube trains are heard rattling overhead. Salads and vegetables are being grown for the city using the latest in hydroponic technology and sold at retailers such as Whole Foods, Able & Cole and M&S.
Conclusion
The UK was Europe’s fourth largest market for tractors (in 2021), with sales of 13,572 units. This was coupled with an increase in crop production, primarily due to loans and incentives provided by the government in an effort to help with the COVID-19 economic recovery.
The major agriculture equipment manufacturers in the country include some of the world’s most advanced international brands, such as John Deere, Kubota, AGCO Corporation, and CNH Industrial NV. According to Origin Automobile Works, a business focused on providing advanced mechanization technology to agriculture, the United Kingdom is a global leader in agricultural automation, recognized for its proficiency in developing and manufacturing mechanized farm machinery.
The population of Great Britain was 67 million (in 2021) and we had a seemingly minor 5.9% increase over the past decade, only projected to pass 70 million in 2031. Yet, with 281 people per Km2 (727 people per mi2) as compared with the U.S. of 36 per Km2 (94 people per mi2), it’s no surprise population density is so much greater in a smaller land mass.
All things considered, growing underground may be a pretty good idea.
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