The Courier & Advertiser (Angus and Dundee)
Robotic tractor is put to work commercially
T workhe first robotic tractor to operate commercially on a UK farm is hard at weeding vegetables in Suffolk.
A Robotti 150D from the Danish manufacturer Agrointelli was bought for around £150,000 by Home Farm Nacton, a conventional and organic vegetable business which was looking to improve technology and reduce its reliance on seasonal labour.
The tractor is controlled by GPS via an onboard computer and follows a pre-programmed route in the field.
The model at Home Farm has two Kubota 75HP diesel or biofuel engines, each of which takes 110 litres of fuel which is enough for the machine to run continuously for around 24 hours.
Home Farm produces a range of crops including leeks, brassicas, potatoes, sugar beet and cereals across 1,940ha.
Farm director Andrew Williams said his board is confident robotics are the future for farming.
“A large amount of our produce is organic so we are increasingly limited in how we can control weeds,” he said.
“Mechanical weeding is repetitive work, as is manual weeding, and sourcing seasonal overseas labour is becoming increasingly difficult.
“We wanted to futureproof the farm, and Robotti is perfectly suited to our set-up. It does exactly what we need, moving soil in the early stage of growth with guaranteed precision.
“It will be used for weeding this year, but we also plan to use it for topping and drilling in the future.”
Obstacles such as telegraph poles or trees are logged at the programming stage, and any unexpected obstacles cause Robotti to stop in its tracks for safety reasons.
An online portal follows the machine’s progress and provides real-time updates.
Agrointelli sales manager
Frederik Rom said the set up on any farm is simple.
“It took approximately 10 minutes to map a fouracre field at Home Farm, and a further 10 minutes to log the weeding plan into the system,” he said.
“It is important for this to be accurate from the start as it will determine reliable performance.”
Mr Williams added: “I can leave Robotti working in the field quite happily, knowing that it will send me an alert if there is an issue or if something unexpected is in its way,” he said.
“It has front and rear cameras which I can view at any time, and I’m able to check the progress of crop
growth at any location within that field without having to walk to see it.”
Home Farm Nacton is largely light land, but development trials in Denmark indicate the equipment also works well on heavier land and is particularly effective with bed systems and row crops.
R foresearchers believe a novel feed treatment could replace the need antibiotics in poultry units and ultimately help the livestock sector in the fight against superbugs.
Scientists at Scotland’s Rural College (SRUC) have announced promising results in a study of a “novel technology” carried out in partnership with Aga Nanotech and the Centre for Innovation Excellence in Livestock (CIEL).
The study found the additive offered a “safe, effective and sustainable” replacement for antibiotic use in poultry rearing.
Dr Salvatore Galgano told a meeting of the World Poultry Science Association the technology could also enhance production.
“It is an important step in the fight against superbug infections in animals and lays the foundations for further investigation into the role of this new technology in decreasing antibiotic resistance associated with animal husbandry,” he said.
Adrian Fellows, the chief executive of Aga Nanotech, added: “We are excited by the early results which show real promise for the development of a new generation of feed additives with a remarkable range of benefits.
“There is still work to do and in part this will be conducted in co-operation with our project partners in China.
“However the research has demonstrated a potential route to the safe, nutritionally beneficial and environmentally responsible replacement of antibiotics in chicken rearing and possibly other monogastric animals.”
CIEL’S lead project manager, Bikki Dalby, said
the innovative approach offered clear veterinary and human health benefits.
“Further gains include improved food security, food integrity and supply chain resistance.
“Over and above the potential it offers the poultry sector in China, this alternative technology
could be extended to other livestock species and rolled out worldwide.”
The study is part of a wider project involving UK company GAMA Healthcare, SRUC, CIEL and Shanghai Veterinary Research Institute to trial innovative patented technology for the poultry industry.