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Disclaimer: I didn't read the article. Why are farm vehicles so big anyway? Is one very large vehicle more efficient than multiple smaller vehicles, or are hum

Disclaimer: I didn't read the article. Why are farm vehicles so big anyway? Is one very large vehicle more efficient than multiple smaller vehicles, or are human operators the main constraint, i.e. because of labor costs it's cheaper to hire one guy to drive a bigger tractor than 3 guys to drive 3 small tractors? Maybe this is a problem that will be solved in the next few decades by driverless tractors, or just tractors that are autonomous enough for one operator to "drive" several at the same time. I could see other advantages to having multiple small tractors: redundancy (one breakdown doesn't stop the whole show); easier transport; easier scaling (can increase or reduce capacity in smaller increments; buying one tractor no longer requires a huge equipment loan)...

rtkwe 4y ago
The equipment being pulled has become smarter and smarter over the years allowing a lot of control over the planting which has increased yields. They're necessarily heavier to contain more sensors and actuators though which requires a larger/heavier tractor to reliably haul them around fields. The tractors have also gotten significantly more advanced from tractors used in the past; enclosed cabs with climate control, autosteer to follow a programmed path, etc.
- Zigurd 4y ago
  > They're necessarily heavier to contain more sensors and actuators though which requires a larger/heavier tractor to reliably haul them around fields. I'm not buying this causal chain: Sensors do not weigh much; I don't see a reason why the number and weight of actuators should change because the machines have more smarts. I suspect tractors and implements get bigger because that's an obvious path to higher operator productivity.
  - cogman10 4y ago
    You suspect correctly. Tractors weigh more because they have steadily increased in size which decreases the number of passes a tractor needs to make over a field. Like having a 20 inch lawnmower vs a 50 inch lawn mower. The 20 inch mower can be self propelled with a tiny HP engine. The 50 inch mowers are pretty much all riding because the extra drag and engine size increase to cut the grass is large enough that adding bigger wheels and a steering wheel makes more sense than having someone push it. Obviously, the 50 inch mower will work a lot faster.
- cogman10 4y ago
  > They're necessarily heavier to contain more sensors and actuators though which requires a larger/heavier tractor to reliably haul them around fields. This is a bad assumption Tractors are heavier because they have larger engines to be able to handle larger equipment which in turn allows them to do the same job in less time. The weight add for creature comforts and sensors is insignificant, easily less than 500lbs in a 20k lbs machine. They are heavier because they are themselves wider or can handle wider equipment. In effect, their "drag" has been steadily increasing which increases the size of the engine to overcome it.
cogman10 4y ago
The human factor is definitely big here. You want to plant as much as possible with as few humans doing it as possible. So, big tractors == faster work. Some of this has risen because farming has (over my lifetime) shifted from small time individual operators towards giant corporate farmers. Except for high value crops, it's hard to compete with the economies of scale of a mega farmers. They in turn use their profits to get bigger and better machines than the individual farmer can afford which further allows them to outfarm the individual. Simple example, irrigation. Small time farmers would have hand lines that need to be moved every day manually. Those typically cost about 1 to 2 human hours per line to move daily (sometimes longer). Mid size farmers "splug" on "wheel lines" which have motors to move the lines (at around 10k for the motor and another 1k or so for the rest of the line). Those cost about 10 to 20 minutes per line daily to move. Large operators pretty much universally use "pivots" which cost about $1 million+ to install but are completely automated with very low maintenance. Those often don't have a daily cost (more like 20 minutes of month at most for maintenance. Some years, the maintenance amounts to turning it on and off. And even that, is increasingly being able to be handled remotely).

rtkwe 4y ago

The equipment being pulled has become smarter and smarter over the years allowing a lot of control over the planting which has increased yields. They're necessarily heavier to contain more sensors and actuators though which requires a larger/heavier tractor to reliably haul them around fields. The tractors have also gotten significantly more advanced from tractors used in the past; enclosed cabs with climate control, autosteer to follow a programmed path, etc.

Zigurd 4y ago
> They're necessarily heavier to contain more sensors and actuators though which requires a larger/heavier tractor to reliably haul them around fields. I'm not buying this causal chain: Sensors do not weigh much; I don't see a reason why the number and weight of actuators should change because the machines have more smarts. I suspect tractors and implements get bigger because that's an obvious path to higher operator productivity.
- cogman10 4y ago
  You suspect correctly. Tractors weigh more because they have steadily increased in size which decreases the number of passes a tractor needs to make over a field. Like having a 20 inch lawnmower vs a 50 inch lawn mower. The 20 inch mower can be self propelled with a tiny HP engine. The 50 inch mowers are pretty much all riding because the extra drag and engine size increase to cut the grass is large enough that adding bigger wheels and a steering wheel makes more sense than having someone push it. Obviously, the 50 inch mower will work a lot faster.
cogman10 4y ago
> They're necessarily heavier to contain more sensors and actuators though which requires a larger/heavier tractor to reliably haul them around fields. This is a bad assumption Tractors are heavier because they have larger engines to be able to handle larger equipment which in turn allows them to do the same job in less time. The weight add for creature comforts and sensors is insignificant, easily less than 500lbs in a 20k lbs machine. They are heavier because they are themselves wider or can handle wider equipment. In effect, their "drag" has been steadily increasing which increases the size of the engine to overcome it.

cogman10 4y ago

The human factor is definitely big here. You want to plant as much as possible with as few humans doing it as possible. So, big tractors == faster work. Some of this has risen because farming has (over my lifetime) shifted from small time individual operators towards giant corporate farmers. Except for high value crops, it's hard to compete with the economies of scale of a mega farmers. They in turn use their profits to get bigger and better machines than the individual farmer can afford which further allows them to outfarm the individual. Simple example, irrigation. Small time farmers would have hand lines that need to be moved every day manually. Those typically cost about 1 to 2 human hours per line to move daily (sometimes longer). Mid size farmers "splug" on "wheel lines" which have motors to move the lines (at around 10k for the motor and another 1k or so for the rest of the line). Those cost about 10 to 20 minutes per line daily to move. Large operators pretty much universally use "pivots" which cost about $1 million+ to install but are completely automated with very low maintenance. Those often don't have a daily cost (more like 20 minutes of month at most for maintenance. Some years, the maintenance amounts to turning it on and off. And even that, is increasingly being able to be handled remotely).