Bioresource and Agricultural Engineering Commons^™

A Computer Model For Analysis Of Alternative Burley Tobacco Harvesting Practice, Thomas C. Bridges, Larry G. Wells, George A. Duncan, Larry D. Swetnam

Agricultural Engineering Extension Publications

Agricultural operations and practices have been the subject of many computer models and simulations. Holtman et al. (1970) developed a corn harvesting simulator, and Morey et al. (1971) used simulation techniques to analyze net profit of a corn harvesting and handling system during a particular weather year. Further, Loewer et al. (1977) advanced a model that assessed alternative beef production strategies for the individual farm with land, energy and capital as constraints. Bridges et al., (1979) developed a design simulation oriented toward the individual producer that examines corn harvesting systems and compares them regarding investment and annual cost. The CATCH …

Drying Considerations For The 1996 Corn Crop, Douglas G. Overhults, Samuel G. Mcneill

Agricultural Engineering Extension Updates

The com harvest season has already started on some farms and is rapidly approaching for many others. Current market opportunities and previous contractual arrangements have some farmers thinking about starting their harvest earlier than usual. Other factors also suggest that a substantial portion of this year's crop could be harvested at moisture contents between 24 and 32%.

Reducing Mud Using Highway-Type Filter Materials, Larry W. Turner

Agricultural Engineering Extension Updates

Several beef and dairy producers across the country have been successful in dramatically reducing mud problems without resorting to the use of expensive concrete or pavement. A load-bearing material used in the highway industry can be placed in high animal traffic areas, on mounds, around feed bunks and in "transition " areas where animals move onto or off of concrete. The materials are of two basic types; 1) geotextiles, which are a porous filter-type material, and 2) polyethelye-type plastic grid material. Costs for installing the finished surface are about one-third the cost of concrete.

Vegetative Filter Strip Design For Grassed Areas Treated With Animal Manures, Dwayne R. Edwards, Tommy C. Daniel, Philip A. Moore Jr.

Biosystems and Agricultural Engineering Faculty Publications

Vegetative filter strips (VFS) are a low-cost management option that have been demonstrated to be effective in reducing runoff transport of fertilizer constituents applied to grassed areas (pasture or meadow). Runoff quality studies involving fertilizers applied to grassed areas suggest that VFS can be designed by assuming that (1) only infiltration is responsible for pollutant removal, (2) the first post-application runoff event is most important from a water quality perspective (enabling a design event approach), and (3) no pollutant build-up that degrades VFS performance will occur. The purpose of this study was to develop a VFS design algorithm for grassed …

Poultry Litter-Treated Length Effects On Quality Of Runoff From Fescue Plots, Dwayne R. Edwards, Philip A. Moore Jr., Tommy C. Daniel, Puneet Srivastava

Biosystems and Agricultural Engineering Faculty Publications

Using experimental data and/or mathematical simulation models to identify practices that reduce pollution from manure-treated areas is sometimes perceived as limited by the unknown validity of extrapolating plot-scale data to larger areas and by uncertainties in modeling transport of various pollutants. The objectives of this study were to assess the effect of length of manure treatment on runoff concentrations of poultry litter constituents and to define the modes of transport (particulate versus soluble) for nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P), carbon (C), and solids. Poultry litter was applied to three 1.5- x 18.3-m fescue (Festuca arundinacea Schreb.) plots with runoff collection …

Quality Of Runoff From Four Northwest Arkansas Pasture Fields Treated With Organic And Inorganic Fertilizer, Dwayne R. Edwards, Tommy C. Daniel, John F. Murdoch, Philip A. Moore Jr.

Biosystems and Agricultural Engineering Faculty Publications

Long-term land application of animal manures, even at agronomic rates, can promote accumulation of soil phosphorus (P) which can, in turn, contribute to increased P loadings to downstream waters. The objective of this study was to assess the soil and runoff effects of replacing animal manure as a soil amendment with inorganic fertilizer (ammonium nitrate, NH₄NO₃) on fields that had been treated previously with animal manures. Runoff from two pairs of small fields (0.57 to 1.46 ha) was sampled from September 1991 to April 1994. All fields had been treated previously with animal manures; after runoff …

Performance Of Vegetative Filter Strips With Varying Pollutant Source And Filter Strip Lengths, Puneet Srivastava, Dwayne R. Edwards, Tommy C. Daniel, Philip A. Moore Jr., Thomas A. Costello

Biosystems and Agricultural Engineering Faculty Publications

Vegetative filter strips (VFS) can reduce runoff losses of pollutants such as nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) from land areas treated with fertilizers. While VFS effectiveness is considered to depend on lengths of pollutant source and VFS areas, there is little experimental evidence of this dependence, particularly when the pollutant source is manure-treated pasture. This study assessed the effects of pollutant source area (fescue pasture treated with poultry litter) length and VFS (fescue pasture) length on VFS removal of nitrate N (NO₃-N), ammonia N (NH₃-N), total Kjeldahl N (TKN), ortho-P (PO₄-P), total P (TP), …

Simulation Of Runoff Transport Of Animal Manure Constituents, Yang Wang, Dwayne R. Edwards, Tommy C. Daniel, H. Don Scott

Biosystems and Agricultural Engineering Faculty Publications

Runoff losses of land-applied animal manure constituents can adversely affect the quality of downstream waters. Reliable mathematical simulation models can help estimate runoff losses of animal manure constituents and identify management measures to reduce these losses. The objective of this study was to develop and calibrate an event-based simulation model to describe the runoff transport of solids (soil and manure particles) and nutrients (nitrogen and phosphorus) from areas treated with animal manure. The resulting model, consisting of linked hydrology, soil/manure transport, and nutrient transport components, is process-oriented and uses measurable parameters to the greatest degree possible. The three components of …

A Direct, Approximate Solution To The Modified Green-Ampt Infiltration Equation, Puneet Srivastava, Thomas A. Costello, Dwayne R. Edwards

Biosystems and Agricultural Engineering Faculty Publications

Accurately predicting the rainfall-runoff process is of vital importance for water quality models as well as for correct design of various types of hydraulic structures. This article presents a method of describing the cumulative infiltration process as an explicit function of time using an approximation to the modified Green-Ampt equation given by Mein and Larson (1971). The resulting equation is helpful in predicting cumulative infiltration and therefore infiltration capacity for computer simulation models. The proposed method takes about 50% less time than the usual iterative technique for the same degree of accuracy. The maximum error due to approximation was 1% …

Development Of A Biologically Based Aerobic Composting Simulation Model, Dennis P. Stombaugh, Sue E. Nokes

Biosystems and Agricultural Engineering Faculty Publications

A relatively simple dynamic model based on microbial process kinetics has been developed for aerobic composting. Differential equations describing microbial, substrate, and oxygen concentrations, as well as moisture and temperature profiles have been derived as a function of vessel size and aeration rate. Microbial biomass growth was described using Monod growth kinetics as a function of degradable substrate concentration, oxygen concentration, moisture content, and compost temperature. Facility and fan operating costs have been included to permit economic optimization of the process. Predicted results demonstrated the ability of the model to quantify and describe the influence of multiple interacting factors (temperature, …

Minimum Ventilation For Modern Broiler Facilities, Richard S. Gates, Douglas G. Overhults, Shuhui H. Zhang

Biosystems and Agricultural Engineering Faculty Publications

New functions for whole-house broiler heat production as a function of bird age using modern straight run broiler growth rates are presented and compared to values in the literature. The approximations are based on field measurements of environmental conditions in modern broiler housing, using a technique that matches predicted to actual fuel use to estimate partitioning between latent and sensible heat. Development of a program utilizing these approximations to compute ventilation and heating requirements for temperature and humidity control in broiler housing is described. The program utilizes steady-state heat and moisture balances commonly used for design purposes, with hourly or …

Monitoring The Dynamics Of Scaled Vehicles Using A Sonic Digitizer, Michael J. Bader, Larry G. Wells, Linus R. Walton

Biosystems and Agricultural Engineering Faculty Publications

Certain dynamic stability characteristics of an alternate method of mounting a front-end loader to a farm tractor were compared to those of a conventionally mounted front-end loader operating on a specified terrain. One objective of the study was to determine if the alternate method of mounting a front-end loader resulted in better stability characteristics and, in turn, safer operation than a conventional front-end loader. Another objective was to determine if a three-dimensional sonic digitizer could monitor the motion of the scale model tractor-loader systems accurately enough to perform a comparison between the systems. This article describes the second objective of …

Operational Considerations For Harvesting Corn Above 25% Moisture Content, Samuel G. Mcneill, Douglas G. Overhults

Agricultural Engineering Extension Updates

Many of Kentucky's grain farmers are interested in harvesting corn at higher moistures than in recent years because of potential market trends and weather patterns. Corn that was planted early is near maturity in many western KY counties and fortunately, the market is higher than in previous years. Additionally, most elevators are offering premiums between 25 and 50 cents per bushel for corn delivered prior to Sept. 15 this year, so farmers who have drying equipment are poised to take advantage of this rare opportunity. In contrast, late planted corn may be threatened by an early frost, so actually both …

Permitting Procedures For Operation Of Liquid Livestock Waste Handling Facilities, J. L. Taraba, R. M. Williams

Agricultural Engineering Extension Updates

Owners and operators of livestock waste management facilitates should be aware that livestock wastes have been identified as a source of pollutants in Kentucky streams. In order to protect these water sources a number of laws and regulations have been implemented to restrict the discharge of pollutants from point sources into the waters of the commonwealth. The Division of Water (DOW) is a division of the Kentucky Natural Resources and Environmental Protection Cabinet, Department for Environmental Protect ion and operates under authority set forth in the Federal Water Pollution Control Act and Kentucky Revised statute 224. The DOW is specifically …

Vendors Of Shade Cloth, Cooling Equipment And Geotextile Fabric, Larry W. Turner

Agricultural Engineering Extension Updates

No abstract provided.

Application Of Simplified Phosphorus Transport Models To Pasture Fields In Northwest Arkansas, Dwayne R. Edwards, C. T. Haan, Andrew N. Sharpley, John F. Murdoch, Tommy C. Daniel, Philip A. Moore Jr.

Biosystems and Agricultural Engineering Faculty Publications

Runoff transport of phosphorus (P) is often predicted from simple equations with parameters determined from data applicable primarily to row-cropped and fallow cover conditions. The applicability, accuracy, and precision of such P transport prediction equations under pasture situations are less well defined. The objectives of this study were to determine parameters of simplified runoff P transport equations for pasture fields and to assess the accuracy and precision of the equations. Runoff, sediment yield, soluble P transport, and particulate P transport data were collected from four pasture fields in northwestern Arkansas. Runoff event enrichment ratios and extraction coefficients were computed, and …

Evaluation Of The Crop Growth Component Of The Root Zone Water Quality Model For Corn In Ohio, Sue E. Nokes, Feliks M. Landa, Jon D. Hanson

Biosystems and Agricultural Engineering Faculty Publications

The Root Zone Water Quality Model (RZWQM) is a computer model developed to simulate water, chemical, and biological processes in the root zone of agricultural management systems. As of this writing RZWQM is in the beta-testing phase of development. This article reports on a parameterization and evaluation study performed in Ohio on field corn for the crop growth component of RZWQM. The generic crop growth model in RZWQM had not previously been parameterized or tested on field corn. This article reports the results of such a study. One year of data was used to calibrate RZWQM, and two additional years …

Comparison Of Daily Water Table Depth Prediction By Four Simulation Models, Eric D. Desmond, Andrew D. Ward, Norman R. Fausey, Stephen R. Workman

Biosystems and Agricultural Engineering Faculty Publications

The Agricultural Drainage And Pesticide Transport (ADAPT) model was compared to the water management simulation models DRAINMOD, SWATREN, and PREFLO. SWATREN and PREFLO are one-dimensional finite-difference models while ADAPT and DRAINMOD are one-dimensional mass balance models. ADAPT, an extension of the computer model GLEAMS, also provides chemical transport information. All four models were tested against field data from Aurora, North Carolina. Observed water table depth data were collected during 1973 through 1977 from a water table management field experiment with three subsurface drain spacing treatments of 7.5, 15, and 30 m.

Both the standard error of estimate and the average …