Agricultural Machinery

     Agricultural machinery devices are used to till soil and to plant, cultivate, and harvest crops. Since ancient times, when first culture began cultivating plants, people have used tools to help them grow and harvest crops. They used pointed tools to dig and keep soil loosened, and sharp knife like objects to harvest ripened crops. Modifications of these early implements led to the development of small hand tools that are still used in small-stale gardening, such as the spade, hoe, rake, trowel, and scythe, and larger implements, such as plows and larger rakes that are drawn by humans; animals, or simple machines. Much of the world's arable land is still tilled under conditions that do not permit use of expensive modern machinery. However, modern machinery is used extensively in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Western Europe, and Australia.

     Modern large agricultural implements, adapted to large-scale farming methods, are usually powered by diesel - or gasoline - fueled internal-combustion engines. The most important implement of modern agriculture is the tractor . It provides locomotion for many other implements and tan furnish power, via its power shaft, for the operation of machines drawn behind the tractor. The power shafts of tractors can also be set up to drive belts that operate equipment such as feed grinders, pumps, and electric-power generators. Small implements, such as portable irrigators, are often powered by individual motors.

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