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The Irish Government says its investment will ensure students get the best opportunity to develop their machinery operation skills early on in their farming careers.
The Irish Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM), is investing $2 million in 18 farm machinery training simulators for use around the country’s Teagasc agricultural colleges.
Making the announcement at the recent National Ploughing Championships, the Minister of State with responsibility for Farm Safety Martin Heydon said the investment will ensure students get the best opportunity to develop their machinery operation skills early on in their farming careers.
“Driver operation has been identified both internationally and in Ireland as a major cause of incidents involving tractors and machinery,” according to the DAFM.
Over 40% of workplace fatalities in Ireland occur on farms, with over half of these fatal incidents involving tractors, farm vehicles and machinery.
“There are also many non-fatal incidents involving tractors, farm vehicles and machinery, some of which result in life-changing injuries,” DAFM says.
The simulators will be available to students completing courses at the agricultural and horticultural colleges, and to students at the universities and technological universities who use the college facilities for practical learning modules.
While this might be considered unnecessary to many, especially those who have been brought up on farms and will already be familiar with machinery, Francis Quigley of Teagasc, notes that even over the last 20 years, tractors have grown enormously, both in size and power, and represent quite a different challenge to pottering around on a Fergy 135, a Ford 4000 or similar.
The DAFM’s support for the machinery simulators has been welcomed by Teagasc director Professor Frank O’Mara, who said students will be able to use these simulators to learn and be trained to use a range of machines safely.
“It will greatly enhance our capacity to provide innovative training to a high number of students in potentially dangerous work tasks, helping to improve health and safety on Irish farms,” O’Mara says.
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With the biannual Italian EIMA machinery Expo less than a month away, Case IH has taken out a Technical Evolution award for the Advanced Vehicle Suspension system available on its Optum 360–440 series tractors.
The Advanced Vehicle Suspension system, available on Optum 360, 390, and 440 models, responds to changing conditions, automatically adjusting how the suspension reacts to absorbs shocks and controlling vehicle movement.
In operation, sensors monitor the vibrations transmitted from the tractor chassis to the operator cabin, allowing the system to adjust suspension damping in real time. The control system incorporates key priorities, such as comfort at lower speeds and stability as speed increases, while also reacting to factors such as lower tyre pressures, where the tyres absorb more of the initial shock.
Case IH said as suspension requirements change throughout the working day, as tractors move between the paddock and road transport, the system manages suspension response in the background as tasks, speeds and conditions change, leaving the operator without the need to make manual adjustments.
Richard Hollins, Optum series tractors global product manager, said: “Pioneering technology must earn its place in the working day. Farmers and contractors will judge an investment by what it delivers, including manageable ownership costs, dependable up-time and the versatility to tackle different jobs. With AVS, we are putting intelligent control to work for comfort and stability, without giving the operator another setting to manage.”
Organised by FederUnacoma, the Italian Agricultural Machinery Manufacturers Federation, the contest has been part of EIMA since 1986, with the Technical Evolution distinction awarded to products that introduce original improvements to solutions already manufactured or patented.
www.caseih.com
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