Download (4Mb) - USQ ePrints - University of Southern Queensland
Download (4Mb) - USQ ePrints - University of Southern Queensland
Download (4Mb) - USQ ePrints - University of Southern Queensland
Create successful ePaper yourself
Turn your PDF publications into a flip-book with our unique Google optimized e-Paper software.
2. Harvesting Systems<br />
In considering an agricultural system as a whole, harvesting can be seen as the hinge, or as a ridge<br />
between the pre-harvest period, corresponding to production activity and the post-harvest period,<br />
extending from harvesting to consumption.<br />
All harvesting systems have component parts and processes. Usually the aim is to produce a quality<br />
product for the market as cheaply as possible, but other factors may need to be considered.<br />
In the case <strong>of</strong> harvesting biomass, the aims may include improving the productivity <strong>of</strong> equipment and<br />
resources and making the day to day operations easier, safer and more efficient.<br />
Analysing the elements and processes <strong>of</strong> a system is the first step in achieving these aims.<br />
Key Elements<br />
There are 3 key elements that make up any biomass harvesting system – trees, people and equipment.<br />
No matter what the system, these elements all interact at harvest time. The way the biomass<br />
harvesting system functions is the result <strong>of</strong> the interaction <strong>of</strong> these elements at harvest time.<br />
Each <strong>of</strong> these elements has specific characteristics that need to be taken into consideration when<br />
designing the whole biomass harvesting system. These are outlined in proceeding sections with<br />
comparison to the harvesting system <strong>of</strong> the Australian Sugarcane Industry.<br />
A change to any element <strong>of</strong> the biomass harvesting system will also have an impact on the other<br />
elements <strong>of</strong> the production system.<br />
2.1 Harvester Design<br />
Sugar system<br />
One <strong>of</strong> the greatest changes in Australian sugarcane growing has been the replacement <strong>of</strong> manual<br />
cane-cutters by mechanical harvesters. The initial changes to whole-stick mechanical harvesting,<br />
introduced slowly since the 1930s, by themselves had little effect on the farming system, other than<br />
faster and timely harvesting allowing subsequent field operations to follow more quickly. However,<br />
it is difficult to assign benefits to this. It is the widespread adoption <strong>of</strong> chopper harvesters that has<br />
changed the farming system radically.<br />
The Australian Sugarcane Industry is based on ‘chopped’ or ‘billeted cane’ rather than wholestalk<br />
cane which is still a major component <strong>of</strong> overseas sugarcane industries.<br />
Australia pioneered the development <strong>of</strong> mechanical sugarcane harvesting. The evolution <strong>of</strong> the<br />
sugarcane harvester in Australia has been a unique blend <strong>of</strong> the developments <strong>of</strong> farmer innovators,<br />
small manufacturers, and the research and development teams <strong>of</strong> larger corporations. The pioneering<br />
‘chopped cane’ harvester was the Massey Ferguson 515, side mounted on a farm tractor. By 1975<br />
around 98% <strong>of</strong> the crop was cut by ‘chopped cane’ harvesters. In 1979, Australia became the first<br />
sugar producing nation to convert entirely to mechanical sugarcane harvesting.<br />
The Australian type ‘chopped cane’ sugarcane harvester, as shown in Figure 2.1, is a single row,<br />
over-the-row machine with a swinging elevator capable <strong>of</strong> delivering sugarcane to either side or to<br />
the rear <strong>of</strong> the harvester. The basic principles used in ‘chopped cane’ sugarcane harvesters have not<br />
29