Non-road fuel consumption and pollutant emissions ... - BAFU - CH

Non-road fuel consumption and pollutant emissions FOEN 2008 50
6.3 Agricultural machinery
The inventories and operating hours for agricultural machines were projected by
Agroscope ART on the basis of the figures obtained from the 1996 and 2003 censuses
of agricultural operations. The information in the Swiss Federal Vehicle Inspection
Office (EFKO) database could only be used to a limited extent, partly because only
some machines are registered (particularly small machines such as single-axle mowers
and single-axle tractors), but also because some registered tractors are not used for
agricultural purposes. This primarily concerns older models, but also tractors used in
forestry and for the care of public areas such as woodlands and parks. The latter are
included under “forestry machinery” in the “haulers” sub-category, while old models
of tractors are listed under “hobby tractors”. The inventory of chainsaws in the agricultural
segment was based on the number of existing agricultural businesses (63,600 in
2005). The assumption here was that each operation has at least one chainsaw, and
every second one has two chainsaws.
Inventory
Figure 23 (top left) shows that more than half the agricultural machines are petrol-powered.
This primarily concerns chainsaws (95,000) and single-axle mowers (72,560).
Tractors account for 63% of the inventory of diesel-powered machines (107,750 in
2005). The majority of tractors (60%) have an engine rated power between 37 and
75 kW (average for all vehicles: 59 kW).
Operating hours and their development from 1980 to 2020
The specific operating hours of agricultural machines were calculated by Agroscope
ART using three criteria:
> Cultivated areas: calculation of necessary hours of operation based on area of cultivated
land
> Second-hand tractors: estimate of number of operating hours of second-hand tractors
> Calculations based on fuel consumption figures recorded by the Directorate General
of Customs (OZD).
Based on new calculations made from updated operating hours of agricultural vehicles
for the management of cultivated areas of land (Ammann 2007), Agroscope ART cites
the mean operating hours of tractors as 200 hours p.a. This figure represents an average
for the entire tractor fleet, and takes account of the large number of old tractors with a
very low number of operating hours.