Introduction
Agricultural Mechanization and Automation is a component of Encyclopedia of Food and Agricultural Sciences, Engineering and Technology Resources in the global Encyclopedia of Life Support Systems (EOLSS), which is an integrated compendium of twenty one Encyclopedias.
The mechanization of farming practices throughout the world has revolutionized food production, enabling it to maintain pace with population growth except in some less-developed countries, most notably in Africa. Agricultural mechanization has involved the partial or full replacement of human energy and animal-powered equipment (e.g. plows, seeders and harvesters) by engine-driven equipment. The theme on Agricultural Mechanization and Automation cover six main topics: Technology and Power in Agriculture; Farm Machinery; Facilities and Equipment for Livestock Management; Environmental Monitoring; Recovery and Use of Wastes and by-Products; Slaughtering and Processing of Livestock, which are then expanded into multiple subtopics, each as a chapter. These two volumes are aimed at the following five major target audiences: University and College students Educators, Professional practitioners, Research personnel and Policy analysts, managers, and decision makers and NGOs.
Editor(s) Biography
Paul McNulty is Professor of Agricultural Engineering and Head of the Department of Agricultural and Food Engineering at University College Dublin, National University of Ireland since 1979. He is an authority on the physical properties of food and biological materials with particular reference to applications in food engineering and agricultural mechanization. In 1981, he received an ASAE Paper Award in recognition of authorship of a contribution to agricultural engineering literature of exceptional merit dealing with the mechanical and physical properties of grasses. He was a founder and first Chairman of the Agricultural and Food Engineering Division, Institution of Engineers of Ireland, 1977–1982. He was chairman of the Organizing Committee for the Sixth International Conference on the Mechanization of Field Experiments held in Dublin in 1984. He was appointed President of CIGR (International Commission on Agricultural Engineering ) for the period 1989–1991.
Patrick Grace is a Lecturer in the Department of Agricultural and Food Engineering at University College Dublin, National University of Ireland since 1983. He is an authority on grain drying with particular reference to mathematical modeling and numerical simulation in two dimensions. He has taken a particular interest in computer applications in food and environmental engineering and has employed this expertise to enrich his extensive teaching and research portfolios. He was a member of the Organizing Committee for the Eleventh (CIGR) International Congress on Agricultural Engineering held in Dublin in 1989. He co-edited the Proceedings of that Congress which were published by A.A. Balkema, Rotterdam in four volumes: Land and Water Use; Agricultural Buildings; Agricultural Mechanization; and Power, Processing and Systems
