Simulation model for field crop production machinery system

The Crop Production Machinery System (CPMS) program developed during this research is able to evaluate machinery systems for various tillage systems and crop rotations for different locations, soil types and farm sizes. Users can determine the combinations of crops in a rotation which minimize the machinery costs, evaluate different farming alternatives, or scale up or down a farm operation. The Machinery Selection Model is able to recommend tractor and implement sizes for a power-compatible machinery system that is able to complete the field operations within specified time constraints. The Machinery Cost Analysis Model is able to evaluate machinery costs when the use of implements is shared in several enterprises, when the same machinery is used under different conditions, or when machinery costs are compared for different situations such as farm size and production practices.; The CPMS program was developed to be run on most microcomputers and to have potential for modification to be transferred to and evaluated for other geographical locations and situations. The locations, crops and equations used in this program could be changed as described in this dissertation. This program helps users to become more knowledgeable about a problem as they interact with the program. The program can be used with external data files to facilitate a sensitivity analysis or other experimentation with this model.; The predicted draft and fuel requirements from this model were tested statistically against a set of data collected during field experiments performed at Michigan State University and in Clinton County, Michigan. The fuel consumption rates for the chisel plow, moldboard plow, disk harrow, field cultivator, row crop planter and grain drill, and the draft requirements for all of these implements, except the disk harrow, correlated well with the measured data.; The implementation of the model shows that producing more crops in a rotation reduced the costs per hectare. It was cheaper to produce corn and wheat in a C-C-FB-W crop rotation as compared to the same crops produced as a single crop operation. The one-tractor operation required larger implements and saved on costs per hectare as compared to the two-tractor operation.