It plays a vital role in everyone’s life, without it our very survival
would be threatened. Today’s farms are complex businesses providing high quality, affordable food in a sustainable manner to our tables.
At the heart of food production is the agricultural engineer. Agricultural engineering is an amalgamation of mechanical, civil, electrical and electronic engineering that also embraces environmental and conservation work, soil and water managment and the forestry, leisure and recreation industry. Agricultural engineers design and create new products for every point of the food supply industry from the field to your plate. They are also involved in a wide variety of field engineering topics from dealing with challenges such as soil erosion, irrigation and drainage, protecting and processing crops and environmental control to designing electronic systems to manage conditions inside buildings used to house livestock and store crops.
The machinery and equipment manufacturers require engineers of the highest calibre with the right skills to deal with structures, mechanisms, control systems, hydraulics and electronics as well as having an interest and appreciation of farming systems and other relevant industry sectors.
The Wrekin branch of the Institution of Agricultural Engineers holds monthly open meetings that are free to attend in the Agricultural Engineering Innovation Centre lecture theatre at Harper Adams University. Call Simon Cooper on 01952 815261 for details.
The next meeting on Monday 9 November 2015, 19:30 entitled: Efficient Water Use & Irrigation Systems Development. Speaker: Anthony Hopkins, Wroot Water & Jane Whitehead of the Environment Agency.
