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0 Feed Tractors, agricultural machinery Fertiliser, crop protection Agricultural buildings Fuels, combustibles, electricity Repairs, maintenance Agricultural services Seeds and seedlings Veterinarian, medication Other goods and services Spending in billions of euros 3 6 9 6,4 4 3,5 3,4 3,3 14,2 Source: Statista Dossier Landwirtschaft ID6477 12 14,2 Current problems in agriculture Cuts in subsidies, rising production costs, environmental regulations and a bad social image pose particular challenges for today’s agriculture. In particular, compliance with drinking water and water conservation as well as counteracting bee mortality and decreasing biodiversity are expectations for agriculture. There are additional demands for the current climate protection plan to achieve a permanent reduction in CO2 in agriculture by more than 30% by 2030. This will be implemented through savings on fertilisers and fossil fuels13. Likewise, there is increasing pressure on national politics to enforce Europe-wide guidelines, as the current amendment to the Fertiliser Ordinance (2019) shows. Agricultural technology will have to react to such requirements if agriculture does not want to lose its social acceptance. Overall, the multitude of legal regulations is increasing significantly, making it difficult for individual farmers to comply with all rules and regulations. Future agricultural machinery will therefore have to act more in co-operation and more networked in order to meet the various increasing demands. Likewise, the energy efficiency and the carbon footprint of the machines must be optimised. This includes the automatic adaptation and optimisation of processes, the integration of external sensors and information sources, as well as the ability to provide and analyse information about the actual process in real time. In addition, electrification offers new potential savings, which could be used in an even better way in the future. 6
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Subject Area and Structure In order to limit the scope of this white paper, the focus is on agriculture in Germany. The focus is on the use of linear movements and actuators for machines in an average German arable farm. The state of the art chapter deals with the current “actual state” of agricultural machinery and vehicles. The used technology and control for linear movements and with what purpose they are used are considered. Machine size, tasks, power and energy requirements are determined and analysed. Current control principles, energy supply and communication protocols are also described in this chapter. In the following chapter Trends in Agricultural Machinery of Tomorrow, the points of the previous chapter will be revisited and linked with development and research, as well as with future perspectives in agriculture. In conclusion, the findings are summarised and evaluated. 7
