Agricultural Systems Management: Optimizing Efficiency and Performance

by Robert M. Peart (Editor), W. David Shoup (Editor)

Overview

Running a productive agriculture system has always been about having the right tools and the know-how to pursue optimization and efficiency. In the 21st century, the case can be made that the agriculturist's most important tool is not the cultivator, but the computer. While you still need to know how to adapt to the day-to-day challenges of land and climate, just as importantly, you need to know how to make reliable projections based on the manipulation of virtual variables.

Practice what you learn with real life examples and practical problem solving exercises

Agricultural Systems Management: Optimizing Efficiency and Performance teaches you how to create strategies using readily available off-the-shelf software, spreadsheets, and Internet material to meet the challenges commonly faced in agricultural production, processing, and management. The text provides the step-by-step direction necessary to allow you to obtain optimal results in field and livestock operations, machinery selection, and the planning/forecasting of crops and yield.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780824747831
Publisher:	Taylor & Francis
Publication date:	01/28/2004
Series:	Books in Soils, Plants, and the Environment , #99
Edition description:	New Edition
Pages:	296
Product dimensions:	6.20(w) x 9.10(h) x 0.90(d)

About the Author

Robert M. Peart is Graduate Research Professor Emeritus, Department of Agricultural and Biological Engineering, University of Florida, Gainesville. The editor or coeditor of several books, including Agricultural Systems Modeling and Simulation (Marcel Dekker, Inc.), he is the author of more than 60 scientific papers and holds three patents. A Fellow and former director of the American Society of Agricultural Engineers and a member of the American Association for Artificial Intelligence, Dr. Peart received the Ph.D. degree (1960) in agricultural engineering from Purdue University, West Lafayette, Indiana.W. David Shoup is Professor of Agricultural and Biosystems Engineering, Electrical Engineering, and Public Policy, Southern Illinois University, Carbondale. The author of over 450 publications related to food and agricultural systems management, Dr. Shoup has consulted with over 200 companies and corporations in the area of technical and systems management. He is a life member of the American Society of Agricultural Engineers, the International Society of Pharmaceutical Engineers, and the National Farmer's Union. During his career in technical management, Professor Shoup held various management positions for Tenneco Inc. and professorial positions with the University of Florida, University of Arizona, University of Tennessee, and Southern Illinois University. Dr. Shoup received the Ph.D. degree (1980) in agricultural systems from Purdue University, West Lafayette, Indiana.

Table of Contents

Agricultural Systems: A Managerial Overview. Reliability of Agricultural Systems. Data Management and Spreadsheet Fundamentals. Fixed and Variable Costs of Machinery and Facilities. Machinery Selection and Management Program for Maize/Soybean. Simulation of Crop Growth and Field Operations: CropPlan. Crop Simulation. Optimizing the Use of Resources: Linear Programming. Queuing Theory and Waiting Line Applications. Project Scheduling. Artificial Intelligence and Decision Support Systems. Precision Technologies for Precision Management. Index.