TSM 262 Off-Road Equipment Management. Performance, costs, application, selection, and replacement of farm tractors and field implements; optimization of mechanized agricultural field operations. Includes laboratory. Prerequisite: TSM 100.

Timetable Information:

Instructor:

Dr. Tony E Grift

Office hours:

Monday 3pm-5pm, Friday 3pm-5pm.

If you find my office door closed, this does not mean I am unavailable. Knock, unless the Do Not Disturb sign is on. If you have question that can not wait until the office hours, email me for an appointment.

Student assistants:

Craig Cordill

Office hours: Monday 3pm-5pm

Course Overview:

Power and Machinery Management is a course for TSM majors that focuses on the technological and the management aspects of farming. It deals with selection, operation and maintenance economic performance of machinery. Modern farming aka precision agriculture will be a part of the course. Also, research conducted in an agricultural setting will be discussed.

Goals:

Students who finish the course will be able to recognize and understand the form and function of machinery, be able to perform economic calculations (in SI and customary units) pertaining to field efficiency, operator and power efficiency. They will be able to weigh the economic benefits of precision agriculture and to judge its potential for different farming practices.

Topics:

I Economic Performance

Machine Performance
Power Performance
Operator Performance

II Costs

II Operations

Tillage
Seedbed Preparation
Cultivation
Seeding Machines
Chemical Application
Grain Harvesting

Labs:

1 Programming lab in MatLab
2 Videos "Modern Marvels" and John Deere "On the Horizon"
3 Traction data collection in the field
4 Traction Data Analysis Lab
5 Corn Harvesting Lab
6 Planting lab
7 Tillage lab
8 Fertilizer application field lab
9 LEGO Mindstorms Labs (5 labs )

Homeworks:

Homeworks will be assigned after every lecture.

Reading assignments:

The topic being discussed in class will from time to time be augmented with a reading assignment. Papers must be evaluated by answering the following questions in your own words:

1. What did the researchers do ?
2. How did they do it ?
3. What did they learn ?
4. What does it mean to you and society ?

Quizzes:

Every other week there will be a quiz (on Mondays, 15 minutes last minutes of class). The quizzes will be part of the final grade.

Exams:

There will be two exams during the semester, a midterm and a final.

Reports:

The lab reports must be written according to a template which can be found here .

Computer usage :

Computers will be used extensively in demonstrations, data acquisition/analysis, presentation and reporting.

Class Atmosphere:

The atmospere in class is very open. Questions are not only encouraged, they are an essential part of the instructor-student interaction. Do not be afraid to sound 'dumb' if one student does not understand it, chances are that 50% does not get it. Also do not think you will read about it later tonight because in reality you probably won't. Do not get behind, do your homework and keep on top of it.

These are the house rules:

1. No caps
2. No eating or drinking
3. No chewing tobacco
4. Cell phones turned off

Attendance:

Class and lab attendence is mandatory unless there is a legal excuse that is notified to the instructor in advance. When a class is missed, it is the responsibility of the student to ask the instructor about lectures covered, and other topics that were discussed. The group projects depend highly on attendence of the members and participation by all members is mandatory.

Materials:

Notes Package TSM262 Off-Road Equipment Management. Location: TSI Bookstore

Grading Scale:

Homework 10%	A > 90
Quizzes 10%	B > 80, < 90
Lab reports 20%	C > 70, < 80
Mid-term 25%	D > 60, < 70 (pass)
Final exam 35%	F < 60

Student services: Students having personal problems interfering their studies and daily lives can seek help at the UIUC Couseling Center.

610 John Street
110 Student Services Building
Champaign, IL 61820
(217) 333-3704
Click here to access the website.

Students needing special accommodations need to fill out the Application for Special Services forms. Click here to do so. Bring the signed forms to the instructor to discuss what meausures are appropriate to facilitate the disability.