Solving Real-World Problems with Agricultural Engineering
WHAT DOES AN AGRICULTURAL ENGINEER DO Engineers solve problems using science and math They figure out the best way to create new things Some engineers improve products Others design things that can solve different kinds of problems There are many kinds of engineers Agriculture is another word for farming It includes both growing and harvesting crops and An agricultural engineer tests the water and salt levels of the soil in an orchard 4
raising animals Agriculture provides the food that humans need to survive Agricultural engineers do many different kinds of jobs They improve the way crops are grown They find better ways to raise animals They invent new biofuels Some agricultural engineers work in factories Others work in laboratories or offices Some work outdoors in fields or forests Agricultural engineers help design new machines to harvest crops Biofuels are fuels made from plant or animal materials One kind of biofuel is ethanol It is made from grains like corn 5
One way that agricultural engineers help farmers is by building machines to help them plant gather and process their crops In 1793 Eli Whitney invented the cotton gin It helped clean cotton after it was picked Tractors and combines make planting and harvesting easier and faster Farmers who BUILDING BETTER MACHINES This machine picks cotton much faster than people can A combine is a farm machine that collects crops in the field 6
live in dry areas also use irrigation or artificial watering These tools were created by agricultural engineers Agricultural engineers are always creating better machines for farming Air seeders plant seeds without plowing the soil New tractors use computers to communicate Engineers design greenhouses that can grow more plants in the winter Agricultural engineers help farmers produce more food faster and more easily An agricultural engineer checks plants in a greenhouse to see if they are healthy Farmers once plowed up dirt before they planted seeds Now they try to plant without plowing Why would one way of planting be better than the other Compare and Contrast 7
