Because the strain on the agricultural sector continues, sensible useful resource administration and in search of sustainable power options will help farmers meet international meals calls for
Agriculture has all the time been the spine of civilisation, however now, as with most different sectors, it faces unprecedented challenges. From feeding a rising international inhabitants in quickly altering climate situations, to jostling for most suitable option of land use, the sector is more and more beneath strain to grow to be not simply meals producers, however power suppliers as nicely. This problem should push us to rethink how we work together with our surroundings and use house and expertise in new and revolutionary methods.
The important thing to overcoming these challenges is cleverly utilizing the whole lot round us, with out sacrificing meals for gasoline. Collectively, we have to consider all types of latest methods to seize all of the ‘free’ power we are able to. Can we use cell photo voltaic panels, simply once we want them? Can we flip a parked-up machine right into a cell wind turbine? Can we retailer the rainwater excessive up and run it by a turbine once we want the electrical energy?
“The important thing to overcoming these challenges is cleverly utilizing the whole lot round us, with out sacrificing meals for gasoline”
Renewable power
It’s fairly profound, however the largest ‘battery’ within the UK is water, pumped up mountains into massive reservoirs utilizing extra electrical energy. When there’s a spike in demand, the water is launched by generators, and shortly generates gigawatts of electrical energy. One factor we’re blessed (and cursed) with within the UK is rain; think about if we might handle rainwater on farms to each generate electrical energy and irrigate crops.
Equally within the UK one factor they don’t seem to be making extra of is land, which is why it’s essential that we use it in essentially the most smart manner. On-shore wind gives the chance to co-locate power manufacturing with meals manufacturing – utilizing minimal land to create most output, whereas retaining the agricultural footprint for crops.
After all, to the entrepreneurial farmer, none of that is new – the ida of maximising the output of the assets supplied is a each day prevalence. Whether or not that’s by elevated crop yields or by utilizing equipment within the optimum technique to cut back gasoline consumed. The truth is, many farmers at present will not be solely meals producers however power producers too, taking advantage of wind generators and photo voltaic panels.
The challenges and potential of hydrogen
It’s this similar spirit that we try to embody at JCB – to make use of what now we have round us in essentially the most smart manner, to create actual change sooner or later. Take the JCB hydrogen engine – it’s utilising identified parts, present manufacturing and engineering know-how and turning it on its head to create one thing brand-new, with really world- altering potential. What we want now could be for a similar spirit to be turned to hydrogen manufacturing and storage – figuring out new and artistic methods of manufacturing hydrogen domestically, at low value, and utilizing what we have already got round us.
We should not underestimate the challenges we now face with a rising inhabitants. Eight billion individuals on the planet means extra mouths to feed and extra power demanded. However eight billion individuals on the planet additionally means eight billion brains to provide you with revolutionary and artistic options – our international capability for altering the world round us is immense.
Agriculture has harnessed water, wind and solar to feed the world, now let’s assist farmers use water, wind and solar to energy the world as nicely.
This text first appeared within the October situation of iVT.
