Tracking machinery to investigate the effect of compaction during sugar cane harvesting

The Australian sugar industry is a major part of the agricultural sector within Queensland and New South Wales. Through research it was noticed that there was no easy way for producers to evaluate the traffic pathways through the field. Therefore an investigation was devised to track the machinery during sugar cane harvesting to determine the potential increase in bulk density and therefore the decrease in plant production. A field trial was conducted in the Bundaberg region to assess the validity of such a program constructed to use GPS (global positioning system) data gathered from the load-out bins. Manual observations of the load-out bins during harvesting were also conducted to help validate the program. It was concluded that the program reported the correct answer, but was not running correctly due to limitations. The program was developed to report the number of times the growing bed was crossed and to help identify the potential loss of production in terms of sugar cane yield. From the measurements taken as part of the field trial, an average increase of 0.153tonne/m3 was witnessed within the traffic lanes. From this data, a yield decrease of 5% was inferred and subsequently a profit reduction of $0.03 per metre of growing bed crossed