The Evolution of the Traction Tillage System and NuAg.biz
I grew up on a farm in Mississippi and for several years drove across the delta of Mississippi, Arkansas, and Louisiana while working on another job for VillagePrints.com, a graphic arts company that I developed and own. As I started each trip, I decided which problem I was going to work on to make sure that I stayed mentally alert and awake for safe driving. I observed farmers driving large tractors back and forth across their fields. I understood what this was doing to the soil since I had served for several years as head of the Mississippi Agriculture and Forestry Experiment Station (MAFES)'s Art and Photography Department. In that job, I produced many technical bulletins, the MAFES newspaper, slide presentations, and annual reports. I heard soil compaction discussed many times in meetings and in conversations with professors. Since I am naturally a "problem solver," I tend to think "outside the box," and developed my idea of a solution to this problem. Iowa State has looked at my idea and is impressed. Vanderbilt University's Engineering School is using my system, Traction Tillage System, as a project for their senior engineering students. During the fall semester 2013 a Vanderbilt team of engineering students completed a technology marketing strategy on the Traction Tillage System. During the spring semester 2014 a team of senior mechanical engineering students are using the system for their design project requirements for graduation from Vanderbilt. To view a 7-minute video showing a computer model of the Traction Tillage System, please go to http://www.nuag.biz or go to http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PGm6WZMlCCo
I have applied for a non-provisional patent. The journal, Successful Farming, published an article in November 2013 on my invention, and it is featured on their web site: http://www.agriculture.com/machinery/soil-compaction-solution_197-ar35025. Auburn University has agreed to conduct field studies when we have a prototype and when we have funding for the graduate students.
A New Agricultural System
Soil compaction is a problem for the world's farmers due to the weight of the equipment used in agricultural operations on crop fields. Ten to twenty percent of every crop's yield is lost due to soil compaction because plant roots cannot penetrate compacted soil. A new agricultural system that does not necessarily involve a tractor has been designed to reduce compaction by approximately 60 percent. In the process of reducing compaction, fuel consumption will be reduced by at least 50 percent, and dust will be reduced by more than 50 percent. This environmentally friendly system can be applied in plowing, planting, fertilizing, cultivation, and spraying operations. By reducing fuel costs and increasing yields, this system can result in a savings of billions of dollars for the agriculture industry.
Benefits of the Traction Tillage System
- Reduces Soil Compaction and Increases Crop Production
- Reduces Fuel Consumption
- Reduces Dust Pollution
This Environmentally Friendly System can be applied in:
- Tilling
- Planting
- Fertilizing
- Cultivation
- Spraying operations
By reducing fuel costs and increasing yields, this system can result in a saving of billions of dollars for the agriculture industry.
