Becoming an Agricultural Engineer

Agricultural engineers work with farming equipment, which they design, develop, produce and maintain. Some agricultural engineers are employed by the manufacturers of such equipment, while some work is research and development, and a few are employed on large farms.

The job:

Farming has moved away from a labor intensive, low tech activity to one that employs highly sophisticated pieces of equipment and relatively few people. The sowing and reaping of crops, spraying and watering, and the application of fertilizer or other substances are highly automated due to the work of agricultural engineers.

These engineers are also responsible for machinery that is used to process agricultural products once they have been gathered in from the field, sometimes to separate the crop from other parts of the plant. Agricultural equipment is largely mechanical and is designed to gather the crop causing the least possible damage.

Agricultural engineers work closely with farmers to gain a clear understanding of the problems they face. This includes the supply of water, the irrigation and drainage of fields, and the interaction of equipment with the soil.

They design new equipment or modify existing machinery. Starting in the design office, using computer aided design software, they develop new ideas into detail specifications, with a complete description of all the parts that are required to build the machinery. When choosing materials, they must compromise between the best materials for the application and the economics of manufacture. Projects are developed further by the production of a prototype, which is tested in the field to check that its performance is in keeping with what was expected. Modifications are made where necessary, and specifications are changed to take account of any difficulties that came to light during the testing of the machinery.

At the end of this process, the equipment goes into production. Some parts may be made by the manufacturer while others may be bought in from suppliers. Then the whole machine is assembled and its functions tested before it can be sold. In the production of agricultural machinery, agricultural engineers often work with mechanical and production engineers.

Some engineers provide a service to farmers by maintaining their equipment, and they must be on call at the breakdown should occur. This is a job that requires considerable mobility and the ability to get on well with the agricultural community.

Training involved:

In common with other professional engineers, it takes seven years of academic studies and training to become an agricultural engineer. The training includes all aspects of the process that results in a new or modified piece of agricultural machinery. Two years will be spent on a design and development function, improving trainees design skills and increasing their understanding of materials selection. This time will include dealing with first-hand knowledge and experience of the types of problems that are faced in the agricultural industry and seeing how these have been solved in the past.

Safety is of paramount importance on a farm, where people often work long hours in difficult conditions. Gaining a full understanding of health and safety legislation is an important part of training.

Eventually, trainees are ready to take on parts of large projects or a small project of their own. After four years of training, an agricultural engineer is sufficiently experienced to reach professional status and undertake more difficult projects, often working in teams of engineers.

Future prospects:

Agriculture will always be essential to provide the world with food. Modern advances in the field of genetic engineering are helping to change the nature of many crop producing plants, making them not only more resistant to disease but also increasing their yield. Genetic engineering is also being used to design plants that are easier to harvest and process. Cows can be bred that produced more milk or more beef, and these developments are having an effect on the machinery required to process farm products.

The economics of farming is also changing. In many countries, farmers received financial incentives to produce certain types of products and disincentives to grow others. Farms are becoming ever larger Andy the economics of farming have a major impact on farming equipment.

These considerations suggest that there will be good implement opportunities for at least a small number of highly skilled agricultural engineers to provide the machines the industry requires very agricultural engineering will never be an area in which there are large numbers of jobs, but if qualified engineers find employment difficult to secure, their mechanical skills should be more than welcome in other related industries.

For further information, please contact national professional engineering institutions representing agricultural engineers or mechanical engineers, and also government agricultural departments.