Soil management and mechanization | Jean-Paul Daouze, Jean Roger Estrade

Soil management plays a significant role in the economic performance of farms: operations, especially deep tillage, are costly in terms of fossil energy and mechanization expenses. Furthermore, soil work significantly impacts the organization of work at certain times. Therefore, choices regarding soil preparation methods are crucial for the economic, agronomic, and environmental aspects of a farm. The text first explains the challenges concerning the evolution of cropping systems to address the new context faced by agriculture (reducing costs, minimizing environmental impacts, decreasing the use of fossil fuels), as well as the effects of soil work on crop functioning, cultivated environment conditions, and the overall environment. In the second part, the text lists and describes all agricultural machinery (over 30 types) that can meet the soil management objectives of each farm: 1) tools with tines, 2) tools with plows, 3) disc tools, 4) power take-off-driven tools, and 5) equipment involved in the process without being specific.