Agricultural standards are used in more places and ways than most people think, including sustainability
LOUISVILLE, Ky. — It may sometimes seem like a minor miracle: hydraulics that all seem to perform the same when they’re hooked up and hitches that don’t break very often.
But there’s nothing miraculous about it. Farmers are able to rely on their tools because of standards groups.
The American Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineers takes the leading role in setting standards for farm equipment design and manufacturing.
From lighting for transport to standards for machinery performance, the ASABE works with manufacturers and government to ensure that standards are in place when it comes to equipment.
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The slow moving sign that farmers and the public rely on was developed by agricultural engineers at Ohio State University and was made an ASABE standard in 1964 as part of a project to reduce deaths related to collisions between cars and farm machinery.
Canadian machinery makers rely on the group’s work to create machinery that is safe and cross-brand and platform compatible.
Scott Cedarquist, who directs standards at ASABE, said the association’s activities create the basis for safe operation of farm equipment, but there is more to it.
“Standards allow (machinery engineers and designers) to reduce the variety of components that are needed to serve the industry. That improves availability and makes it more economical to build and provide parts and service for,” he said earlier this month at ASABE’s Agricultural Equipment Technology Conference in Louisville, Kentucky.
“We create a sound basis for (safety) codes, education and legislation, making things uniform. That increases efficiency in the creation of farm machinery design and production.”
The association says it will accept input from anyone who believes there is a need to develop a standard in the industry, and not just engineers or its members.
Agricultural sustainability standards are a more recent development for ASABE.
The group is creating a set of common terms and measures that food processors, retailers and farmers can use to explain sustainable agriculture practices to consumers and for investors to measure commitment to the practice among the companies it supports.
There are hundreds of ASABE standards, 22 pages for the index of standards and practices alone.
In Canada, the Canadian Standards Association looks after farm machinery regulations.
The not-for-profit organization works with ASABE and relies on its vast library of continuously evolving standards.
It also works with federal and provincial governments to turn Canadian standards into regulations.
The main agricultural standards in Canada are for tractors, front-end loaders and augers, but lighting, hitching and other safety issues are also part of its agricultural work.
“We work with ASABE and ISO (the International Organization for Standardization) to create harmonized standards,” said association spokesperson Priya Malik.
“Why do we have Canadian standards? To create the best practices for (manufacturers), farmers, for equipment dealers and farms.”
Unlike American standards groups, where engineers, government and industry meet and sometimes collide, the CSA includes farmers on its agricultural standards committee.
Dan Maizer, who farms near Justice, Man., and works on the committee, said engineering standards are critical to making machinery safe, but it also has to perform in the field.
For example, machinery guards on grain augers are needed to keep feet and hands out the flighting. However, farmers will remove them if they are too large to fit into a grain bin’s door, which will render the machine dangerous but functional.
Both augers and doors need a common size standard to keep the machine safe, he added.
Mazier said standards for autonomous farm machinery will soon be needed so that they can be counted to perform in the field and shut down if something goes wrong.
He said well-defined and published standards created by the industry help keep regulators from imposing rules on agriculture.
michael.raine@producer.com
