Modern farming is currently being done by powerful ground equipment or aircraft that weigh several tons and treat uniformly tens of hectares per hour. Automated farming can use small, agile, lightweight, energy-efficient automated robotic equipment that flies to do the same job, even able to farm on a plant-by-plant basis, allowing for new ways of farming. A hybrid airship-drone has both passive lift provided by a gas balloon and active lift provided by propellers. A hybrid airship-drone may be cheaper, more stable in flight, and require less maintenance than other aerial vehicles such as quadrocopters. However, hybrid airship-drones may also be larger in size and have more inertia that needs to be overcome for starting, stopping and turning.

A hinge system is provided for a boom of an agricultural product applicator that facilitates a compact folded boom width in a transport mode by providing a multi-directional folding, including folding with compound movement components to reorient a primarily horizontal stack of boom sections to a primarily vertical stack of the boom sections, when fully folded. The hinge system may include multiple hinge joints with pivot axes that are oriented at different angles to allow for substantially horizontal folding movements followed by a rolling-type movement(s) that reorients a generally horizontal stack of boom sections into a generally vertical stack of boom sections to decrease an overall width of the applicator when in transport mode.

A system for dispensing agricultural products includes: a master controller, sets of agricultural product containers, meter devices, and secondary controllers. The meter devices are operatively connected to the product containers and configured to dispense products from the containers to rows in a field wherein each of the sets of containers is associated with a respective row in the field. The secondary controllers actuate the meter devices. Each secondary controller receives command data from the master controller and controls the meter devices for dispensing in response to the command data. Agricultural product from each product container is dispensed in accordance with operator defined instructions to the master controller. The instructions are capable of being provided to the master controller during the planting allowing the dispensing of individual containers to be controlled. In one embodiment the invention is a process for dispensing agricultural products at low application rates utilizing precision placement equipment.

A spreading device, a powder-like mixture composition and a method tor spreading the composition for control or prevent forest pathogens on tree stumps are disclosed.

An agricultural product delivery applicator for delivering particulate product to a field. The applicator includes a supply compartment to hold the product, a pneumatic conveying system, a metering system, and a controller. The pneumatic conveying system includes first delivery line operably connected to an airflow source and to the supply compartment, and a second delivery line operably connected to the airflow source and to the supply compartment. The metering system includes a first metering device associated with the first delivery line and a second metering device associate with the second delivery line. The controller controls the air flow source, the first metering device to meter product to result in a first mixed flow of airflow and product for the first delivery line, and the second metering device to meter product with the airflow to result in a second mixed flow of airflow and product for the second delivery line.

An agricultural product delivery applicator for delivering particulate product to a field. The applicator includes a supply compartment to hold the product and a pneumatic conveying system. The system includes an airflow source to provide an airflow, and a delivery line operably connected to the airflow source and to the supply compartment. The delivery line includes a supply line and a plurality of distribution lines. The system further includes a distributor coupling the supply line with the plurality of distribution lines, a motor disposed on the distribution lines side of the distributor, a shaft assembly rotatable by the motor, and a bearing supporting the shaft assembly on the supply line side of the distributor. The applicator further includes a metering system operably connected between the supply compartment and the pneumatic conveying system. The metering system meters product with the airflow to result in a mixed flow of airflow and product.

A global navigation satellite system (GNSS) based control system is provided for positioning a working component relative to a work surface. Inertial measurement unit (IMU) sensors, such as accelerometers and gyroscopes, are mounted on the working component and provide positioning signals to a control compute engine. A method of positioning a working component relative to a work surface using GNSS-based positioning signals is also disclosed.

An activated-release, water-insoluble or slowly-soluble coating is utilized on fertilizers, pesticides, seeds, medicine, and other granules to precisely time the release of the active ingredient of the granules, for purposes such as fertilizer and pesticide release as well as to initiate seed germination. An external stimulus, or activating agent, including, but not limited to, microwaves, ultrasonic waves, X-rays, radio waves, electromagnetic waves, radar waves, sonar waves, magnetic induction, (or pulses of any of the foregoing), specific chemical, bacteria, or fungus organism (such as ionic or non ionic surfactants, organic solvents, specifically cultured bacteria, fungi or catalytic agents) is used to break the coating, thus allowing for the release or germination. An activating device may be mounted on or in a tool bar, cart, or other apparatus pulled by a tractor, all-terrain vehicle (ATV), airplane, helicopter, or other implement and passed over a field, sprayed onto or injected into the soil, when the granule content is actually needed or germination is sought. The present disclosure also relates to liquid fertilizers of complex chemistry that are not readily available to plants; activation will degrade the nutrient compounds to readily-available forms.

An activated-release, water-insoluble or slowly-soluble coating is utilized on fertilizers, pesticides, seeds, medicine, and other granules to precisely time the release of the active ingredient of the granules, for purposes such as fertilizer and pesticide release as well as to initiate seed germination. An external stimulus, or activating agent, including, but not limited to, microwaves, ultrasonic waves, X-rays, radio waves, electromagnetic waves, radar waves, sonar waves, magnetic induction, (or pulses of any of the foregoing), specific chemical, bacteria, or fungus organism (such as ionic or non ionic surfactants, organic solvents, specifically cultured bacteria, fungi or catalytic agents) is used to break the coating, thus allowing for the release or germination. An activating device may be mounted on or in a tool bar, cart, or other apparatus pulled by a tractor, all-terrain vehicle (ATV), airplane, helicopter, or other implement and passed over a field, sprayed onto or injected into the soil, when the granule content is actually needed or germination is sought. The present disclosure also relates to liquid fertilizers of complex chemistry that are not readily available to plants; activation will degrade the nutrient compounds to readily-available forms.

A method of inhibiting dry material clogs in a work vehicle having an air boom assembly includes moving the work vehicle at a vehicle speed along a ground surface, moving dry material from a holding tank onto a conveyor, and operating the conveyor at a conveyor speed, the conveyor speed being at least partially dependent upon the vehicle speed, moving material from the conveyor into a boom assembly with a blower, dispensing the dry material onto the ground surface through a plurality of nozzles of the boom assembly, and comparing the conveyor speed to a maximum acceptable conveyor speed. If the conveyor speed is greater than the maximum acceptable conveyor speed, the method includes performing at least one of the following: alerting the operator that the conveyor speed is greater than the maximum acceptable speed, and reducing the vehicle speed to thereby reduce the speed of the conveyor.