AbstractUsing GIS for Time-in-Motion Comparisons of Module Building Cotton PickersTrack: Agriculture Author Cotton harvesting represents the single largest cotton production expense and the largest capital investment other than land. Two manufacturers have introduced module-building cotton pickers with potential to increase harvesting field efficiencies, but based on different material handling concepts. Accurate crop budgets can only be established with accurate information on performance and efficiency of harvesting machinery. With costs exceeding $500,000 per harvester, it is imperative have accurate budgets and minimize nonproductive time: travel to the unloading area, unloading modules, maintenance, etc. The objective of this study was to establish field operating capacities and efficiencies of the two new harvesting systems and compare performance to conventional six-row basket-type harvesting systems. This presentation describes collection and analysis of more than 500,000 data points in 28 days from 29 fields of 14 different farming operations, differences in the harvesting systems, and potential measures farmers might use to improve harvest efficiencies and profitability. Timothy Prather University of Tennessee Extension 2506 E J Chapman Dr Knoxville, Tennessee 37996-4531 United States Phone: 8659747266 Fax: 8659744514 E-mail: tprather@utk.edu |