The story of an adequate farm management begins and ends with efficient and properly managed transport. Transport takes a very important place in every industry, including agriculture.
In order to produce food, farmers need certain resources, such as seed, fertilizers, pesticides, packaging materials, and many others. Precisely because of that, transport is an essential aspect of crop production that enables delivery of agricultural resources to a farmer.
Furthermore, transport is a burning component of post-harvest crop management. After all, every harvested crop needs to be transported, either directly from the field to the market, or to the packing house and storage.
Transport is a farm practice common to every farmer. However, regarding its purpose, it can be classified into two categories:
1. Traditional; manual method of transport, used on every farm, usually includes very short distances (for instance, the transition from the field to the storage that is located on the farm).
2. Mechanized and advanced transport; includes longer distances that require the use of certain means of transport.
Choosing the Right Path for Farm Transition
Farm transition can be managed regarding different modes of transport. Each transition mode has its advantages and disadvantages:
When choosing the optimal mode of transport, farmers should consider a few important aspects:
- The distance and the accessibility of the destination
- Type of goods that are transported; for instance, there are different requirements for transition of perishable crops and packing material
- The size or the quantity of goods that need to be transported; determine the optimal mode of transport, as well as the price of delivery
- International or national laws and regulations
- Available infrastructure and farmer’s financial possibilities
- Functionality and additional properties of any transport mode, as well as any means of transport
Traditional and simple, or mechanized and advanced, transport is an essential component in every crop production. Properly managed transport is efficient in delivering farm resources and harvested crops as fast as possible. When considered as the final practice of delivering the crops to the market, transport is responsible for the preservation of crop yield and quality. Besides that, when it’s economically managed, transport will give plenty of space for reducing total production cost.
Take your time and manage transport carefully. After all, transport will determine the success in the beginning as well as the success at the end of a farm season.
Text sources: FAO
Image sources: VDA || Oliver Transport || Pilot of America || Joc || Keywordhungry
