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The agricultural machinery industry can significantly contribute to a more sustainable farming system through the development of eco-innovative products and production processes. This is particularly true for small and medium enterprises (SMEs), which represent a significant share of this market. This study investigated the determinants of attitudes towards eco-innovating products and processes in a sample of small and medium agricultural machinery manufacturers (N = 47) from the Piedmont region (North–West Italy), analysing the role of enterprise's characteristics, perceived drivers and barriers, and environmental concern. Overall, product eco-innovation was considered important/very important for their firms by 88.3% of the respondents, whereas process eco-innovation by 67.7%. The regression analyses showed that the availability of a formal and hierarchical structure dedicated to Research and Development and of financial support were significantly associated (β = 0.301, p =.032 and β = 0.406, p =.011, respectively) to positive attitudes towards eco-innovating production processes, whereas the lack of know-how was the main obstacle to both product and process eco-innovativeness (β = − 0.564, p =.000 and β= − 0.397, p =.008, respectively). Environmental concern did not show any significant association with firms' perceived importance to eco-innovate either products (β = 0.097, p =.475) or processes (β = 0.248, p =.087). Implications for the development of interventions aiming at fostering positive attitudes towards eco-innovation among the targeted enterprises are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: The aim of the study was to identify practical challenges, best practices, and solutions used during the deployment of agricultural machinery depending on the size of the farm Design/methodology/approach: The method of observation and risk analysis was utilized in the operation of agricultural machinery using the FMEA method to identify potential threats and develop strategies for their mitigation. Findings: Research conducted on farms has revealed significant issues such as improper maintenance, lack of safety guards, and outdated equipment. To enhance farm safety, it is recommended to adhere to maintenance schedules, replace old machinery with newer models, and use Failure Mode and Effects Analysis (FMEA) to identify and mitigate potential hazards. Research limitations/implications: Further large-scale research is needed to develop effective strategies for improving farm safety. Implementing structured safety management systems like FMEA is recommended to systematically assess and minimize risks in both individual and large-scale farms. Practical implications: Implementing recommended measures such as regular inspections and maintenance, replacing or modernizing outdated machinery, using appropriate safety guards, and participating in training sessions will help reduce the risk of machinery failures and the number of accidents. Originality/value: This article presents new research findings on agricultural machinery safety in individual and large-scale farms, identifying significant issues and proposing specific improvement measures for farmers and agricultural safety experts. These insights help farmers understand risks better and implement safety enhancements when operating machinery. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Manufacturing has the potential to drive economic growth, job creation and poverty reduction, but African manufacturers face challenges in competing with global markets. Agricultural machinery manufacturing may be one niche where African manufacturers can succeed. This paper examines the challenges and opportunities facing local agricultural manufacturers in Africa based on a survey of 386 manufacturers in four countries and qualitative methods. Results show that small, dedicated entrepreneurs have created vibrant local machinery markets. These manufacturers have several comparative advantages, in particular, the ability to develop machinery adapted to local agroecological conditions but face challenges related to financing, human resources, utilities, raw materials, production equipment and the regulatory environment. The paper offers recommendations on how to support local manufacturers to make "Made in Africa" the first choice for African farmers and agro‐food processors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this paper is to investigate and examine the role of waqi'iyah networking power (WNP) in mediating the relationship between levels of cross functional involvement (LCFI), harmony of cross functional relations (HCFR), and quality of cross functional information (QCFI) with marketing performance (MP). This paper selects 267 manager of agricultural equipment and machinery service business (UPJA) and tested the regression relationship of the five constructs using SEM with AMOS 24.0. Findings show LCFI, HCFR and QCFI as an important antecedent for WNP and then have a positive effect on MP. It shows WNP has an important role as mediating in the relationship of LCFI, HCFR and QCFI with MP. By examining the relevant literature cross-functional integration, networking power, waqi'iyah, and marketing performance This paper offers a unique analysis of the roadmap of levels of cross functional involvement, harmony of cross functional relations, and quality of cross functional with marketing performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The definition of a common standard for the interconnection of electronic equipment for agricultural production is a nodal point in the path of convergence between the agricultural machinery and implements industry and the new digital technologies of Agriculture 4.0. The definition of standards is as important as the control, through alliances, acquisitions and/or mergers, of the emerging technological firms in which the new functionalities of Agriculture 4.0 are developed. In order to expand our knowledge on the diffusion and implementation of the ISOBUS standard and its implications in the agricultural machinery sector, we propose to advance in an analysis of the origins, operation and composition of the Agricultural Industry Electronics Foundation (AEF). We use a qualitative methodological approach, based on the review of documentation and bibliographic analysis of secondary academic, journalistic and business sources of different kinds. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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Agricultural equipment companies intend to understand agriculture producers' buying behavior by answering questions such as how loyal producers are to brands and dealers, which have an important impact on their profitability. This paper addresses the problem of how loyal agricultural producers are to equipment brands and dealers. Using a combination of cluster analysis and probit models, we identified producers' behavioral and attitudinal loyalty to brands and dealers and analyzed the factors that explain such loyalty. We also found a strong interdependence between brand and dealer loyalty and the significant value that dealer loyalty adds to the brands. Additionally, we present some management implications of developing brand recognition, understanding producers purchasing behavior, and segmenting producers. This paper's contributions are the establishment and measurement of an 'empirical' definition of brand and dealer loyalty, the identification and quantification of the impact of the explanatory factors of brand and dealer loyalty, and the determination of a dual loyalty relationship between brand and dealer loyalty. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Intelligent agricultural machinery is a high-tech product that integrates computer technology, electronic control technology, artificial intelligence and others. It carries substantial weight in reducing the labor intensity of operators, improving the working environment of farmers, raising the efficiency of agricultural operators, reducing resource consumption and environmental damage. Therefore, this paper reviewed and summarized the research progress of intelligent agricultural machinery at home and abroad, and briefly shed light upon the problems of traditional agricultural machinery in farming production, and put emphasis on the significance of transformation from dysfunction machinery to intelligent equipment. What's more, starting with the concept and characteristics of intelligent agricultural machinery, their development of domestic and overseas were introduced with some typical products. Meanwhile, this paper analyzed the next development focus and future trend of intelligent agricultural machinery to provide reference and guidance for the advancement of agricultural machinery industry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The problem of long design cycle, low efficiency and poor knowledge reusability still exists in China, in the process of agricultural machinery design. The reuse retrieval method designed for agricultural equipment CAD model is proposed to improve agricultural machinery digital design. Since agricultural machinery CAD model has internal coupling and local similarity attributes resulting in low performance of general retrieval methods, the Monte-Carlo light simulation method is utilized to extract CAD model partial features. Firstly, the light propagation process in different mediums was quantitatively analysed with optical parameters. Then how light propagates in complex agricultural CAD model was simulated according to Monte-Carlo method. After that the CAD model feature could be extracted with partial propagation information for design reuse retrieval. Finally, the proposed reuse retrieval method was evaluated on retrieval precision, recall and E-measure with particular agricultural model dataset. The results showed that the accuracy of proposed method was higher than that of general model retrieval approaches. Sphere constrained space and 10000 photon packets were shown to be the optimal feature extraction parameters for agricultural CAD model. The final design application results indicated that the proposed method could particularly satisfy agricultural CAD rapid design requirement, which is more suitable for offline complex agriculture CAD model retrieval. This paper is expected to provide a fine-grained, intelligent and visual method for agricultural machinery CAD management, promoting automatic and intelligent design of agricultural machinery manufacturing industry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article reports the findings of a study of the purchasing behavior of 201 farmers in central Indiana. The study asked how farmers go about buying machinery, if the farmers had any brand or dealer preferences, and why a farmer chose one dealer over another. The article presents the study methodology and discusses the decision making process, which involved conversations with neighbors and friends, in addition to dealers. The article discusses the factors associated with dealer and brand preference and analyzes the results. The article draws some conclusions but calls for further study of the issue.