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Dairy farming has become one of major sources of income for farmers. To maintain a large dairy farm, fodder must be available in palatable form at every point of time in sufficient quantity. To ensure that the ready fodder is available for cattle, a high-capacity chaff cutter is necessary. A high speed and hogh-capacity chaff cutter procured from the local market and tested for its performance. The machine consisted of a flywheel type cutter head which was mounted on the rectangular platform. The cutter head consisted of three rectangular plain knives fixed 120° apart on a circular disc of 440 ϕ. The feeding assembly was mounted with three feed rollers viz., upper, low, and additional. Chute type feeding mechanism was provided. The machine was operated by a 3.73 kW diesel engine. The ‘v’ belt was provided for power transmission from engine to cutter head with a reduction ratio of 1:0.32. Feed rollers were driven by bevel and spur gears. Short run and long run evaluation of the machine were conducted for napier grass and dry jowar. The variation in length of cut pieces was found to be 8.39% and 5.78% for dry jowar and napier grass, respectively. Quality of cut was calculated and found to be -0.80 for dry jowar and -0.53 for napier grass. The average efficiency of the machine was found to be 86.87% and 88.93% for dry jowar and napier grass, respectively. The average diesel consumption was found to be 0.69 l h-1.

Hand replantation is a common surgical procedure worldwide. However, this practice is underdeveloped in many resource-constrained countries in part due to a lack of surgical microscopes. We present a patient successfully managed using loupe magnification. A 17-year-old patient presented with an amputated right hand secondary to a chaff cutter. After an 8-hour surgical procedure, the amputated hand was successfully re-attached to the stump using loupes. The patient's functional recovery was satisfactory after two years of follow-up. In conclusion, replantation of extremities can be successfully achieved using loupe magnification. Loupes should be considered an alternative to operating microscopes for replantation of extremities especially in resource-constrained countries.

Pakistan is an agricultural country where fodder cutter (Tokka) is a commonly used machine on the farms. While using it, farmers often meet with accidents causing injuries which are disastrous, and mainly involve the young generation often causing lifelong disability. This is a hospital-based case series, conducted from June 2018 to January 2019 in the Department of Surgery, Lahore General Hospital, Lahore. For this study the patient's demographic data, site of injury, procedure performed and post-operative outcome were recorded. The study includes a total of 30 cases of tokka injury, (23 males and 07 females) with median age of 25 years. Most commonly injured part of the body was the upper limb, in 26 patients, while the lower limb was involved in 2 patients. There were 18 amputations, 8 stumps formation and 4 debridements. Out of the 18, 9 had to be amputated at the wrist, and 9 amputations were performed higher than the wrist. Post-op recovery was uneventful in all cases. Measures such as safer machine design and education of farmers about the safety procedures can significantly avoid these tragedies.

This paper discusses and calculates the impact of the gyroscopic effect on the increase in the agricultural machine working assemblies’ load on bearings of the chaff cutter type. This effect occurs under natural field operational conditions of this type of machine either during the change in direction of its movement or moving over irregular surface and is caused by a sudden change in the axis direction of quickly rotating masses. In a form of graph, there is a presentation of a mathematical model and exemplary results of simulation calculations for selected parameter values related to the movement and operation of machines with a high-speed drum. Calculations were conducted on the basis of analysis of technical data of working machines of the chaff cutter type. Conducted analysis of the agricultural machine working assemblies’ load on bearings showed that these loads may temporarily increase even by ten times in case of the machine turn and eight times in case of moving over irregular of surface, considerably influencing their lifetime.

In the livelihood of farmer, livestock makes up a major part. Getting enough grass and fodder is hard these days. So in order to reduce the wastage of the grass dairy farmers started using grass chopping machines, which cuts down the grass to small pieces. This makes cattle eat every part of grass thus reducing the wastage. But, the cost of grass chopper is way too costly for the small farmer to buy. So in order to make it accessible to them, we are trying to design a hand operated chaff cutting machine which instead of electricity runs on physical power which in turn is a good early morning exercise, and produce similar result as of its superior.

The methods of hardening of the chaff-cutter drum knives in a grain harvester combine are analyzed. The wear resistances of 65g steel samples hardened by quenching and borating and heating by high-frequency currents are compared. The results of field tests of the hardened knives are presented. These results are used to propose a design for a hardening coating. A two-coil induction heater is suggested for simultaneous heating of both face edges of a knife.

Background: Over time agriculture has transformed into an industry, both in scale andmechanization. Growing demand for agricultural yield and increasing mechanization has led togrowth in the numbers of agricultural accidents and injuries causing significant morbidity andeconomical loss. Aim: To study the causes, patterns, outcomes of injuries due to agriculturalaccidents, their effect on the productivity of the victims, and to suggest possible remedial measures,a prospective study was undertaken. Methods: A total of 106 patients reporting agricultural injuries(AI) over 14 months in 2019-20 were enrolled and data was recorded on a pre-structured proforma.Results: With the preponderance of male victims, educational status, skill levels, lighting & climaticconditions, intoxication and fatigue were found to be major determinants in the causation of injurieswith upper limbs being the predominantly involved part (75.47%) and most of the cases ended uprequiring some form of surgery (88.68%). Agricultural machinery (56.60%) was the main cause ofAI and Chaff Cutter Machine caused the maximum AI (37.73%). Amputations were the mostcommon injuries sustained (47.16%). Agricultural injuries affected the range of motion of body parts(32.07%) and work (58.49%) & household activities (49.05%); thus impairing work efficiency andeconomy. Conclusion: The present study highlights the need for a robust surveillance and dataanalysis leading to better design of farming machinery and equipment, more relevant education andtraining systems, stronger legislations as well as a comprehensive rehabilitative program aimed atreducing the socio-economic burden caused by agricultural injuries.

Throwing device is an important factor that directly affects the performance of chaff cutter. In this work, the dynamic analysis linked with the problem of low efficiency and residue blockage of disc knife chaff cutter is executed. Based on this perspective, the mathematical model, simulation, and testing of the material movement have been carried out. Simulations are performed in MATLAB/Simulink environment. An anemometer records the airflow velocity, which provides data for simulation analysis. The simulation results showed that during the movement along the blade, the material first performs deceleration and then accelerates; in other stages, only deceleration. And finally calculated the throwing distance. To support the presented simulations, an experimental study is conducted. The experimental results are compared with simulation results, the maximum relative error between the simulated value and the experimental value is 9.42%, which verified the correctness of the model. This research provides a theoretical basis for the structural design, parameter optimization, and matching of the chaff cutter.

Comparative studies of the classical and new design of a chaff cutter&rsquo, s cutting drum have been conducted within the frames of the study in order to determine their functional characteristics at the time of cutting rye straw into pieces of specific length (into chaff). A classical design of a cutting drum is of the shape of a roller and is suitable for material layer cross-cutting. However, the new drum design has the shape of a double truncated cone and, with the use of it, diagonal cuts in two directions can be realized. The studies were conducted for four designs of cutting drums with cutting angles &alpha, = 0&deg, (classical design) and &alpha, = 15&deg, &alpha, = 30&deg, and &alpha, = 45&deg, (new design). Three indicators were applied for the assessment: capacity, unit energy consumption, and the unit cutting resistance. The obtained results show that the use of a new drum design makes it possible, depending on the assumed parameters of the cutting process and the material&rsquo, s compaction degree, to increase the process&rsquo, s efficiency by up to 25%, lower the unit energy consumption up to 34%, and lower the unit cutting resistance by up to 8%. The conducted experimental studies have unequivocally shown that the use of a new cutting drum design, as compared to the classical one, results in a considerable increase in the cutting process&rsquo, s performance. Studies on the new design of a chaff cutter&rsquo, s cutting drum, of the shape of a double truncated cone, belong to original ones that so far have not been described in the available literature.

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to empirically investigate the effect of partial quantity rationing of credit on the technical efficiency of dairy farmers in the Punjab province of Pakistan. Design/methodology/approach Prior to the field survey, the authors constructed a theoretical model for clear identification of partial quantity rationed dairy farmers. Data from 154 dairy farmers were collected that represented three districts of the province. The collected data were analyzed in two stages: first, the efficiency level of dairy farmers was estimated using a stochastic frontier approach; second, the authors employed an inefficiency-effects model to estimate the effect of partial quantity rationing of credit on technical efficiency. Findings The results revealed that education level of the household head, cross-breed and imported cattle, and electric chaff cutter, all had significant positive impacts on technical efficiency, followed by diversified sources of income. Conversely, the analysis of our key variables, interest rate on principal amount and partial quantity rationing of credit had significant negative effects on the technical efficiency of dairy farmers in selected districts of the Punjab province in Pakistan. Originality/value The study will be an important contribution to the existing credit constraints and technical efficiency literature and will particularly help the rural financial institutions in terms of approving the loan amount according to the actual requirements of the borrowers. The study’s findings and subsequent recommendations will be useful for policy makers in achieving the actual production level, bringing down the poverty levels and ensuring food security in the country.

Twenty-eight male, weaned Chinese Holstein calves ((156.8±33.4) kg) were used to investigate the effects of dietary forage to concentrate ratio (F:C) and forage length on nutrient digestibility, plasma metabolites, ruminal fermentation, and fecal microflora. Animals were randomly allocated to four treatments in a 2×2 factorial arrangement: whole-length forage (WL) with low F:C (50:50); WL with high F:C (65:35); short-length forage (SL) with high F:C (65:35); and SL with low F:C (50:50). Chinese wildrye was used as the only forage source in this trial. The grass in the SL treatments was chopped using a chaff cutter to achieve small particle size (∼50% particles >19 mm). Dry matter intake (DMI) and organic matter (OM) intake was increased by increasing both F:C (P0.05). Microflora similarity was 50–73% among the different treatments. It is concluded that the WL with high F:C (65:35) diet is suitable for weaned calves.

Fodder cutter (toka) of both manual and powered type is among the commonest tool being used by people for the preparation of fodder for their cattle. Agricultural traumatic injuries can lead to serious disability and mortality. Out of the agricultural machinery related accidents the maximum occur with the chaff-cutters i.e. toka machines. An intriguing cervical trauma due to entanglement in agricultural implement while chopping fodder in a young individual is being reported, as there is no reference in global literature. Slightest mistake can lead to serious injuries with disastrous outcome.

In India animal husbandry is an integral part of the rural economy. Almost every rural family keeps at least a cow or buffalo for meeting milk requirement and to earn some money for daily expenses. The milk production is greatly affected by feeding to the cattle. However most of cattle feeding are provided in the form of whole crop. It may leads to wastage of feeding. It was noted that there is always feeding fodder scarcity in summer. In such situation the whole crop is to be cut into small pieces so that fodder can be used effectively. Presently fodder cutting machines are electric driven as well as hand operated. But today there is huge shortage of electricity almost every parts of India. To overcome uncertainly of electricity, we can replace electrically driven motor by human powered flywheel motor. The chaff cutter energized by human powered flywheel motor is suitable for marginal farmer who have 2-3 cattle. The experimentation carried out for establishing empirical model for identified variables affecting cutting of crop resides.

The Indian farming employs 225 million workforce to cover 140 million hectares of total cultivated land. In spite of rapid farm mechanization (e.g., 149 million farm machinery), the vast resource-poor family farming has primary dependence on traditional methods (e.g., 520 million hand tools and 37 million animal-drawn implements are in operation). The work drudgery, the traumatic accidents and injuries are the major concerns to examine options for ergonomics intervention and betterment of work in crop production activities. This review summarizes human energy expenditure in crop production activities, to assess the job severity, tools and machinery, and formulate the basis to reorganize work and work methods. While the farm mechanization is more in the northern India, the accidents were more in the villages in southern India. On average of the four regions, the tractor incidents (overturning, falling from the tractor, etc.) were highest (27.7%), followed by thresher (14.6%), sprayer/duster (12.2%), sugarcane crusher (8.1%) and chaff cutter (7.8%) accidents. Most of the fatal accidents resulted from the powered machinery, with the annual fatality rate estimated as 22 per 100,000 farmers. The hand tools related injuries (8% of the total accidents) were non-fatal in nature. In spite of the enactment of legislation, the shortcomings in production and monitoring of the machinery in field use may be responsible for the high rate of accidents (e.g., 42 thresher accidents/1,000 mechanical threshers/year in southern India). Due to the lack of technical capability of the local artisans, adhering to safety and design standards is impractical to the implements fabricated in the rural areas. The analysis emphasizes that the effective safety and health management may be possible through legislative enabling of the local infra-structure, such as block development authority and primary health services, to permeate occupational health and safe work practices in the farming sector.

The Human powered flywheel motor (HPFM) is the integral part of the various manually energized machines such as brick making machine, chaff cutter, pedal operated flour mill etc .Since its invention continuous efforts are being made for its optimization with objective of the efficient energy utilization of human energy. In an attempt this paper presents the development of flywheel motor for multiple rider as till now only single rider system is developed. Further the CAD modeling of this system is developed by using the CAD software SOLID EGDE. Keywords - CAD modeling, HPFM, Solid edge.

The Government of Punjab is providing monetary compensation since 1984 to the victims of agricultural accidents through Punjab State Marketing Board. The compensation rate, fixed at 12, 000/-in case of loss of life, was revised regularly to 2, 00, 000 at present. Monetary compensation amounting to about Rupees 8.3 million is being provided to more than 1800 agricultural accidents victims per year of Punjab state. Chaff cutter (34.7 per cent), threshers and harvesters (21.2 per cent), snake bites (7.9 per cent), electrocutions at tube-well motors (6.8 per cent), poisoning due to pesticides (7.0 per cent), tractors (3.0 per cent are involved in agricultural accidents resulting to death (32.1 per cent) or permanent physical injury to the victims (67.9 per cent). All the recorded agricultural accidents related to snake bites, electric motors and pesticides were fatal in nature. All the chaff cutter and thresher related accidents were non-fatal in nature resulting into amputation injuries of fingers (67.5 per cent), hands (18.2 per cent) and arms (10.5 per cent). Interventions are needed for creating awareness and development of safety devices and gadgets so as to reduce agricultural accidents. Similar monetary compensation scheme may be adopted by other states, so that agricultural accidents victims may be rehabilitated.