Definition of Reference Models for Functional Parameters and Price for Mowers and Mowerconditioners

At present, the management of different operations in agricultural production is rapidly evolving as an effect of increasing attention to the issues of sustainable development and intensification. The key components of sustainable agriculture are increased agricultural machinery productivity and efficiency. Different factors must be considered when defining the farm fleet (tractors and implements), as well as when planning and managing the machinery. Among them, the cost is important, but also their size, weight, working area, required power etc. The objective of the current work is to determine the most important factors that affect the costs and effectiveness of mowing implements. To identify dependencies and extract reference models, the various parameters are analyzed in a correlation matrix. The study’s methodology is based on linear regression analysis performed on approximately 250 mowers and 240 mowerconditioners, for a total amount of roughly 490 machines, among which both drum and disc apparatus were considered. We were able to analyze the key significant parameters, calculate their impact, and develop forecasting models for price, power, mass, working width and number of mowing elements. Relevant correlations were found between price and all the functional parameters. According to these correlations, models have been proposed, which can be implemented to support the decision-making phases of the market stakeholders.