Mechanized agriculture is the process of using agricultural machinery to massively increase

farm output. In modern times, powered machinery has replaced many jobs formerly carried out
by men or animals such as oxen and horses.

The history of agriculture contains many examples of tool use, but only in recent time has the
high rate of machine use been at such a level.

The first pervasive mechanization of agriculture came with the introduction of the plough,
usually powered by animals. It was invented in ancient Mesopotamia.

Current mechanized agriculture includes the use of airplanes, helicopters, trucks and tractors,
among other vehicles. Modern farms even sometimes use computers in conjunction with satellite
imagery and GPS guidance to increase yields. The need for mechanization is as a result of the
global population increase which must be fed. It improves the production efficiency by reducing
cost per unit of product,encourages large scale production and improves the quality of farm
produce. On the other hand, it displaces unskilled farm labor, causes environmental pollution,
deforestation and erosion.

Mechanical harvesting

Harvesting Concord grapes

The question of using mechanical harvesting versus traditional hand picking is a source of
contention in the wine industry. Mechanical harvesting of grapes has been one of the major
changes in many vineyards in the last third of a century. First introduced commercially in the
1960s, it has been adopted in different wine regions for various economic, labor and winemaking
reason. In Australia, the reduced work force in the wine industry has made the use of mechanized
labor almost a necessity.[1]

A mechanical vine harvester works by beating the vine with rubber sticks to get the vine to drop
its fruit onto a conveyor belt that brings the fruit to a holding bin. As technology improves
mechanical harvesters have become more sophisticated in distinguishing grape clusters from
mud, leaves and other particles. Despite the improvement many harvesters still have difficulties
in distinguishing between ripe, healthy grapes and unripe or rotted bunches which must then be
sorted out at the winemaking facility. Another disadvantage is the potential of damaging the
grape skins which can cause maceration and coloring of the juice that is undesirable in the
production of white and sparkling wine. The broken skins also bring the risk of oxidation and a
loss of some of the aromatic qualities in the wine.[4]

One of the benefits of mechanical harvesting is the relatively low cost. A harvester is able to run
24 hours a day and pick 80-200 tons of grapes, compared to the 1-2 tons that an experienced
human picker could harvest. In hot climates, where picking quickly or in the cool of night is a
priority, mechanical harvesting can accomplish these goals very well.[5]