LOUISVILLE, Ky. — It’s one of the biggest events all year at the Kentucky Expo Center. The National Farm Machinery Show at the Kentucky Expo Center in Louisville showcases some pretty high-tech machines and careers.

What You Need To Know

  •  The National Farm Machinery Show is in Louisville through Feb. 17

  •  University of Kentucky students showed off prototype power systems

  •  Farm tech encompasses a wide range of engineering fields

Lucas Kuhlman is a senior mechanical engineering student at the University of Kentucky and he showed off his hybrid power system.

“And then you have an entire hybrid control system that communicates all the different systems together and makes it all work,” Kuhlman told Spectrum News 1.

Kuhlman has spent the last five months designing and building a propane, electric power system that could be used as an alternative to battery-powered-only machines.

“Four or five months to fully put together because there were some changes we had to make throughout the whole process. There’s a lot of plumbing in this,” Kuhlman said.

The Lebanon, Kentucky native is an example of how much high-tech engineering is on display at the farm show and how the world of farming and AG has long embraced advancements in bio-mechanics and mechanical and electrical engineering.

“I love engines. I love power-trains, such like that, part of the reason I’m working on a hybrid project. It’s a hybrid power-train,” Kuhlman said.

Kuhlman’s adviser on this project is Professor of Bio-systems and Agricultural Engineering Joe Dvorak. Dvorak explained for decades AG-tech has been on the cutting edge of integrating emerging technologies, think GPS tracking for planting, autonomous tractors, genetically engineered corn, all of which have been the norm in the industries since the 1980s and 90s.

“There are a lot more people involved in agriculture in general. They might not be living directly on a farm, driving a tractor, but they are designing tractors. They are working with the products farmers are using,” Professor Dvorak said.

Farmers are embracing another relatively new technology. A few feet from Dvorak and Kuhlman are farming drones, the size of go-carts, designed for spraying crops. They can carry interchangeable large plastic reservoirs. Think of it as a crop-dusting drone.

“A lot of people are excited to be in these jobs and it’s great to have the option to work in these areas and support farmers,” Dvorak said.

Kuhlman already has a job lined up with GE Appliance Park in Louisville and he will also begin classes to acquire his master’s degree in mechanical engineering. 

The National Farm Machinery Show runs through Saturday, Feb. 17.

 

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