Life Cycle Sustainability Assessment of Agricultural Machinery

Dear Colleagues,

Agricultural machinery is a fundamental factor in agricultural and livestock productions. The development of efficient and safe machines with low energy requirements is the key for a modern and sustainable agricultural mechanization, based on economic, environmental, and social pillars.

From the environmental point of view, agricultural machinery should reduce energy requirements for manufacturing, fuel consumption, exhaust gases emissions, soil compaction and disposal impact. Additionally, operators should work in safe and ergonomic conditions to assure their proper welfare. Moreover, the initial investments and operational costs during the machinery life cycle have weight on the farm profitability. Considering: i) the growing food demand; ii) the reduction of the number of farms and the increase in their dimension; and iii) the reduction in labor and increase in competition, we are convinced that agricultural mechanization is now facing challenges to satisfy the needs for high performance, safety, and sustainability.

This Special Issue welcomes submissions on: i) the performance of agricultural machinery and/or agricultural mechanization carried out with life cycle assessment, cost, and social assessment methods; ii) the evaluation of novel indicators supporting these methodologies; iii) the performance of agricultural machinery in terms of operators’ safety and ergonomics, exhaust gases emissions, and innovative solutions for efficient farming.

Dr. Daniela Lovarelli
Dr. Jacopo Bacenetti
Prof. Domenico Pessina
Guest Editors

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