A fuel consumption model for off-road use of mobile machinery in agriculture

Until 2009, the annual reporting of emissions by off-road transport in agriculture in Belgium was based on a 1994 calculation model that needed to be updated. An energy consumption model was established for plant production in Belgium as a backbone for a new emission model. The model starts from agricultural activities involving off-road fuel consumption. Effects of soil type, tractor size, field size and machine load are modelled. Twenty-seven fuel consumption indicators (FCIs) were computed for plant production. FCIs are expressed per year and are used for emission estimates on a regional level. FCIs ranged from 37 to 311 L/ha. Sensitivity analysis showed the highest impact of tractor size with a surplus fuel consumption between 10 to 41 % depending on the crop type. Fuel consumption (L) can be further processed into greenhouse gas emissions. FCIs can be adopted in LCA studies. With ∼310 L/ha, orchards are most fuel intensive, followed by field vegetables and sugar beets (∼150 L/ha). The total off-road energy consumption of field vegetables is high because second cropping is a common practice.