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The set up of the new database for the inventory of articles containing dangerous substances has begun. In January 2021, it will become mandatory. However, the issues related to the information required and the transmission format are still pending

At a meeting held in 21st of June at Enovitis in Campo the technical difficulty of installing bulky exhaust devices for treating emissions on specialist vineyard and fruit orchard tractors became clear. Changing the built of these machines to make them capable of mounting them means compromising their functions and it would be unthinkable to modify planting distances by expanding the row widths. A request for an amendment of the regulation for the specific sector is being prepared

Subproducts left by the maintenance of parks and gardens in Italian cities can annually lead to a huge amount of biomass, sufficient to meet the energy requirements of thousand families. A succession of incompatible regulations which, over time, have led to differing definitions of residues and thus differing procedures for handling them and thus have blocked the efficient use of them as raw combustion materials

With the ministerial decree issued last December, the European guidelines on precision farming become operational. What follows is a survey on the range of technologies that contribute to this type of farming which can also be acquired by using RDP funding

The new EU regulation, which applies in particular to certain types of machinery, entails a considerable adjustment effort for various industries, which affects production costs. However, the Mother Regulation introduces some technical requirements that make the machinery more performing and flexible in their use. FederUnacoma underlines the importance of raising awareness also with users, to promote the value of the introduced innovations

Regulations and such Directives as the Mother Regulation or those on engine emissions and noise levels undergo constant updates of machinery produced by the manufacturing industries. This regime leads to increasing costs passed on to the sticker prices of machinery to drive agricultural enterprises to buy second-hand machinery which does not renew their inventories

In an increasingly global market, shared standards are crucial for industrial activities. ISO is a global manager of regulatory harmonization, and FederUnacoma hosted several meetings of the organization dedicated to crop protection machines in recent months

The new regulations on visibility for self-propelled agricultural machines are being prepared. The regulations, which will take the wording of ISO 21495-1, are based on requirements developed by experts taking into account the characteristics of different types of machine, and thus the specific problems and the different risk factors

The European Parliament has approved emission standards for engines used in new non-road mobile machinery, NRMM. The norm sets severe parameters for safeguarding the environment but acknowledges the specifics of vineyard and fruit orchard tractors to allow them to move from the current Stage IIIB to Stage V in 2021 to give manufacturers more time to design solutions for the installation of after-treatment systems compatible with the size of the engine without altering operational requirements of these tractors

Fruit picking machines include an aerial platform used by operators at work. Special attention must be paid to safety in these conditions. The current norm of reference is the European Commission EN 280 which does not fully respond to the requirements typical of work in this agricultural environment. For this reason, the European Committee for Standardization, CEN, has approved a specific norm, the future EN 16952, arriving at the end of 2017

Training for the correct use of agricultural machinery is a decisive factor for reducing the risk of accidents. A series of legislative measures issued beginning in 2008 and successively updated with a ministerial decree in May 2015 provides for a learners license for driving of some types of machinery. On an understanding with institutions and professional organizations, a CNR/Imamoter initiative calls for the startup of specific information and training activities

Two amendments have been approved by the European Parliament, recognizing the specificity of agricultural machines for vineyards and orchards, and opening the way for the definition of a timetable, in implementation of the Regulation on emissions from engines, more compatibly with machine redesign times by manufacturers. An important role was played by the Rapporteur Elisabatta Gardini and the Chairman of the Environment Committee Giovanni La Via

Framework Regulation 167/2013, also known as the Mother Regulation, for agricultural vehicles has been published in the European Union Official Journal covering new type-approval for tractors, trailers and interchangeable towed equipment to apply as of 1st January 2016. What will change for the sector of agricultural machinery?

A technical study conducted by the firm TRL for the European Commission is challenged by Italian manufacturers for the method applies as well as for the merit of the findings. The anti-pollution devices prescribed for Phase IV engines are not compatible with the bodywork of the machines and, especially, staying in step with the norm would require design changes every three years

The European Union last year published Regulation 167/2013, known as the "Mother Regulation", the framework for type-approval certification for agricultural machinery to be enacted in 2016 for tractors and trailers. We are taking a look at its contents, the main new features introduced and answering some simple questions