This page will be updated with project pitches as they come in via farmhack-pitches@mit.edu.

If you’re coming to the FarmHack@MIT event, here’s what we’d like from you to help get the creative juices going:

Share your project pitch in 50 words or less. Identify the problem you’ve encountered and what a successful solution could look like. Send your pitch to farmhack-pitches@mit.edu and we’ll share them here.  Here’s the format:

• Pitch title
• Your full name
• Your farm or department
• Your 50-word pitch
• A < 1mb picture of the problem

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Here are some pitches!  Post your comments below to get the conversation started.

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Produce harvest tools:

• Picking cart for strawberries. Lay-down, one-person, ideally made from some combination of bicycle wheels, crutches for the frame, and perhaps skis (these three are abundant at the local transfer station). The cart should straddle a single row, be light enough to maneuver in and out of the rows, should be able to carry multiple pint baskets, and provide support for the picker’s appendages. This could also be a sit-down cart, with the picker leaning forward to pick.  (Richard at Hopestill Farm)
• Dumping cart for compost. Able to straddle a 30″ bed. The dumping action should be adjustable to allow compost to be raked out easily but controllably onto the bed. (Richard at Hopestill Farm)

Irrigation:

• Self-flushing irrigation end cap. After setting up irrigation pipes, there’s always dirt in there somewhere, at risk of clogging sprinkler heads.  That means farmers need to flush water through the pipes to clear out dirt, then shut off the water pump, then plug the end of the line, then turn it back on.  That often means running around in the field and wasting time.  If we can develop an end cap that will let water flow through for a minute or so to flush out dirt, then close itself using the power of the moving water, that would save lots of time and effort.(Ben from Hearty Roots Farm in New York)
• Low Pressure Drip Line for Passive Irrigation. Develop low pressure crop irrigation system that can evenly distribute water from an elevated cistern with relatively low static pressure head.  Note that cistern might be recharged by shallow, submersible pump, powered by wind or solar, or by roof top collection. (John at B&B Farms, Carlisle, MA)
• Irrigation pipe with wiring built in. I have invented a more efficient topology for 2-wire irrigation systems. These systems allow for more efficient use of water. They have a data network which allows for reading soil moisture from distributedsensors, and then spraying the optimal amount of water based on the moisture readings.  (Steve, MIT Alum)

Grain processing tools:

• Dehulling machine for grains on a ~20 acre scale. Adjustable for size including pin-head sized millet, spelt w/ 3 kernels together, and barley;  limited supervision/automated. (Severine and Sara at OpenOak Farm in Oregon)
• Combine that is small or medium-scale appropriate and not 70 years old. (Severine and Sara at OpenOak Farm in Oregon)
• Expedient Grain Harvesting Processing. Adapt conventional landscape machines/equipment to harvest, thresh and winnow small scale “beginner” grain crops.  Machines might include lawnmowers, brushblades, woodchippers, leaf blowers and various trucks/trailers.  Emphasize quick set-up and break-down. (John at B&B Farms, Carlisle, MA)

Processing produce:

• Harvest bin washer:  Many a vegetable farmer lists “harvest bin washing” as one of the least fun and least efficient jobs on the farm.  Some very large farms have invested tens of thousands of dollars in mechanized bin washers, but most  of us rely on a hose or a power washer and several hours of labor.  Can we design an efficient bin washer built from a couple thousand (or hundred?) dollars of off-the-shelf parts?  (Ben from Hearty Roots Farm in New York)

Further development of DIY tractors:

• Add-ons to Electric G tractors. The electric tractor conversion plan for old Allis G tractors is the holy grail of FarmHack projects.  What are the next steps we can take to improve this?  Can we build a “cruise control” module to add on?  What other possibilities can we come up with? (Ben from Hearty Roots Farm in New York)
• Adding onto the LifeTrac. Open Source Ecology’s LifeTrac is a DIY tractor built from off the shelf parts.  It has potential to work well for many tasks, but isn’t adapted for certain agricultural applications (high clearance cultivating, heavy tillage, etc.).  What are the next steps in adapting this model for our own farms?  (Ben from Hearty Roots Farm in New York)

Moving materials around the farm:

• Hay bale dolly. Two-wheel dolly modified for carrying rectangular hay bales across the field and around the farm. The dolly should be able to grab, spear, or lift the bale without the operator having to lift the bale, and should be narrow enough to fit down an 18″ pathway in the garden to deliver mulch to rows without lifting. (Richard at Hopestill Farm)
• 5-gallon bucket dolly. A dolly or other carrying system built to move multiple 5-gallon buckets filled with compost. Emphasis should be on maneuverability within the tight spaces of a hoophouse. (Richard at Hopestill Farm)

Compost:

• Kid-friendly compost turning tool. We here at CitySprouts love to turn the compost.  We love to teach kids about composting, and get them involved in making it.There used to be a readily available tool that was perfect for this job – we called it the compost crank.  It looks like a big old fashioned hand drill crossed with a corkscrew.  However, the manufacturer of this tool seems to have fled the planet, because none of our suppliers carry it anymore.  Can you help us design and build a kid-friendly compost turning tool? (Francey from CitySprouts)

Greenhouses

• Zero energy grow house farm cooperative. Farmers would bring their seeds to these jointly owned greenhouses to grow their produce during the off-season. During the summer months, the greenhouse could grow plants that produce a secondary source of income i.e. biodiesel. Farmers could then use this fuel to power their equipment for the next season. (Matthew from RISD)

Spraying:

• Spray equipment for challenging organic mixes. Adapt conventional liquid spray equipment to deal with problematic organic spray ingredients that may include; diatomaceous earth (DE), kaolin clay (Surround), compost teas, dried blood, garlic and sulfur powder.  A simple, quick to clean/purge spray nozzle would be very helpful.  (John at B&B Farms, Carlisle, MA)