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Heavy Duty Farm Equipment for Harvesting, Tilling, Planting & Other Agricultural Tasks
From heavy duty tractors to backhoes, the phrase “farm equipment” includes every type of agricultural machinery used to assist farmers in their daily routines. Heavy farm equipment can be used to dig posts for raising barns, laying irrigation pipes, burying deceased animals, and for planting, nourishing, maintaining and ultimately harvesting crops. Recent high-tech features include automated farming equipment and GPS monitoring for tracking an entire fleet at once in real-time.
My Little Salesman understands how important choosing the right heavy equipment is for you and your crops, which is why we list versatile farming equipment for sale that’s made for large and small operations. You’ll quickly find that our affordable agricultural machinery listings contain exactly what you need to make life easier around the farm.
Choosing the Right Heavy Duty Farm Equipment
It’s tempting to buy the biggest piece of equipment on the market and get straight to work, but rarely is this the most cost-effective decision. Large specialty equipment is expensive and should be reserved for high-dollar crops – otherwise, you will have trouble making your money back come harvest time. Most small farms rely on versatile agricultural machines that can accomplish a lot of different tasks instead of specialty farming equipment.
Here are some other considerations to think about before buying agricultural machinery:
- Size – There’s no reason to buy a larger, more expensive piece of farm equipment when something much smaller would have done just as well. You also need something small enough to easily fit down the rows of crops without causing damage.
- Fuel Cost – Farming involves a lot of driving, so keeping the size of your equipment to a minimum can save a lot of fuel in the long run.
- Learning Curve – You should generally stick to operating equipment that you are already familiar with unless absolutely necessary. Workers who know their equipment well will always work more efficiently.
How to Buy Used Farm Equipment
Always check the following when looking at used farm equipment for sale:
- Check the brakes, transmission, clutch, steering, air intake, exhaust, and gauges for abnormalities
- For tractors, look at the horsepower, fuel and oil consumption rates using a dynamometer.
- Check the oil pressure in the hydraulics using a flow rater or a pressure gauge.
- Get the oil tested to learn about the condition of the engine parts.
- Check for leaks in the intake hoses and connections.
- Checking the coolant for rust or other contaminants.
- Check the tires for cuts, wrinkles and breaks in the sidewalls.
- Look for excessive dirt, oil leaks, cracks in the exterior, welds, rust, and loose connections.
- Make sure there are no excessive vibrations when running.
Here’s the general life span for used farm equipment (keep this information in mind when checking the number of hours logged):
- Tractors – 12,000 hours
- Crawlers – 16,000 hours
- Combines – 2,000 hours
- Planters – 1,000 hours
- Swathers – 2,000 hours
Farm Equipment Names and Uses
The following heavy farm equipment is necessary on almost any farm:
- Tractors – Heavy duty tractors are used to pull farming equipment, load manure into a spreader, and many other basic jobs.
- Seeders – Seeders are used to spread seeds and salt in areas with heavy snow.
- Spreaders – Spreaders are commonly used to spread liquid or solid manure types.
- Combine Harvesters – Used to reap (cut), thresh (separate), and winnow (pile) the crop.
- Baler – Used to process hay, straw and corn stalks into square or round bales.