There are never enough hours in the day, especially when you are a farmer, but luckily modern technology is here to make life a little bit easier. There is one downside to this though – there are more options than ever, some would say, too many. If you are anything like the average person, you will have a hard time deciphering advertising campaigns to figure out what products or equipment are necessary, and which are not. If you are new to the farming industry, or if you are looking to add new machinery to your collection, this list below should steer you in the right direction. Here are five pieces of essential farming machinery that will save you both money and time.
Tractor: They are one of the most versatile pieces of farming equipment you could have – basically they are the workhorse of a farm. They come in all different shapes and sizes and come with a range of accessories. Tractors can be used throughout all seasons for things such as plowing, feeding, planting and much more.
Farm Trailer: This will probably be one of the smallest pieces of machinery you will have, but also one that will get plenty of use. Whether you use it for transporting small equipment, rubbish, stock, or feed for your animals, I can guarantee you won’t get very far without one. Because farm trailers come in many different shapes and sizes, it is important to do your research first and make sure you get one specific to your needs.
Loader Backhoe: This is relatively small in size and has a shovel/bucket on the front and a backhoe on the back, and can be used for a variety of tasks. It is one of the most useful multi-purpose pieces of machinery available. Common uses are digging holes, clearing debris and drilling holes. If you talk to anyone who owns one of these, I promise you they will rave about it.
Top Dresser: This is an important tool when it comes to running a farm. Top dressers spread a variety of materials, such as compost, sand, lime, wood chips, in turn, increasing your lawn’s quality and making it more resilient and resistant to drought and clay soils will drain better, improving root development. After all, what is a farm without its land, right?
Manure Spreader: There are many benefits to having a manure spreader. If your animals spend most of the time on grass, the manure will accumulate so it is important to spread this around. Manure is known to improve soil and crop fertility so it is beneficial to do this. Having a manure spreader will save you a lot of time compared to if you did this manually.