Learning farming equipment names and their uses may seem trivial, but when you’re shopping at auctions, dealerships and estate sales, it’s hard to know where to begin. This guide covers common farm equipment, from tractors and tillage implements to planting, harvesting and livestock-management equipment.

Key Takeaways

• Farm equipment ranges from versatile tractors and loaders to specialized implements for planting, cultivating, harvesting and managing livestock.
• The right farming equipment depends on your acreage, crops, livestock, soil and the jobs you need to accomplish.
• Many farm implements attach to tractors, ATVs or UTVs, making one vehicle useful for multiple tasks.
• Small-scale farmers can choose from both mechanized equipment and hand tools, including walk-behind tractors, scythes and sickles.
• Before buying expensive equipment, consider how often you’ll use it and whether renting, borrowing or hiring the work out makes more sense.

1. Tractor

There never was a broader category of farming equipment than the tractor. If only choosing a tractor was as simple as choosing a color—though many farmers with brand allegiance will tell you it is.

Tractors (one of which is pictured above) are available in sizes appropriate for farmers with 1 acre up to those working 1,000 acres or more. As versatile as these pieces of farm equipment are, a tractor is a pretty common-sense purchase for small-scale farmers. You want one that has the right amount of horsepower and the right hitch rating for the work you plan to do with it. Farm Journal’s AgWeb offers a guide to determining the size of tractor you need for your farm. Hobby Farms has guides including 8 Things to Consider When Buying a Tractor and 4 Tractor Types to Consider for Your Farm

Two-Wheeled Tractor

Also known as a walk-behind tractor, this piece of farming equipment is worth consideration for the smallest-scale farm. You truly do walk behind it, as the name implies, and you can use a range of attachments: hay baler, rototiller, snow blower, bed shaper, seeder, wagon and so on.

2. ATV/UTV

All-terrain vehicles (or four-wheelers) and utility vehicles (think hefty golf carts) are really fun pieces of farming equipment, yet they’re also really handy. If you have a large property, it’s nice to have an option besides walking everywhere. ATVs and UTVs are great for hauling your harvest or equipment. They can tow small trailers, and you can get attachments for many models. (See also: 22 Attachments for Your ATV or UTV, 10 Uses for an ATV or UTV on Your Farm and If You Can’t Afford a Tractor, Use Your ATV or UTV to the Max)

3. Farm Truck

Sure, you can get by farming with your Prius or Mini, but when you need to put a goat in the hatchback, you might wish you had a truck. A host of small, midsize and full-size trucks can fit your farm’s needs. Consider whether you need to pull a trailer, make long trips, put a cap on the bed or drive it through your fields. Once you know what kind of tasks you expect your truck to perform, you can find the right size and look at the makes and models available to you.

4. Wagon

A farm “wagon” might be akin to the little red wagon you had as a kid. On the opposite end of the spectrum, it might also be a large, four-wheel wooden piece of farming equipment designed for moving hay. There are wagons at many levels in between, too, and numerous uses for wagons aside from hauling hay.

5. Backhoe

If digging is your thing, a backhoe is your tool; if you don’t plan to dig holes on a regular basis, you’d be better served to borrow or rent a backhoe rather than purchase your own. Backhoes can be purchased as separate hydraulic implements for some tractor types. According to the Louisiana State University Ag Center, most backhoe attachments are designed to dig as deep as 10 feet.

6. Front-End Loader

While backhoes look like fun, front-end loaders can be considered more useful on the small-scale farm on a regular basis. Not all tractors are equipped to handle a front-end loader, but if yours is, you can dig, move bulky items (including loose things such as soil and manure), lift heavy items and equipment, and perform some land-grading tasks.

7. Cultivator

Cultivators are used for—you probably already guessed this—soil cultivation. In particular, cultivators are used for weed control before planting into a bed, as well as incorporating crop or weed residues and preparing a seed bed. Cultivator tines can be properly spaced to be used in a garden bed or crop field after plants are growing to remove the weeds from around the plants. It takes someone with a steady hand to drive the tractor in a straight line and not hit the vegetable plants with the cultivator.

8. Cultipacker

Cultipackers are pulled behind tractors to firm seedbeds before seeding to set up your planting for good seed-to-soil contact. Following up broadcast seeding with a cultipacker pass will press the seeds into the soil.

9. Plows

There are more types of plows than you anyone cares to name. Select the right combination of plows for your farm based on your soil type, your type of crop production and the condition of the land.

• Moldboard plows: These are most often used on land that has not been in crop production before or has been fallow for a long time. The large wings of the plow are designed to cut into and turn over all of the soil in an area.
• Chisel Plow: This has long shanks that turn over the soil to a depth of 12 inches. Chisel plowing after applying a soil amendment can incorporate the amendment to 3 to 4 inches, and crop residues that are turned over during the plowing are concentrated in that soil depth, as well, according to Purdue University Cooperative Extension Service. Chisel plowing still leaves some crop residue on the soil surface and usually doesn’t create a seedbed that’s smooth enough to plant into—you need further soil prep for that.
• Disk Plow: This cuts into the soil but doesn’t turn it over completely the way a moldboard plow would.

10. Harrows

Harrows are pulled behind a tractor or ATV to level the soil surface, redistribute crop residue and disturb weed germination. You can attach a harrow to another implement that’s attached to your tractor to save time and expenses by making fewer passes through your field. Harrows are also handy for breaking up manure in the pasture and smoothing out riding ring surfaces.

11. Plastic Mulch Layer

A plastic mulch layer tractor attachment is a must for large-scale farms using plasticulture growing methods. Small-scale farmers can find plastic mulch layer attachments for their walk-behind tractors and for low-horsepower tractors. A ream of plastic is mounted on the implement, discs shape the planting bed, and a series of wheels and wings lay the plastic flat along the bed.

12. Sprayers

For applying compost tea, pesticides or herbicides (organic or synthetic), a sprayer is a necessary piece of farming equipment. Backpack-size sprayers and walk-behind sprayers are hand-operated, while farmers who have several acres of crops should use a tractor- or ATV-mounted and operated sprayer.

13. Irrigation System

Your crops won’t do well without consistent watering. Unless you plan to stand in your garden or field with a hose a few nights each week, plan to get an irrigation system. This could be as simple as a soaker hose connected to your outdoor spigot or as complicated as a multi-level drip irrigation system.

14. Seed Drills

Seed drills are tractor attachments that insert seeds into the ground with minimal soil disturbance. They are most often used for row crops (such as grains), cover crops, and grasses or forage. There are no-till seed drills and traditional seed drills.

No-Till Drills

No-till drills have colter blades—a means of cutting through the existing crop residue—that create a clear path for planting seeds. Farmers.gov has good information about no-till drill options.

Traditional Seed Drills

Traditional seed drills generally require tilling or planting-area preparation before seeding because traditional seed drills do not have coulters to cut through the residue.

15. Broadcast Seeder

Broadcast seeders—also called rotary spreaders or seeders—come in many sizes, from a lawn seeder that you can carry around your neck to industrial-size seeders pulled behind the largest of tractors. The idea behind these pieces of farming equipment is all the same: As the plate inside the seeder turns, the seeds in the seeder’s hopper are distributed across an area. Each model has its own broadcast area, and this is usually adjustable. Broadcast seeders are ideal for planting cover crops, grasses and forages, but they aren’t practical for garden crops that require rows or organization.

16. Transplanter

These were long considered a tool of the large-scale farmer, but handheld transplanters are now available—in addition to the tractor-pulled transplanters—that make small-scale farmers’ lives easier. Of course, the original transplanter was the farmer’s hand, and probably everyone reading this has put plants in the ground using a spade. There are also handheld transplanters, which let you put transplants into the ground without bending over and digging in the dirt. Different models use either foot action or hand action to activate a lever inside the transplanter, which allows the plant to drop into the hole in the ground that this tool has made—no crawling required. For farmers approaching 10 acres of vegetables, a waterwheel or other tractor-pulled transplanter might be worth a look.

17. Mowers

Do you need a push-behind mower, a riding mower, a zero-turn mower, a belly-mounted mower or a pull-behind mower implement for your lawn and pastures? If you make hay, do you want a sickle-bar mower, a drum mower or a disc (also called a rotary) mower? For larger areas or wild areas, are brush mowers, batwing mowers or flail mowers right for you? As a landowner, you need at least one mower—if not a combination of mowers—among your farming equipment collection.

Plashing Vole/Flickr

18. Scythe

Scythes were the world’s primary grass- or shrub-cutting tools among farm equipment until mechanization moved in. According to Penn State University, the scythe is gaining in popularity again among small-scale farmers. One swing of a scythe can cut a swath 6 feet long by 4 inches wide—not exactly the efficiency of using a mower, but maybe it’s not a piece of farming equipment that should be ruled out.

19. Sickle

Even smaller than a scythe, a sickle is a handheld cutting tool with a curved blade for harvesting or mowing. Sickles are less efficient than scythes, as far as hand-operated cutting tools go, but they can be useful in small applications.

20. Rakes

Rakes are necessary pieces of farm equipment if you make hay. Wheel rakes, parallel-bar rakes, rotary rakes and belt rakes are pulled behind a tractor, and each have advantages and disadvantages, depending on the quality of the hay-cutting job, the moisture content of the hay and the equipment-storage area available to you.

21. Balers

Three general types of hay balers exist: round balers, square balers and large square balers. These are costly investments, and with all of their moving parts, they require maintenance, so it’s important to be confident that you’ll use your baler before you write your check.

• Round balers pick up hay from the field and roll it into round bales, then wrap it with netting or twine.
• Square balers are available in various sizes. The right square baler for your farm depends on how much acreage you bale. You can find balers that tie bales in twine, in wire or in both. A bale thrower is an add-on that makes stacking your bales on the wagon a whole lot easier.
• Large square balers are designed for large farms. Unless you bale hundreds of acres, standard square bales or round bales are probably better options for you.

22. Combine Harvester

Grain farmers find they need a combine (also called a harvester) for their crops. Even with just an acre of grain crop, a combine is the most efficient means of getting it out of the field.

23. Manure Spreader

Manure—everyone’s favorite farm subject—needs to be managed on every farm that includes livestock. If you don’t compost the manure or remove it from your property and you want to spread it on a field, a manure spreader is your tool.

Manure spreaders are especially popular on horse farms. Read about proper manure-spreading techniques to prevent the spread of parasites and pollution from manure runoff.

24. Hydroponic Growing Systems

Increasing in popularity, hydroponics is the system of growing plants in water rather than in soil. Benefits are being able to grow a lot of food in a small space, using less water than soil-cultivated gardens, growing indoors and generally faster plant growth. Downsides are making major investments in hydroponic farming equipment, finding the plants that do well growing without soil, and having a learning curve of how much and what type of inputs your plants need.

Frequently Asked Questions About Farming Equipment

What is the most important piece of farming equipment?

For many farms, a tractor is the most versatile piece of farming equipment because it can power and pull a wide range of implements. However, the most useful equipment depends on the size of the farm, the crops or livestock being raised and the work that needs to be done.

What farming equipment does a small farm need?

Small farms may need only a few pieces of equipment, such as a compact or walk-behind tractor, mower, seeder, cultivator and utility vehicle. Depending on the farm, other useful equipment may include a front-end loader, irrigation system, manure spreader or hay equipment.

What is the difference between farm equipment and farm machinery?

The terms farm equipment and farm machinery are often used interchangeably. Farm machinery generally refers to mechanized equipment such as tractors, combines and balers, while farm equipment can be a broader term that also includes implements and tools such as cultivators, rakes and scythes.

Should you buy or rent farm equipment?

Buying makes sense when you will use a piece of equipment frequently enough to justify its purchase and maintenance costs. Renting, borrowing or hiring someone to do the work can be more practical for expensive equipment that you use only occasionally, such as combines and backhoes.

What should you consider when buying farm equipment?

Consider the size of your farm, the jobs you need to accomplish, available horsepower, implement compatibility, storage requirements, maintenance costs and your budget. Used equipment can be a good option, but inspect its condition and make sure replacement parts and service are available before buying.

Farming Equipment Final Thoughts

There’s no single list of farming equipment that every farm needs. The right choices depend on your acreage, crops, livestock, terrain and the jobs you need to accomplish. A tractor and a few versatile implements may cover most needs on a small farm, while larger operations may require specialized planting, haymaking or harvesting equipment.

Before buying, consider how often you’ll use a piece of equipment, how much it will cost to maintain and whether renting, borrowing or hiring out the work makes more sense. Use this list of farming equipment names and uses as a starting point for building an equipment wish list—and then start shopping with a better idea of what you actually need.

This article about farming equipment names and uses was written for Hobby Farms magazine. Click here to subscribe.