Any farm owner can tell you what a time-consuming and laborious task working the land is. Agriculture is a big job from start to finish, from preparing the soil to planting the seedlings, to watering and fertilizing, to that most important final step, the harvest, every day requires hard work and dedication. There are still folks out there in the world who do much of this labour by hand, or with the help of draught animals like oxen and mules, but these days most of the toil has been taken over by the farmer’s best friend- the tractor.
The tractor is the modern-day workhorse of the farm, a sturdy vehicle that basically consists of a powerful motor sitting over two large and rugged tractor tyres that can move through the worst terrain that nature can throw at it. Today’s tractors are a big Swiss Army knife that the farmer can fit a variety of implements and attachments to depending on the job that needs doing.
Here are some of the most common implements and attachments that farmers can fit to their tractors to accomplish whatever work the season may require:
- Plough– The proper preparation of the soil is a principal part of the pre-planting process. The plough loosens fallow soil, turning it over to expose its softer side so it can be easily planted.
- Planter– The planter attachment is able to lay down an entire row of seedlings in just one pass, a job that formerly required a large amount of manual labour to accomplish in a timely manner.
- Sprayer – Sometimes an extra dose of fertilizer is needed during the growth cycle, or in some unfortunate cases, pesticides must be applied. The sprayer attachment allows the farmer to simply drive along the rows while the sprayer automatically delivers its contents to the crop.
- Harvester – Once again, another formerly dirty and difficult human task has been taken over by the helpful tractor, and as long as you keep it well maintained and in good repairthroughout the year it can accomplish the job in a fraction of the time and without much fuss. Whatever your crop, corn, wheat, sugar cane, cassava, or tapioca, there is a harvester attachment designed to do the job and bring in the precious results of your work.
- Loader– A front loader attachment turns your tractor into a big scooper able to handle gravel, sand, soil and manure in large, heavy loads at the touch of a control. Your only question is “Where do you want it?”
- Excavator – Remember what we said about the Swiss Army knife? With this attachment, you can transform your tractor into a smaller version of the excavator, a piece of heavy equipment designed to dig big holes. Need a drainage ditch or a watering hole? Your excavator attachment can make it happen and you never have to touch a shovel.
The Australian Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry has published a report on the state of agricultural machinery imports you might find interesting. The tractor is possibly the most versatile and important piece of equipment we have, it brings food to our table and never tires!
