1.

Tractor

There never was a more broad category of farm equipment than this one. If only choosing a tractor were 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 all the
way 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

Expected Price: You can find used tractors starting in the thousands, but new tractors start just north of
$10,000 and go up from there, depending on the brand, features and accessories you choose. (Here’s a
start to finding out about those: 13 Tractor Terms Every Hobby Farmer Should Know)

Two-Wheeled Tractor

Also known as a walk-behind tractor, this piece of 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. Walk-behind tractors start around $1,500,
not including implements.

2. ATV/UTV

CAFNR/Flickr

All-terrain vehicles (or four-wheelers) and utility vehicles (think hefty golf carts) are really fun pieces of
farm 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 Attachemtns 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)

Expected Price: You can find sporty ATVs and UTVs and those designed for work, and the price varies with
that choice. You can spend as little as $1,000 on an entry-level ATV or, for more serious farm chores, a
John Deere Gator UTV can list for more than $10,000.

Dwight Sipler/Flickr

Andy Rogers/Flickr

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.

Popejon2/Flickr

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.

Expected Price: These are in the same price range as other hydraulic moving equipment, starting around
$2,500 and increasing depending on brands and your needs. Again, there are tractor package deals out
there that include loaders, if that’s where you’re at.

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

USFWS Mountain Prairie/Flickr

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

Jeff Piper/Flickr

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.

JP Goguen/Flickr

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.

Expected Price: Plastic mulch layers attachments for tractors range in the thousands of dollars (though you
can pick up a walk-behind tractor attachment for less than a grand), so be sure plasticulture is for you
before making an investment.

Evan Clements/Flickr

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 multi-level drip-irrigation system.

Expected Price: You can pick up a simple soaker hose for around $10 on Amazon or at farm supply stores.
Really large and complicated automatic-irrigation systems, complete with soil-moisture sensors, can run
into the thousands of dollars, though garden-sized systems are available for just north of $100.

14. Seed Drills

David Wright/Flickr

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 coulter 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

USFWS Mountain Prairie/Flickr

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 farm equipment all is 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.

Expected Price: Hand-held broadcast seeders are available for less than $20; walk-behind seeders for less
than $100. Tractor- or ATV-mounted or pulled broadcast seeders start at around $125 and increase in
price.

16. Transplanter

Kurt and Sybilla/Flickr

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
 Will Keightley/Flickr

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 farm equipment collection.

21. Balers

Bev Curie/Flickr

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 or Harvester

David Wright/Flickr

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.

Expected Price: A walk-behind harvester can be found for $1,000 or more. Tractor-powered harvesters
start around several thousand dollars. Actual combine machinery used by industrial farms costs hundreds
of thousands of dollars.

23. Manure Spreader