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Regional & Seasonal Equipment GuidesEquipment for Midwest Corn and Soybean Country
Corn and soybean farming runs on tight windows. Planting and harvest are short, weather decides which days you can work, and a breakdown at the wrong moment costs more than at any other time of year.
Key points
- Count the days each machine is used before buying
- Consider custom hire and sharing as alternatives to ownership
- Service planters, sprayers and combines before their season starts
- Check state rules for road moves and applicator licensing
- Follow grain bin safety guidance and never enter alone
What does a corn and soybean operation really need?
The core list is a tractor or two for tillage and other work, a planter, a sprayer, a combine with the right heads, a grain cart or wagons, trucks and grain handling. Not every operation owns all of it. Many hire custom work or share equipment with neighbors.
How much you own depends on acreage, timing and cash. Ask what you could do with custom hire before you buy a machine you will use only a few days a year.
A farm of a few hundred acres has a very different mix from a 40-acre family operation, but the same question applies to both: what must be done in a narrow window, and who can do it if your machine fails?
How do you decide what to own and what to hire?
Count the days. A machine used for a few days each year but needed at one exact time is hard to share and hard to replace on short notice. A machine used all season may be easier to justify.
Talk with a lender, an accountant and your local FSA office about the costs, the tax effects and any programs. Terms vary, so get advice for your own situation instead of relying on general rules.
- Tally how many days each year you would use the machine
- Ask what custom operators in your area offer
- Compare ownership with hiring, including repair risk
- Check with your accountant and lender before you commit
What should you check before planting season?
Go through the planter methodically: seed meters, drive components, row units, chains, bearings, openers, closers and the monitor. Replace worn parts before the field season rather than during it. Check tires on tractors and implements, since field-time breakdowns are a real cost.
Calibrate and set up according to the manufacturer. If you use precision technology such as GPS guidance, learn it before the season. The market changes quickly, so ask your dealer what is supported on the equipment you own.
Keep notes during the season on every repair, every part that wore faster than expected, and any near miss. In winter, those notes become your shopping and service list.
How do you prepare sprayers and application equipment?
Sprayer maintenance centers on clean tanks, working nozzles, good hoses and accurate calibration. The label of any product you apply is the law, and applicator licensing rules vary by state, so check with your state agriculture department or extension office.
Wear the protective gear the label requires. Chemical handling and anhydrous ammonia need training and the right equipment, so do not improvise.
What does harvest readiness involve?
Combine prep is a long list: belts, chains, knives, bearings, augers, concaves, rotors and filters, plus the header. Go through the operator's manual, replace what is worn and grease everything on schedule. Have a plan for fires, since dry crop residue and heat can ignite on a running machine.
Keep a spare parts kit and know your dealer's hours and parts availability during harvest. Think about the people and trucks too, since a combine needs a steady flow of support equipment.
Heat, dust and long hours are tiring. Plan shifts and breaks for operators, because fatigue is a major contributor to farm accidents.
How do you move equipment safely on public roads?
Equipment moves between fields on public roads, often at slow speed. Rules on lighting, SMV emblems, width and licensing vary by state. Check with your state DOT, department of motor vehicles or highway patrol, and make sure lights and markings are clean and working.
Plan routes to avoid heavy traffic and narrow bridges, and keep wide loads clear of power lines. Always look up before raising augers or extending implements.
Keep a copy of your route plans and emergency numbers in each cab. Helpers and seasonal drivers may not know the back roads like you do.
What about grain bins and handling safety?
Grain handling has its own hazards, including entrapment in bins and equipment entanglement. Never enter a bin without proper procedures and a trained team. OSHA, NIOSH and your extension office publish guidance on grain safety that every operator and helper should read.
Keep children away from augers, loading areas and bins at all times.
Sources and further reading
Organization homepages are linked so you can search them for current guidance on this topic.