Farm Equipment Manufacturers Association

You'll find these two versatile tools useful for myriad projects, so invest in the best heavy-duty models you can afford. Out comes the saw and drill. We use ours for breaking ice in winter; for digging large rocks out of the garden, construction sites,...

Spring cleaning on a farm requires a lot of time and effort—much more than cleaning a closet—but the satisfaction of having all your equipment ready for the coming summer makes it more than worthwhile.

A hand-pushed mower can be particularly useful since you can get in between and very close to the larger trees. A pair of pruning shears will do a fantastic job, but don't skimp on size—get a large, strong, powerful pair that will last a long time and...

A mower like this will do a good job and give you plenty of control to progress at your own pace, which can be valuable if the terrain is rocky or if you've left some small tree stumps behind.

It's arguably easier to use than a household stapler. Part of the fun of being a farmer (at least if you're like me) is having a logical excuse—er, reason—to own lots of tools.

Not securing the panels would also allow me to more easily remove them if desired. My plan was to secure the panels with a latch, magnets or some other system at the ridgepole. I fixed one up with wood handles, and when I get a chance, I'll do the same...

The lower end can cost $100 or less. Remember, an anvil likely is a once-in-a-lifetime purchase. Of course, one of the joys of looking for a tool when you live in the country is to use it as an excuse to attend farm auctions.

Fill it to its 5.3-gallon capacity, and you're carrying nearly 60 pounds. With its gas engine, the Solo sprayer weighs more than 18 pounds empty. Quality matters. Manual spray systems use lower-cost piston pumps, while diaphragm pumps common to motorized...

When equipped with a collection of screwdriver bits and drill bits—which are more things to be thankful for!—a good electric drill will be ready for anything. Hay Wagons While not exactly a “tool” in the truest sense of the word (they're more...

This protection actually serves two purposes if you're working in the shade or on the edge of a forest during the summer months: This is where mosquitoes and other annoying bugs tend to lurk, and a long-sleeved shirt can help keep you from getting bitten.

He also mentioned the importance of guarantees and availability of lifetime replacement. However, I often struggle with buying a high-priced, high-quality tool versus one that will get the job done when it will be seldom used and lightly at that.

Believe it or not, I'm using it for snow removal. I'm a firm believer that some farm tools can (and should) be used for more than their intended purposes. Thanks to a heavy snowfall a few days prior, a lot of snow inhabited the roof above the door, to...

So the next time I have a need to measure a long distance—perhaps the length of a new garden or pasture —perhaps I'll get out my measuring wheel and give it a try. You might be familiar with measuring wheels on a smaller scale.

Bolt cutters, as their name implies, will cut through modest-size bolts if you need to, along with all sorts of similar items—chains, padlocks, and so on. Wire cutters are a small tool, about the size of pliers, which lets you use them with one hand,...

In the meantime, I'll use it as needed. I don't do mortise and tenons. They are slightly beat up, whether I bought them new or used , but like an old shoe, they feel comfortable. I'll probably keep my tenon saw with its cherry handle.

Gravity still rules, but when using a chainsaw in dense woods, always expect the unexpected. The job seemed simple enough. No forward movement could be observed at all. The ash had grown around the stout cedar branches.

Some small aerators are designed to be pushed by hand, while others are designed to be towed behind a lawn tractor. Hand Pushed or Tractor Powered? Clay soils can become compacted in other ways by the use of spike aerators, so a plug aerator is the better...

Stationary balers were introduced in the mid 1800s . In 1952, New Holland introduced a second Nolt invention: the New Holland 66 Hay Baler. Leubben of Nebraska invented the first modern baler.

On several occasions in the past , I've mentioned how a simple pair of locking pliers can be a great item to have in your toolbox. This ability to lock into place makes these pliers extremely valuable.

I especially liked comments from professional welders and metal workers who preferred the German-made grinder to similar-sized alternatives. While that's a nice idea, I know I am not likely to do so, no matter my intentions.

For these reasons, it's important that any hobby farmer have an arsenal of ice-removal tools on hand in case winter ice gets to be too much. Without ice, we wouldn't have convenient cubes of ice for keeping things cold.

Keep the Bottom Free of Snow I habitually lean my sled up against the outside of a building when it's not in use so that it won't fill up with snow on bad weather days. Sleds are designed to slide, and in the perfect conditions (such as packed-down snow...

A typical digging bar might have a tapered point, wedge or chisel on one end for breaking up soil, cutting roots and digging holes, while the other end might be broad and flat for tamping the soil back into place.

Here are some tools, supplies, and other items that you might want to have on hand. Replacement Engine Parts The wet, warm days of the spring thaw are the perfect time to do some annual maintenance on your slumbering farm machines.

First is the actual diameter of the wheel. On many small farm machines, the wheels are held in place by cotter pins inserted through a hole in the axle. Therefore, it's important to know the depth of the wheel hub to make sure that you purchase a wheel...

The start of a new year, fresh with opportunity and potential, is a great time to make plans for the coming seasons, particularly if you live in an area with significant winter snowfall and you can hardly wait for spring to arrive.

With speeds topping out around 5½ mph and mower decks averaging between 42 and 60 inches, garden tractors are contraindicated for owners of properties with a lot of obstacles or mid-sized-property owners who want to quickly check off mowing from their...