With the farming season in high gear, you are not alone when it comes to pushing your tractor harder and stretching maintenance schedules to guarantee a good crop yield. That said, you might want to get back on track because farming equipment maintenance plays a crucial role in successful agricultural production. You want to ensure it is safe and reliable for use. With the increased competition from other farmers, the last thing you want is downtime in the height of fieldwork or expensive repairs.

Preventative maintenance will guarantee safe operations, extend the life of your equipment, reduce breakdown expenditure, and meet production demands. Consider this maintenance checklist to help you with safety and daily upkeep.

1. Clean the Tractor Regularly

Wash it, clean it, and wax it! Tractors get dirty fast because of all the crop-weed residue, dust, and dirty working conditions. Debris buildup creates difficult working conditions and leads to excessive wear each day.

Cleaning the dirt off as soon as you see it prevents the dirt from collecting around essential parts such as the transmission housing and tires. Debris buildup also speeds up rusting and leads to engine failure if left unchecked. Cleaning your tractor after use and thorough washing at least once a week will do wonders.

2. Maintain Proper Lubrication

A tractor has many metal-on-metal moving parts, and proper lubrication is one of the best ways to avoid thermal breakdowns. Lubricating with recommended or high-quality grease will also prevent corrosion and premature wear of crucial and costly parts. You can use your operator's manual to check recommended lubricants and fittings for the specific equipment.

3. Check the Oil

Regular oil checks and changes help reduce wear and tear, equipment degradation, contamination, and inconsistency. Adding oil as needed and maintaining oil quality guarantees the proper condition of various moving parts such as gears, hydraulic systems, bearings, and more. Changing your oil as needed also prevents unexpected failures and costly downtime.

4. Inspect the Equipment

Inspection before use, after use, and before long-term storage is an integral part of maintaining peak performance in farming equipment. This means keeping an eye on your battery, checking tire pressure, filters, radiator, belts, hoses, blade attachments, and other components. You want to make sure all significant components keep running for a long time to save you time, money, and downtime frustrations.

Keeping your farming equipment in peak condition this season is not as complicated as you probably think. All you need is to observe these tips. Make sure to source parts from certified dealers to ensure they are genuine for enhanced performance. If you don't feel confident performing tasks critical to the health of your equipment, you can opt for customized tractor services to ensure it stays in excellent working condition for years to come.