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1 T a b .........................................................................................................2.............................................................................................2...............................................................................................................2............................................................................................................3..........................................................................................................3..........................................................................................................4............................................................................................................4...........................................................................................................5.......................................................................................................5................................................................................................5.............................................................................................................5............................................................................................................6.........................................................................................................6.........................................................................................................7.............................................................................................................7........................................................................................................8.................................................................................................................8..................................................................................................9..................................................................................................................9........................................................................................................10.......................................................................................10...............................................................................................11.......................................................................................................11Mower-mid-mount...........................................................................................12.......................................................................................................12.........................................................................................13..............................................................................................14........................................................................................................14Plastic mulch layer...........................................................................................15................................................................................................17................................................................................................17...............................................................................17.......................................................................................................18..............................................................................................................18............................................................................................................19...................................................................................................19...........................................................................................................20 2 tractor category. These small tractors are virtuallyNot every contractor, farmer or rural homeowneralphabetically. Turf aerators (Figure 1) areand bring up cores of soil from the holes rather than justlayer of sand or by using a harrow or drag to break upthe core holes – and into the thatch layer. Bac A backhoe is one of the most expensiveattachments, but they are fairly popular. Backhoeson the rear of the tractor. Because they require a highpurchasing a backhoe, youuse and becoming popular.Different buckets are available for backhoes. Youfor general digging. Very wide, smooth buckets arehandy but require a major investment of time andmoney. Figure 1. Turf aerator oncompact tractor. (Photofrom Deere and Figure 2. Backhoe forcompact tractor. (Photofrom BushHog) 3 your investment. First, be sure to lubricate all greaseand the whole machine will be loose and wobbly.rods from corrosion. If you park a backhoe outside inlem. Ideally, a backhoe should be you should be under the ROPS and secured with aworking. A swinging backhoe boom can injure or kill If you have to handle large round haybales, a bale spear (Figure 3) is essential. You can put atractor, you will needsure to pick up the rearpoint hitch bale spear,weights on the tractor.requires caution. A bale spear on the back will make ato the rear. Extra care is needed when using a bale spearon a front-end loader. Keep the load as low as possible,and drive slowly. If you must lift the load up high, bethen roll down the loader arms and crush the driver. If you are using a compact tractor for4) is a useful implement. Most row crops in the Deeping. A bed shaper willthe soil. A planter willbeds are compacted somewhat. It is also important toshaper to compact and firm the bed top. Additionalweight on the shaper may be necessary, but often it isadequate merely to allow some soil to spill over ontomally, it is necessary to lay out rough beds with a diskbedder or middlebuster, then knock the beds down andshape them with a bed shaper.front of it to build firm, full beds. Without a wave ofThe need to maintain this wave of soil makes a bedshaper challenging to operate. The driver will probablyto maintain the soil wave. You cannot merely drop theshaper at the end of the row, the wave of soil from thesoil from the field to the headland. A spool shaper cancommercially available. Pan-type shapers are availablelining to reduce soil buildup under the shaper pan. Thisis helpful in some soils, but is not necessary in sandyprevent buildup under the shaper. The soil should be Figure 3. Bale spear for 3-point hitchon compact tractor. (Photo from Figure 4. Bed shaper for compacttractor. (Photo from Buckeye Tractor 4 sticks to the shaper, it is too wet; if the beds collapsebehind the shaper, the soil is too dry. One of the handiest implements youshallow ditches andlevel a gravel road or driveway with little effort. A bladeside of the blade can be lowered. A further refinementor, on some models, by swinging the frame arm to thegage wheel on the rear. This makes the blade easier toroad grader. These units normally use a hydraulicmuch wider, a compact tractor may not have the powerthe tractor wheel width, it is hard to do a good job. A 6-tractors. Some cheap blades are light and easily dam-aged (bent) if you hit a rock, root or stump. You need athe blade or frame bends.tractor. The closer the blade is to the tractor tires, theAn angle blade is not a major investment, but it is Blade – bo A box blade (Figure 6) is usefulpush or pull soil; however,way. The teeth allow you to break up hard soil beforebe rotated up and down with a hydraulic cylinder, but,on most box blades sold for compact tractors, the teethWith a box blade you can scrape up a pile of soilspread it or dump it. You can also operate the blade inwide. As with an angle blade, the implement should betractor.to stall the tractor before bending. The ripper teeth tendhitch or other components on the tractor. Figure 5. Angle blade for compacttractor. (Photo from MonroeTufline) Figure 6. Box blade for compacttractor. (Photo from MonroeTufline) 5 Blades can also be mounted on theadvantage in visibility. Front blades are more difficultangled vertically, but thatcally.ing the front blade is Br oom – r otar A rotary broom can be attachedremoving light snow. Thiscontractor. Many widthsand brush diameters are Small engine-driven chipper/tractor. These machines are readily portable, easy to useand have high capacity since they can use the tractor’sdiameter. SomeThe machine should be lowered to the groundhazard. When operating a chipper/shredder, you shouldthe hopper. Do not reach into the hopper. Do not holdthem before the machine grabs them. Do not exceed thethat can direct the chips into a truck or trailer. Culti a A row-crop cultivator (Figure 10) can Figure 7. Front blade on compacttractor. (Photo from Kubota) Figure 8. Rotary broom oncompact tractor. (Photo from Figure 9. PTO chipper on compacttractor. (Photo from Vermeer Manufac- Figure 10. 1-row row-cropcultivator for compact tractor.(Photo from Howse Implement 6 vidual floating gangs; however, the inexpensive cultiva-For commercial operations, consider cone guide Dir A dirt scoop (Figure 11) is a handythan with a front-end loader on your tractor. A dirttractor. It is raised andlowered by the tractor,and wheelbarrow. It is useful for small digging projectsjobs. It is certainly not as versatile as a front-end loader,nor does it match the capacity of a front-end loader, buttractor, good traction is available for digging. A dirtloader. Because a dirt scoop is behind the tractor,front-end loader, although not as efficiently. Most gardens and row crops in the(Figure 12), also locally called a “hipper.” Disk bedders(operated on ground thatplowing or disking). A diskpeas or soybeans on the beds, then come in beforedisk bedder, burying the cover crop in the old middlesgetting straight beds at the proper spacings. With largerbetween beds; with a one-row bedder, it is all up to thedriver. In some cases, it is best to make one light pass toa post or tree is not safe; it could fall on someone. Ifover. It is possible to build a simple frame to support adisk bedder (or any similar implement) (Figure 13). Aframe like this is much safer and makes hitching andunhitching much easier. Figure 11. Dirt scoop on compacttractor. Figure 12. One-row disk bedderon compact tractor. (Photo fromBuckeye Tractor Company) Figure 13. Homemade frame to 7 Disk har r o Although moldboard plows are usedthe center. Thelight, inexpensive disks for compact tractors. Widths ofdeeper. Many disks have notched blades. The notchesgang to fill this furrow; this feature is normally notTwo primary wear areas on disks are the bladesgang to replace bearings and/or blades, you musttighten it back up correctly. The normal rule is to use a Most folks in the Gulf Coast areafor projects requiring the use of electric tools whenaway from an electric outlet. Although most people opt-No additional engine to maintain-Since you don’t have to buy an engine, you canget more capacity (kilowatts) for your money.-No need to start the generator regularly to keep-Assuming you use your tractor regularly, it issmall engine on a generator.can multiply your tractor’s PTO hp by 0.75 and get anthat much power. On thealways buy a generatorlarge for your tractor,stall. Depending on size of the tractor and generator, thehouse. Typically, you will be able to run lights andgenerator to your house in a safe and approved manner.connect them directly to the generator. PTO generators Figure 14. Disk harrows for compact tractors.(Photo from Monroe Tufline) Figure 15. PTO generator oncompact tractor. 8 NEVER CONNECT TO A HOME SERVICEENTRANCE WITHOUT GOING THROUGH ANAPPROVED DOUBLE-POLE DOUBLE-THROW This switch (Figure 16) willfrom the utility’s power lines when the generator ispany. People’s lives depend on it! You can then wire upthe weather, be sureally cost much less per kw than engine-powered genera-generator has been sheltered and cared for, it should– if you already have a compact tractor. They can offermore kw for your investment than an engine-drivengenerator. ader b A relatively new implement forblade. They are generally available in widths from 5 toenough that it won’t bend in use. Although this is a Harrows are valuable implements forfields and landscape areas for planting and for spread- Figure 16. Transfer switch for safe Figure 17. Large cord and plug togenerator. Figure 18. Grader blade for a compacttractor. (Photo from Howse Implement Figure 19. Spring-tooth harrow forcompact tractor. 9 point hitch. Apower. Most modelsdrawbar. Some can be Ha Although compact tractors areMost hay in the South is cut with disc mowershandle fire ant mounds better. Most farmers have nowThe conditioners can either crush the stems betweenboth. Conditioning allows the hay to dry faster, reduc-swath or a windrow.delivery rakes and convey the hay to the side to form awindrow. Both types of rakes are ground driven.can be made by conventional balers and the powerrequirement is reasonable for a compact tractor. Com-round baler. A third type of baler, one that makes bigsquare bales, generally requires a larger tractor. One of the most popular implements forcompact tractors is a front-end loader (Figure 22). Achain), move hay bales,tions for a loader, so beto an existing tractor. Some manufacturers now offerdon=t need it. A loader for a compact tractor may cost$2,000-$3,000, depending on size and quality. In mostFront-end loaders are popular, but expensive,loader find that they seldom use the loader. The loaderis a nuisance to leave on the tractor, reduces visibilityand makes it more difficult to maneuver, but can be ahassle to remove – even with the new, faster mountingsystems. If you really do need a loader, consider getting Figure 22. Front-end loader oncompact tractor. (Photo fromFarmhand)Figure 20. Spike-tooth harrow forcompact tractor. (Photo from Figure 21. Chain harrow forcompact tractor. (Photo from Kovar 10 capacity. If you are going to use a loader extensively,When driving with a loader, keep the bucket as low asvisibility. Be careful to keep the bucket level whenfrom rolling back down the loader arms onto the driver.ground because an overturn could occur. Be especiallycareful to keep your ROPS raised and wear your seatbeltwhen using a loader. Many people use log splitters toa compact tractor, a better choice might be a log splitterpowered by your tractor’s hydraulic system (Figure 23).horizontally. The horizontalof both hydraulic pressure and cylinder diameter.The smaller the cylinder, the faster the cycle time. Thus,itself and not depend on the tractor hydraulic lever.Using the tractor hydraulic lever to control the motiondling the log and one running the lever. It is dangerousperson holding and maneuvering the log. To use aseparate control valve on the splitter, the tractor hydrau-the splitter. Some tractor models have a lock positionthe splitter, it can be crushed or severed. There is also a Mid A middlebuster or listertogether. It opens a furrow and throws soil in bothtoolbar (Figure 24) to make a furrow, or twobusting out existing beds. Aand bury the cover crop in the middles.a disk bedder. It will tend to catch on roots, rocks oreven hard clay and jerk the tractor to the side; a diskbedder will tend to ride over such obstacles. A Figure 23. Log splitter forcompact tractor. (Photo fromBrave Products) Figure 24. Middlebuster forcompact tractor. (Photo fromCimarron) 11 trip, but must be manually reset with a wrench. Moreexpensive models have spring trips that reset withouttools. Finishing mowers (Figure 25)control the height of cut. You then merely drop the 3-cutter. To measure the height of cut for a finishingmower, park the tractor and mower deck on a smooth,be sure the tractor engine is turned off). Thisshould not be run level. With any rotary mower, it isWhen you are running a finishing mower, the swaystraight behind the tractor and doesn’t sway. This isto be raised for transport. All finishing mowers employto allow this, but improper adjustment can negate it. Yoube able to lift the mower. This adjustment is somewhatthe quality of cut and the longevity of your mower.Safety is a consideration with any mower. If it cancut grass, it can cut hands and feet. All finishing mow-rear. These chains substantially reduce, but don’tblades can’t come off. Avoid hitting any solid objectsthat could fracture a blade. Always avoid contact with Flailmower, the blades are free- Figure 25. Heavy-duty finishingmower on compact tractor. Figure 26. Flail mower oncompact tractor. 12 are often Y-shaped (or sometimes, half a Y), so theobjects than a rotary mower, there is still a thrownobjects hazard and caution is needed. Also, as with anymower, there are hazards from the PTO shaft and the Mid-mount decks are popu-difficult to remove than rear-mount mowers, so they aremodels of tractor, it is nowground clearance. Mid-mount decks generally providemerely pulled along by the tractor, whereas mid-mountdesigned to cut tall, weedy grass. They have multipleWith a “ground following” deck, you set the heightheight setting. This might involve moving a pin at eachwheel, or moving a stack of spacers at each wheel. Youroperator’s manual will explain how to set your specificdeck. To measure the height of cut, park the mowerbe sure theThe deck should not be run level. With any rotarymower, it is desirable to set the front slightly lower socut. Your operator’s manual will tell you how to adjustYou can check your deck by lowering it and measuringangle to the direction of travel (be sure the tractorpavement. Your operator’s manual will give specificcated than some other types of mowers, but once it’sand the longevity of your mower.Safety is always an issue with a rotary mower. It is Mower – reel Reel mowers are much less com-driven or driven by a Figure 27. Mid-mount mowerdeck on subcompact tractor. Figure 28. Reel mower (Photofrom Locke) 13 requirement for reel mowers is relatively low, allowing acompact tractor to pull a fairly wide mower. The rollersreel mowers are best suited to open turf areas with few,if any, trees or other obstacles. Mo er – r otar A rear-mounted rotarycutter (Figure 29) is often referred to as a Bush Hog7 -designed for heavy, roughin diameter, depending onbecause of their length. Cutting height is adjusted byeasily attached and removed. Widths of 4 to 6 feet arecutters is cutting too low. Rotary cutters are not de-cannot follow ground contours and is prone to scalpingif run too low. To achieve the desired cutting height on atypical 3-point hitch mounted rotary cutter, you must domower deck at the correct height. You should makeor below the collar. Set the deck approximately levelThe deck should not be run level. With any rotarymower, it is desirable to set the front slightly lower (¼ topower requirement and provide a cleaner cut. After youlower than at the rear. If your tractor has an adjustableyour tractor has neither, just take a pen or marker andmower.When running a rotary cutter, the sway bars orstraight behind the tractor and doesn’t sway. This isfor transport. All rotary cutters use some type of movingimproper adjustment can negate it. You must adjust themower. This adjustment is somewhat subjective, butground for a while as the front of the mower lifts, but Figure 29. Rotary cutter forcompact tractor. 14 Figure 31. Pallet forks tofit front-end loader oncompact tractor. (Photofrom Sweepster FFC)the quality of cut and the longevity of your mower.responsibility rests with the operator. Hazards withOf all the hazards inherent in a rotary cutter, the300 feet. Too many people assume that a rotary cutterwill not throw objects very far, but testing and docu-serious injury. Objects thrown from a rotary cutter canhead or body, causing concussion or death. The mostcommon injury, however, is eye damage. Even smallcan reduce the risk of injury. The cutter deck should bedesigned to conform to American Society of Agricul-tural Engineers Standard S474.1 – Agricultural RotaryMower Safety. This standard prescribes several safetymay interfere with mowing efficacy. Most manufactur-facturer. The cost of chain guards may range fromAs an equipment operator, you must be aware ofminimize the danger. The first and most important stepturn off the tractor PTO to stop the cutter and notresume operation until the site is clear of bystanders.Operating without chain guards is acceptable only infrom rotary cutters. Although rotary cutters are typicallyof a rotary cutter, he should wear safety glasses. Thethat can cause injury, blindness or even death. You Sicklebar mowers (Figure 30)require little power. Theyon the ground. Althoughincorporate a safety break-away, they are susceptible to There arewith a compact tractor. The mostloader. Maneuvering forks in this Figure 30. Sicklebar mower onsmall offset tractor. 15 pallet safely.capacity, and it is often impossible to see the forksof the tractor. Some mount to the 3-point hitch and arebehind the tractor. The 3-point hitch units can carry themounted type. They are reasonably easy to maneuver,load low. Don’t lift a pallet high when on roughground. If using pallet forks on a front-end loader, be Thebedder or middlebuster. The beds must be firmed andworker on the mulch layer to more fumigant. As withthe drip irrigation knives, it is important that the furrowsrely on having a firm bed ahead of the mulch layer.tires, frequently smooth, are run on top of the sides oflayer for all of the components to function properly.Aside from the usual mechanical safety consider-fumigant. All workers should wear the personal protec-tive equipment mandated by EPA on the fumigant label.simple light-duty machines to heavy, rigid implements Figure 32. Plastic mulchlayer on compact tractor. 16 deners, a good custom operator is often the best solu- The use of plastic mulch is a The traditionalhand is a filthy, strenuous task.the plastic difficult to pick up. A coulter running downthrough when the plastic is picked up later.growers pick up the plastic by hand; however, there arethe plastic can be rolled up. A major problem with thisplastic increases. As the spool fills, either the tractor Figure 33. Plastic mulch lifter oncompact tractor. Figure 34. Plastic mulchcollector on compact tractor.riding on the machine. ALSU AgCenter (Figure 34)one-pass machine. Although this seems efficient, it isSouth, it is unusual for the soil in the cup to be that dry.dry, then allow the loosened soil on top of the mulch toweight of the collected product. A rotary cutter or otherthe task is easy, but in too many cases the plastic tearsinto small pieces that have to be picked up individually.too weak or brittle and tears too easily. When that The traditional implement forprimary tillage is the moldboard plow (Figure 35). Aone side and the bottom of a strip of soil and inverts thatstrip. While inverting the soil strip, the curved shape of 17 Figure 35. Moldboard plow forprimary tillage. (Photo from Figure 36. Post holecompact tractor.(Photo from Danuser)is buried and the invertedadjust or use one correctly. For a small moldboard plowto work correctly, the right tires on the tractor must bethat the tires run in the previous furrow. The plowoperator’s manual should give this specification. Theplow must then be leveled correctly from front to rear,level when the tractor is running in the previous furrow.inch to the left of the side of the plow. It is also neces-boards to help invert taller sod. Digging post holes is a commontractor’s PTO. Rural homeowners12 inches. Augers for tree plantingPost hole diggers work well inpenetrating hard soils. Although post hole diggers are Rak e – landsca A useful tool for landscapethem to be angled to the sidehard clods. A landscape rake Most lawns need toneedles) is a valuable resource in the Deep South. Anhomeowners. If you own some land with pine trees,you can easily rake your own pine straw.quantity of pine straw, a small tractor rake will save ators use an old dump rake for pine straw. This has therakes are scarce and hard to find now. Many companies Figure 37. Landscape rake oncompact tractor. (Photo from 18 Figure 39. Heavy-duty rotarytiller on compact tractor. Figure 40. Sprayercompact tractor.(Photo fromleaves, grass clippings and pine straw. They do anby a small tractor, a ridingmower, a utility vehicle oran ATV. Proper adjustmentpossibly the tines. A hydraulic cylinder for easy adjust-pine straw. Normally, a homeowner will just pick it upbig, heavy and expensive for occasional use on ahomestead. A few companies make small balers aimedhomeowner. Compact tractors can handle smallused for primary or sec-tractor cannot handle a large tiller. Some smaller com-matches the full width of the tractor, thus the tiller mustdrag and smooth or level the soil behind the tiller.manufacturer.Rotary tillers can be run from an inch or two deepdown to 8-9 inches on some models. Tilling quality isstructure. After a heavy rain, some rotary-tilled soils will“melt” together into a solid mass with no structure orcrop rows. Vegetable growers can use a rotary tiller toSafety issues for rotary tillers primarily involvePTO if anyone is near the tiller. Spraying pesticides is Figure 38. Rake for lawns andpine straw on compact tractor. 19 Figure 42. Pendulum-actionspreader on compact tractor.Figure 41. Trailer sprayer forcompact tractor. (Photo from Century) nozzles for relatively uniform broadcast spraying. Theytion on calibration is available on the LSU AgCenterWeb site (www.lsuagcenter.com). Appropriate protective Both rotary and pendulum-actionuniform distribution pattern. All rotary spreaders requirein most cases. A series ofbanding fertilizer. With a shortened spout, they canand a splitter box mounted, they can drop bands ofWith either type of spreader, the rate setting mustMore information on calibrating and using spread-ers is found on the LSU AgCenter Web site .com) and in LSU AgCenter Researchtion, Testing, and Use. This bulletin is available from Stump g r A few companies manufactureare powered by the tractor’s PTO (Figure 43). Thesecontractor, farmer orrural homeowner.They require a com-before each swing. Tractor stump grinders rely on therear of the tractor. Thrown objects are a serious hazard Figure 43. Stump grinder mounted oncompact tractor. (Photo from Wikco) 20 Figure 44.compact tractor.(Photo from For breaking compacted subsoil, a subsoiler shank (Figure 44)larger compact tractors will be able to handle a subsoiler, and even they will bea compacted hardpan in the subsoil. To shatter a hardpan effectively, you mustflow around the subsoiler.roots to grow through the compacted hardpan. F or ad or tion on compact tr actor Additional informationon compact tractors is available in LSU AgCenter Extension Bulletin #2906,Compact Tractor Selection, Use and Safety. It is available on the LSU AgCenterWeb site ( www .com).Louisiana State University Agricultural CenterWilliam B. Richardson, ChancellorLouisiana Agricultural Experiment StationDavid J. Boethel, Vice Chancellor and DirectorPaul D. Coreil, Vice Chancellor and DirectorPub. 2917 (Online Only) 5/05Issued in furtherance of Cooperative Extension work, Acts of Congress of May 8 and June 30, 1914, incooperation with the United States Department of Agriculture. The Louisiana Cooperative Extension Service