Using ATVs for Farming
ATVs weren’t always used for farming, as tractors have always been king for cultivating land. However, more powerful engines and increased versatility have turned modern ATVs into capable farming vehicles.
ATVs are not only much more affordable than tractors, but they’re able to go faster and maneuver in ways that a tractor can’t. They’ve evolved in ways that can make general farm work faster and more efficient. And since they’re designed to handle all terrains (hence the name All-Terrain Vehicles), ATVs are ideal machines for handling a variety of farming duties in areas where a tractor is out of reach.
ATV Farming Efficiency
ATVs provide faster and more efficient transportation across large areas, making better use of time management and resources. With the right attachments or accessories, you can use a quad for anything from plowing land to spreading seeds and rounding up livestock.
Farming Uses for an ATV
The list of farming tasks you can accomplish with an ATV is a long one, but here are some general jobs a quad can be used for:
- Building fences
- Plowing fields
- Spreading seeds or fertilizers
- Mowing grass
- Raking leaves
- Wrangling livestock
Hauling supplies across a large stretch of land faster is probably the biggest advantage ATVs offer when it comes to farming. Of course, ATVs need to be fitted with equipment for farming duties.
There are many ATV attachments and accessories available, but here are a handful of essentials you can equip your ATV with to use it for farming:
Plow
Perhaps the most popular ATV attachment for farming is a plow, which allows the quad to aid in prepping fields for sowing seeds. Plowing requires a lot of horsepower, and could take a toll on the machine’s transmission and cooling system, so you’ll need a higher displacement ATV with a wider wheelbase (more on that later).
Trailer
For hauling heavy loads around the farm, a heavy duty trailer attachment is ideal for transporting bulkier loads such as wood, haystacks and produce sacks.
Sprayer
Sprayers are attachments that can be installed behind or in front of an ATV for distributing fertilizers or pesticides throughout crop areas.
Spreader
A dry material spreader can be used for seeding and fertilizing land, or for dispersing salt to melt ice during the cold months. Spreaders attached to the rear of an ATV make the job of distributing seeds or fertilizer across a field much faster.
Auger
An attachment for drilling holes in the ground for tasks such as putting up fence posts, the auger is a handy add-on tool for ATV farming. The stability of a quad makes drilling post holes with an auger attachment a less demanding job.
ATV Farming Attachment Considerations
Using an ATV for tasks like hauling and plowing can take a toll on the machine, so you need to make sure the quad you use is up to the task of working the farm.
While ATVs are powerful vehicles, they’re not complete substitutes for tractors, which are built to handle much heavier workloads. If you use an ATV for farm work, it should have at minimum a 400cc engine. And if you plan on doing heavy duty work such as plowing, or hauling heavy loads like timber and hay, use an ATV with an engine displacement higher than 500cc.
When hauling items on an ATV without a trailer, never put more than a third of the vehicle’s overall weight on the carrying rack to make sure it doesn’t flip or roll over. Even though their wide tires and wheels keep it stable, you should never exceed the ATVs weight capacity.
A good rule of thumb to follow is to attach whatever you want to an ATV as long as you don’t exceed weight and power limits. In other words, don’t forget that it’s not a tractor.
