Preparing Your Land & Equipment For Spring

It's the glorious time of year—spring has arrived! But before you can start planting your crops, you'll want to do some tasks to set yourself up for a quality harvest. Below, we cover recommended projects for getting your land and equipment ready for spring. If you want more advice or want to look at agricultural equipment for sale, visit Rivera's Machinery, Inc. in Donna, Texas.

Get Your Soil Ready

Your first step is to get your soil ready for your crops. Whether you run a compact plot of land or several sprawling acres, the basic process is the same. Start by taking samples and conducting a pH test. This will give you key information on the health of your soil, which then informs decisions about how to maximize your output and protect your crops. Some people prefer sending their samples to a lab, while others buy a kit and do it themselves. Either approach works!

Once you've gotten the results of the state of your soil, you can move onto preparing it. Here, you'll utilize your agriculture equipment to get it ready. Maybe you'll need a cultivator to break up the hard, tough ground that may have frozen over the winter. Or maybe you'll use that cultivator to remove weeds that can hurt your crops. Or maybe you'll use a tractor to mow and till the area. Your exact needs will depend on your soil's condition, but the right agriculture equipment can make this process a breeze.

Inspect Your Farm Equipment

Odds are, your tractors and other pieces of farm equipment have been sitting in storage unused for the past few months. You'll want to give everything a thorough inspection to ensure it's ready to go.

If the time in storage has left a layer of mud and gunk, you'll want to give it a quick clean to start. Leaving that grime on there not only looks unappealing, but it can result in damage to the paint if left too long.

Next, you can move onto your inspection. Here, you are looking for any issues that could make your farm equipment malfunction. Test the brakes, lights, and hitches. Look at the battery, tires, and mirrors. See if there is anything that needs repair or replacement and get it fixed as soon as possible.

Perform Maintenance

Not all maintenance needs to be done by a professional. There are plenty of simple tasks you can do on your agriculture equipment to keep it running smoothly. For example, lubricate all the moving parts of your tractor and other farm equipment. Scope out the fluid levels, such as oil and coolant, and top them off when they get low. Charge up your batteries if they've drained while sitting in storage. Sharpen your blades if they are a bit on the dull side.

Choose Crops & Fertilizer

Finally, pick what you want to plant. If you're new, you'll want to spend time researching factors such as costs of planting and what works best for your soil. Don't forget about fertilizer! Soil needs nutrients such as nitrogen, potassium, and phosphorus. Adding fertilizer that’s rich with these nutrients will help your crops grow better.

We hope you found this article helpful! For all your farm equipment needs, visit Rivera's Machinery, Inc. We offer a wide range of machines for sale, including tractors. Tell us what your needs are and we can find you farm equipment to help. We proudly serve those in Harlingen, San Benito, and Donna, Texas. Stop by our dealership today!