Farm Machinery, Tools and Equipment: Matching, Calibration and Safety
Farm Machinery, Tools and Equipment tests implement selection, hitching, calibration, maintenance and operator safety. The exam favours practical calculations and safe operating sequences.
Core rules
- Match implement size and weight to tractor horsepower and soil conditions. Use the three-point hitch correctly and connect the PTO only when the implement is ready.
- The standard PTO speed is 540 rpm. Keep guards in place and never work near an unguarded shaft.
- Calibrate seed drills and sprayers in the same gear, tyre pressure and field condition that will be used in the field. Repeat calibration and average the results.
- Maintain blades, seed tubes, nozzles and filters. Clean a sprayer thoroughly between herbicides and other products.
Worked example
A 10-row seed drill has 20 cm row spacing. Width = 10 × 0.20 = 2.0 m. Drive 100 m: area = 2.0 × 100 = 200 m2 = 0.02 ha. If the drill collects 300 g of seed, seed rate = 300 g ÷ 0.02 ha = 15,000 g/ha = 15 kg/ha. Repeat three times and average. If the target is 100 kg/ha, the drill is delivering far too little and the seed-metering setting must be changed.
Traps that cost marks
Do not calibrate in a different gear or with different tyre pressure. Do not operate a PTO without a guard, stand under a raised implement, or match a heavy implement to an underpowered tractor. Do not ignore worn seed tubes or a blocked nozzle. Do not leave herbicide residue in a sprayer used for a sensitive crop.