There is perhaps no piece of agriculture equipment more essential to a fruitful and easy harvest than the combine. Being able to quickly break down stalks and collect the fruit of the harvest without backbreaking labor is the key to the modern farming operation, so protecting your equipment from the rough working conditions is extremely important.

Below, you'll find a guide to some steps for avoiding a breakdown of your combine. Following these suggestions will help protect an extremely valuable piece of equipment and help guarantee that you're not facing an expensive and untimely repair at precisely the time when you need your agriculture equipment to be at its greatest reliability.

Check Your Fields

Perhaps nothing does more serious damage to a combine than running over a large and previously unseen deposit of rocks. Not only do the rocks put the equipment at risk of breakdown and damage, but they can also be extremely hazardous to the operator and other people working nearby.

Before you begin your harvest, it's worth the time to meticulously walk your field and look for rock deposits that may become an issue. Clearing away a small amount of rocks is a great deal easier than manually harvesting due to a broken combine, and the time investment will pay off several times over.

Avoid Rust Conditions

Not only does a rusty combine look bad, but it's also likely to be structurally weaker than one which has been properly protected. Internal damage may be hard to detect until blades break or other damage occurs, and often times, the water that caused the rust is introduced by well intended operators trying to keep the equipment clean.

Rather than using water and hoses to clean off your combine after a harvest, consider using high pressure air instead. This will guarantee that your combine remains clean while also avoiding any risk that water could insidiously seep in and cause lasting damage.

Invest In Storage

Ultimately, your combine will only remain strong and reliable if it's under proper storage conditions when not being used. Many farmers simply stash their equipment in an unheated and unsecured barn during long winter months and then find themselves struggling to return it to its best condition when the harvest rolls back around. Instead, properly winterizing your equipment and storing it in a climate controlled facility will help guarantee that it runs just as well when you remove it from storage as it did when you put it away.

For more tips, you may want to contact an agricultural equipment supplier, like Creel Tractor Company.