Can You Match the Farm Equipment to Its Function?

By: Ian Fortey
Estimated Completion Time
4 min
Can You Match the Farm Equipment to Its Function?
Image: BirdsofPrey / E+ / Getty Images

About This Quiz

It's believed humans first started harvesting wild grains at least 22,000 years ago. Can you imagine what life might have been like back then? What it must have been like for our primitive ancestors to be taking the food they found growing wild around them and harvesting it to keep themselves and their families alive? It's pretty amazing when you think about it.

Over the generations — and not just centuries but millennia — agriculture evolved from the simple practice of seeing plants growing and picking them to eat to specifically cultivating those plants. Over time, humanity has learned what grows best where and when, how to process tough grains into edible food and flour and even how to raise livestock to create and sustain whole societies of people. Without agriculture, without farming, we wouldn't exist as a society. Taken from that perspective, it's the sort of thing everyone should know at least a little bit about. Not just why we do it, but how, including the tools and equipment that make farming possible. There are a lot of tools out there, some more specialized and hard to recognize than others. But what if we told you what all this equipment does? Think you could tell us what it is? Take the quiz and see!

Hydroponic System
Eternity in an Instant / DigitalVision / Getty Images
For this to grow, plants you need water but not soil. Do you know what it is?
Irrigation system
Manure spreader
Autoseeder
Hydroponic system
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

Hydroponic systems are a pretty clever and efficient way to grow plants that require only water instead of soil and can be done in some remarkably small spaces compared to traditional soil farming. A full farm-level hydroponic system could cost hundreds of thousands of dollars.

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Manure spreader
Wiki Commons by GT1976
Which of these tools for making efficient use of fertilizer is also called a honey wagon?
Manure spreader
Seeder
Chisel plow
Sprayer
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

Manure spreaders are pretty integral to any farm that needs to fertilize crops. The technology is pretty simple: it's just a wagon that holds the manure and spreads it as it's dragged behind a truck or tractor, the same as it was pulled behind a horse years ago.

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Combine
Henry Arden / Cultura / Getty Images
Which of these machines does three things in one?
Tractor
Combine
Plastic mulch layer
Harrow
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

Combine harvesters get their name from the fact they combine three different tasks in one machine — they reap, thresh and winnow. Thanks to their versatility, if you can grow grain, you can harvest it with a combine.

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Baler
Fancy/Veer/Corbis / Corbis / Getty Images Plus / Getty Images
The end result of this machine can be a product that's rectangular or cylindrical. What is it?
Tractor
Feed grinder
Baler
Air seeder
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

A hay baler, in the very simplest terms, makes bales of hay. The hay baler made it so farmers no longer had to stack hay in those giant haystacks with pitchforks which were both wasteful thanks to the amount of hay that would rot and potentially dangerous as they could be susceptible to spontaneous combustion.

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Sickle
Wiki Commons by Chmee2
People have been making these cutting tools for at least 8,000 years. What is it?
Spade
Post-hole digger
Sickle
Transplanter
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

A sickle is one of the most basic tools in the history of agriculture used for harvesting pretty much anything that grows. The most ancient blades were made of flint well before humankind had developed the ability to work steel and other metals.

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Disc Harrow
Wiki Commons by Hanna Zelenko
Which of these will till your soil and chop up any weeds you might have?
Disc harrow
Crumble roller
Bale runner
Drawbar
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

A disc harrow is a tool that gets dragged behind a tractor, truck or, if you're old school, a horse. The round blades are set at angles that let them slice into any soil and ensure even tilling. It's thought that overuse of these blades back in the day may have contributed to the Dust Bowl.

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Plow
By Eve Livesey / Moment / Getty Images
Do you know which of these soil-preparing tools has existed in one form or another for thousands of years?
Mulcher
Rototiller
Plow
Grain shredder
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

Plows are some of the oldest tools in creation. In the simplest terms, even a hoe is a kind of plow, but more sophisticated versions of the plow that could cover larger areas with less work were in use even as far back as Ancient Egypt, pulled behind draft animals.

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Reaper
Wiki Commons by Tony Atkin
This tool cuts and harvests but sounds like a horror-movie villain. What is it?
Reaper
Thresher
Auger
Trencher
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

Reapers are simple machines that are used to cut and harvest straw or grains. The Ancient Romans had developed a reaping machine that could be pulled behind oxen, but the design was lost to history. Later cultures ended up going back to hand-reaping with scythes. Nowadays, the combine has replaced most reapers.

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Scythe
AndyWorks / E+ / Getty Images
Even though machines can replace this grass- and weed-cutting tool, it's still widely used all over the world. Name it.
Mower
Machete
Tiller
Scythe
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

Scythes have been in use for thousands of years, and it makes sense that they would be one of the earliest tools ever — they're knives on sticks. Initially, when people used scythes, they were considered to be mowing the lawn or whatever plants, but with the advent of mechanical mowers, the term fell out of use. We consider mowing strictly something done with a lawnmower.

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Transplanter
Wiki Commons by Nikhil.irri
If you have seedlings and want to save time planting them, use this!
Terragator
Transplanter
Stone picker
Subsoiler
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

Transplanters are efficient ways to transplant seedlings. You can get simple handheld transplanters or larger version that need to be towed behind a tractor. The point of using one is to save the manual labor of bending down and digging a hole each and every time.

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Broadcast seeder
Wiki Commons by USFWS Mountain-Prairie
Do you know which tool you'd used to plant something like grass but not crops?
Mulch layer
Feed grinder
Broadcast seeder
Subsoiler
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

A broadcast seeder is a pretty simple device that's essentially a bucket full of seed with a disc mounted under it that spins as the seeder is moved. The spinning action spreads the seed about in a quick and efficient way. You can get small, handheld versions or large ones that need to be towed.

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Seed Drill
Henry Arden / Cultura / Getty Images
Babylonians had primitive versions of this hole-making device back in the year 1400 B.C. What is it?
Seed drill
Drag harrow
Rear loader
Mole plow
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

A seed drill is a dynamic way to ensure all your seeds get planted at the exact same depth every time. It pushes seeds into pre-tilled earth at the perfect depth to ensure they're fully covered by soil and less likely to be snagged by birds or other animals.

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Irrigation System
Miguel Sotomayor / Moment / Getty Images
This technology was first used at least 7,000 years ago in the Middle East to water crops. Tell us what it is.
Target sprayer
Hydroponic system
Irrigation system
Pipe jetter
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

Irrigation is essential to agriculture since most agricultural land isn't right next to a helpful pond and no one has mastered control of the rain yet. Depending on location and farm size, it can cost about $50 to $75 per acre per year to keep a farm irrigated.

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Swather
Wiki Commons by Owacle
Ever seen even rows of cut hay or grass in a field before? It was probably made by this machine.
Swather
Cultivator
Reaver
Wheel rake
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

A swather will cut your hay or grain and then bundle it up in what farmers call a windrow. They look like those tunnels that rabbits make in cartoons when they dig underground: just a long, winding path of cut vegetation lining a field.

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Tractor
Wiki Commons by NatalieMaynor
Which device gives you high torque at low speed?
Tractor
Grain silo
Stone picker
Binder
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

Tractors are an essential farm tool that takes the place of draft animals like oxen and horses that had been used for centuries. Most modern tractors can't go much faster than 25 or 30 miles per hour, but they have an incredible hauling capacity and can work in all kinds of soil conditions.

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Cultipacker
Wiki Commons by Evelyn Simak
This device ensures you have a smooth, firm seedbed before planting. What's it called?
Forage harvester
Trusser
Cultipacker
Furrow press
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

A cultipacker looks a lot like a glorified rolling pin because it is. Pulled behind a tractor, it crushes any lumps of dirt and flattens them out along with stones and air pockets so that when you do plant seeds there's a solid, cozy foundation for them to take root.

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Milking Machine
Rolfo / Moment / Getty Images
Which of these uses vacuum pressure to harvest what you're farming?
Hydroponic pump
Trench irrigator
Milking machine
Blast puller
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

Milking machines were invented to increase efficiency in the dairy industry as manual milking obviously takes quite a while. Automatic milking systems can cost upward of $150,000 to $200,000 plus equipment and maintenance costs for a single unit, so it's quite an investment.

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Post Pounder
Wiki Commons by Ellenm1
You need some upper-body strength to use this tool that helps make fences. Name it.
Post pounder
Grain auger
Bale spike
Log splitter
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

A post pounder is essentially a heavy steel cap with handes that fits over a fence post. It acts as a sleeve and covers the end of a fence post so you can raise and lower it, slamming the post into the ground. It's old-fashioned but much cheaper than large, automatic post-drivers.

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Sprayer
Pramote Polyamate / Moment / Getty Images
Do you know which tool will help you treat a crop with herbicides or fertilizer?
Lawn irrigator
Filter pump
Sprayer
Glazer
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

Sprayers are some of the most diverse tools when it comes to size and function in agriculture. You could have a small, handheld sprayer for use in home gardens, larger backpack sprayers to do full lawns or massive full-sized sprayers that need to be hauled behind tractors.

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Plastic Mulch Layer
Tianna DuPont via Youtube
This is an excellent way to suppress weeds and conserve moisture in a crop. What is it?
Broadcast seeder
Pasture topper
Slurry injector
Plastic mulch layer
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

A plastic mulch layer puts down long beds of plastic mulch, which look just like sheets of thick plastic wrap. It works like normal mulch in a garden, preventing the growth of weeds and the loss of moisture. The machine is pulled behind a tractor digging rows on either side of the crops and pushing the plastic down to cover it.

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Loader
Wiki Commons by Anssi Koskinen
Attach this to a tractor and you can move heavy, bulky items around the farm. What is it?
Trencher
Backhoe
Loader
Compactor
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

A loader or front-end loader is often used in construction but also finds a lot of use on farms of any size. They're most useful for transporting heavy loads of soil, rocks or manure around. They can also be outfitted with grabs and spikes so you can move bale and silage.

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Wagon
R.Tsubin / Moment / Getty Images
Which piece of equipment can help you haul anything from hay to people?
Baler
Conveyor
Wagon
Skid-steer loader
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

Wagons are some of the most basic tools in a farmer's arsenal and have remained relatively unchanged for ages. At the very basic level, it's four wheels and a flatbed that is hauled behind a tractor or a horse. If you only have two wheels, it's not a wagon, it's a cart.

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Back Hoe
Wiki Commons by Staff Sgt. Joshua Garcia
Do you know which piece of machinery is used for digging pretty deep holes?
Grain auger
Post pounder
Lime spreader
Backhoe
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

A backhoe isn't strictly speaking just farm equipment, and many farms, especially smaller ones, wouldn't necessarily need to invest in one of these. Instead, renting one when you need to dig a hole is a smarter way to go, since a new one will set you back at least $85,000.

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Hay Rake
Marcel ter Bekke / Moment / Getty Images
This tool will stop your hay from getting too wet and also help you organize it for collection. Name it.
Thresher
Hay rake
Reaper
Trench digger
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

Hay rakes are pretty self-explanatory and have been necessary as long as hay has been cultivated. Way back when, a hay rake was something as simple as a stick, necessary to break up large piles of hay so they could dry and not get moldy. Now they're attachments to be pulled behind tractors that can organize huge quantities for collection.

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Farm Jack
Russell Platten via Youtube
If you need to lift up a tractor to work under it, this will do the trick. What is it?
Straw shredder
Subsoiler
Farm jack
Drain layer
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

A farm jack is like a regular car jack in function but much bigger. The massive size can be used to help lift up large farm equipment, and they're also pretty handy for other tasks as well, like winching or even removing fence posts.

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Mower
Wiki Commons by KarlStevenson
There are probably dozens of different kinds of this pasture- and lawn-maintenance tool. Name it.
Mower
Gravel cart
Troweler
Broadcast seeder
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

Mowers are some of the most basic and familiar tools you can use to maintain a field. Push mowers work for small areas, riding mowers for larger, sickle-bar mowers may be good for cutting hay and straw, and brush mowers can be helpful in clearing wild underbrush.

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Drag Harrow
Wiki Commons by Daniel Christensen
After plowing or tilling, this can smooth and loosen the soil. Do you know what it is?
Cultivator
Drag harrow
Rear loader
Telehandler
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

A drag harrow is a bit of an old-fashioned tool these days for keeping your field even and smooth. Because the technology is relatively old, newer disc harrows are more efficient and can be raised and lowered hydraulically; you don't see these in use very often anymore.

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ATV
Monty Rakusen / Cultura / Getty Images
Which device will get you across your property a lot faster than walking?
Mower
Tractor
ATV
Wagon
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

Yes, an ATV is most often used recreationally, but that doesn't mean it has no purpose. On a farm, it can greatly reduce travel time, especially in a pinch, and they're also handy when you need to haul smaller loads than you might haul with a tractor.

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Chisel Plow
Boehm Farm via Youtube
When you need to till a field but not turn your soil, you need this device. What is it?
Power tiller
Potato planter
Feed grinder
Chisel plow
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

A chisel plow is considered more efficient for tilling fields than other plows as they keep the organic matter on the surface of the soil by not turning it over. That ensures less erosion overall and makes for a more sustainable kind of farming.

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Conveyor
Wiki Commons by Keith Edkins
Do you know which device will help you move a lot of loose material from one location to another?
Paster topper
Conveyor
Grain auger
Feed grinder
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

A conveyor is a pretty handy tool when it comes to time-saving in terms of loading and storage of things like grain. All the grain can be dumped on the conveyor, and the belt whisks it up to a storage bin or a truck or wherever you need it to go far faster than the traditional method of using a shovel.

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Subsoiler
Wiki Commons by Lesław Zimny
This device digs much deeper than a normal plow. What is it?
Rotovator
Chisel plow
Subsoiler
Baler
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

A subsoiler will till up soil nearly twice as deep as a regular plow, hitting depths of at least a foot under the ground. If soil compaction is a problem, it's the best tool for the job of loosening your soil for you.

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Grinder Mixer
Wiki Commons by Ellenm1
If you have livestock, you'll need this device to prepare their feed and make it easier for them to eat. What is it?
Grinder mixer
Auger
Cultivator
Spading machine
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

Ginder-mixers pulverize your feed grain and work the way any kind of mill does, more or less. The grain is cut, smashed and ground-up until it's much easier for an animal to digest in the form of animal feed.

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Pasture Topper
Wiki Commons by Ken Fitlike
Which tool is a specialized mower for longer grasses?
Threshing machine
Tile layer
Air seeder
Pasture topper
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

A pasture topper looks like a typical lawnmower and mostly does the same job, but it won't cut grass as short. It can even out growth to ensure it continues to grow evenly while also spreading out what's been cut to serve as fertilizer.

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Truck
Wiki Commons by Daniel Christensen
Which all-purpose piece of equipment is useful for hauling, towing and transportation?
Truck
Moldboard plow
Transplanter
Log spitter
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

A good truck, especially a mid-size or full-size pickup truck, is pretty much essential to proper farmwork. The flatbed on a pickup truck has always been a utility tool, and the earliest versions were basically just horseless wagons.

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Conditioner
Wiki Commons by Liz wes
Tell us what tool crimps and crushes newly cut hay to make it dry faster.
Conditioner
Timber forwarder
Chisel plow
Spike harrow
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

A hay conditioner forces hay through rollers that split the stalks and allows for faster, more even drying. If hay isn't dried properly as quickly as it can be, then it runs the risk of growing mold and becoming useless. Typically, a conditioner is attached to a mower so the hay can be cut, split and dried.

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Rotary Tiller
Wiki Commons by Jean Housen
This weed-controlling tool was invented by an Australian. What is it?
Lime spreader
Pipe jetter
Rotary tiller
Bale grab
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

Rotary tillers or cultivators are the evolution of simple hand tools like hoes that dig into the soil to pull out weeds and prime the soil for planting desired crops. An Australian named Arthur Clifford began working on a motorized tiller all the way back in 1912.

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Skid Loader
Wiki Commons by M.ribac31
Do you know which device can help you dig a hole, clear debris or load a truck?
Backhoe
Power tiller
Skid loader
Fin drain layer
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

A skid loader is a lot like a front-end loader, but the design is a bit different. Skid loaders are more compact, and the arms and bucket are mounted differently. Theoretically, you can dig a hole with a skid loader from the inside, lifting and dumping out as you go. The driver is kept safe inside a fully enclosed cab.

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Stone Picker
Wiki Commons by Tommi Pitenius
What device will help you sift through the upper layer of soil in a field?
Wagon
Stone picker
Grain conveyor
Telehandler
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

Does a stone picker pick stones? You bet it does. Dragged behind a tractor, it digs into the soil with large teeth and pulls everything inside itself. A sieve filters out loose soil, and a bucket of some kind will hold all the rocks that will otherwise damage more sensitive farming equipment and interfere with planting crops.

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Grain Auger
Wiki Commons by Wouter Hagens
Early versions of this machine were called an "Archimedes Screw." Name it!
Sulky plow
Telehandler
Grain auger
Straw shredder
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

A grain auger is also called a screw conveyor and uses a rotating screw blade to help lift grain from a truck or cart up into a grain storage bin or silo. Usually, the screw blades are in some kind of tube to prevent the graining from falling all over the place.

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Potato Planter
Tractorspotter via Youtube
Which machine digs trenches at even intervals before dropping potatoes into them?
Potato spinner
Baler
Hopper
Potato planter
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

It may have the most on-the-nose name in all of agriculture, but a potato planter is an attachment that goes on the back of a tractor or other machine. It makes the process of planting potatoes much faster than traditional hand-planting methods.

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