Spring In Minnesota Means Farm Equipment is Out on Area Roads

Now that spring has finally sprung, planting season is underway across southeast Minnesota-- and which means there could be some strange things on our area rural roads.

Those 'strange things' are the massive tractors and other farm implements area farmers are using to get the crops in the ground this time of year-- and you could very well encounter a couple of them if you venture out into the country. (I saw several on a trip to rural Pine Island last week.)

In a release earlier this week, MnDOT reminded all of us about those massive pieces of farm equipment. "Planting season is ramping up across Minnesota and farmers need the highways to access their fields,” said Brian Sorenson, state traffic engineer, said in the release. “Motorists need to be prepared to encounter slow-moving farm vehicles, especially on rural, two-lane roads,” he also noted.

And those huge implements, while taking up extra space on a two-lane road, can also be tough to maneuver, and are much slower to accelerate, slow down and stop quickly. Which means they can sneak up on you if you're not paying attention when you're flying down a rural Minnesota highway.

Which is something that's an all-too-frequent occurrence these days. In fact, according to MnDOT, there were 386 crashes involving farm equipment in Minnesota over the last three years, which resulted in 166 injuries and six deaths. Yikes!

So, slow down, and keep an eye peeled for those massive farm tractors and other pieces of equipment this spring. Because while we may not all be farmers, we all DO eat. And, if you eat-- you're involved in agriculture!

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