Tractordrawn

Tractor-drawn, or tractordrawn, describes equipment that is designed to be towed behind a tractor rather than mounted on it or self-propelled. Most tractordrawn implements attach to a tractor via a drawbar or a three-point hitch and may be powered by the tractor’s power take-off (PTO) or hydraulics, or operate solely as passive towed loads. They are widely used in agriculture, horticulture, and landscape maintenance for tasks such as tillage, seeding, application of inputs, mowing, and material handling.

Common examples include plows, harrows, cultivators, disc harrows, seed drills, planters, fertilizer spreaders, sprayers, mower-conditioners, and rakes. They are generally cheaper and simpler than mounted or self-propelled equipment and can be swapped between tractors with compatible hitch systems. However, proper ballast, hitch alignment, and speed control are important to ensure stability and avoid soil compaction or loss of traction.

A key design consideration is the hitch system. Two-point drawbar connections provide a passive pull, while a three-point hitch offers lift capability, weight transfer, and better control of the implement, an arrangement that became widespread in the mid-20th century and is now standard on most modern tractors. Compatibility with PTO-driven or hydraulically powered implements depends on the tractor’s specifications and safety requirements, including guards and shields around moving parts.

Historically, tractordrawn implements increased field productivity compared with animal-drawn equipment and have remained essential for mid-size farming operations and turf care, complementing mounted and self-propelled machinery.