Self-propelled combines, hay balers, swathers, crop dryers, planters, tillage equipment, grain augers, manure spreaders, and elevators are common, as well as spray and irrigation equipment. As farm machinery has grown larger with more electronic and hydraulic controls, farmers have increasingly turned to farm equipment dealers for service and repair of the machines they sell. These dealers employ farm equipment mechanics, often called service technicians, to do this work and also to maintain and repair the smaller lawn and garden tractors many dealers sell to suburban homeowners. Mechanics spend much of their time repairing and adjusting malfunctioning equipment that has been brought to the shop. But during planting and harvesting seasons, they may travel to farms to make emergency repairs on equipment so that important farming operations are not unduly delayed.
Mechanics also perform preventive maintenance.
Periodically, they test, adjust, and clean parts and tune engines. In large shops, mechanics generally specialize in certain types of work, such as diesel engine overhaul, hydraulics, or clutch and transmission repair. Others specialize in repairing the air-conditioning units often included in the cabs of combines and large tractors, or in repairing certain types of equipment such as hay balers. Some mechanics also repair milking, irrigation, and other equipment on farms. In addition, some mechanics who work for dealers and equipment wholesalers assemble new implements and machinery and sometimes do body work, repairing dented or torn sheet metal on tractors or other machinery.