Kubota Tractors
The farm as a workplace – Farm labor
Working on a farm in any capacity is probably as far as you can get from what would be perceived as traditional 9-to-5 job, if they even exist any more. The nature and type of work on any farm is intense, resulting in long unsociable hours, and all the problems that go with that.
It is likely that people on a farm or work anything from between 60 to 80 hours a week, often starting extremely early in the morning sometimes at sunrise, working right through sometimes into the night. Farm workers will need to be adaptive to the situation in extremes of weather, or if are significant problems with any animals on the farm, or other emergencies that may arise.
There is a real sense of instability in one particular context as to how farms work. They are not static places. Farms are continually changing in terms of the weather that has a huge effect on how they function, and the types and usages of different machinery that take place. The pace of work will vary considerably and this can sometimes be a difficult environment to plan for safely.
There is also less likely to be a distinction between so-called management and labour functions. This has real indications for safety on a farm, in that there is less likely to be a division of labour or responsibilities for specific jobs.
People who were, farm are not going to specialise, which is why unlikely they are going to specialise in one particular area of work. People will be expected to and will want to know as much as they can about all areas of work on the farm, in order to be as useful as possible.
Nature of normal employment practices take pre-much a back seat in farming. This means that so-called normal time off, either days off and holidays simply did not happen why have to be planned for with much care. Equally there is unlikely to be any type of structure by way of training or job learning.
People who work on a farm,with kubota tractors, perhaps more than any other learn their tradethrough experience and observation, and whilst this is a natural way to learn does raise real safety concerns. That works fine if the operator of the farm is aware of safety issues and plans accordingly.
There is in many ways a real sense of uncertainty about working on a farm. This can be either because of external factors, or changes in farming practice and the use of technology. External factors are primarily things such as the weather, mechanical or tractor breakdowns, or extreme situations no one could plan for.
Farms need to adapt to have a run as a business continually, and the use of technology is a big part in this. This sense of uncertainty means that the level of risk intensifies and again makes safety and planning safety more difficult.
All these things mean that health and safety issues on a farm need to be planned and acted upon in a way and manner that’s other businesses simply cannot do. Safety needs to be a primary instinct of everyone who works on a farm said it becomes a central part of their thinking, rather than anything to do with policies or procedures that people might be aware of and thing they have to follow.
This does not mean that the farm should not have a health and safety policy, or have policies and procedures in lots of areas, such as storage of poisons or use of agricultural machinery. A well-run farm will have well thought out health and safety policies and procedures, but people who were, farm need to have a much more instinctual sense than perhaps other people in different businesses as to how safety can and should be observed in a number of different and challenging situations.
The farm as a work and home environment
It is perhaps you need to farms that many families grow up on them and as such get involved in the running of the farm from an early age. In other types of household children would do chores around the house and run errands for the family. In a farm these chores and errands are effectively translated into part of the work environment from an early age.
At the other end of the spectrum many people who own or run a farm will do it most of their lives, there is not a point at which they retire. This means that at both ends of the age spectrum there are people involved in the work of the farm and special care and consideration needs to be given to their protection.
Young people and children who work on a farm, are perhaps especially vulnerable simply because they are exposed to dangers and hazards that they do not perceive as being out of the ordinary, or which are out of their normal range of abilities to deal with at a specific age.
Many of the dangers they will be exposed to are simply day-to-day mechanics of the farm either concerning plant or machinery or toxins or poisons that are used on the farm. Extra care must be taken to ensure that any risk they are exposed to disproportionate to their age and ability to understand what the risk is.
At the other end of the spectrum are people of a much older generation or age who simply never retire. They may well have worked on a farm or their life, and it is important to recognise that their level of experience is a vital asset. Equally the older they get their physical and mental faculties are likely to become more impaired, quite often without them realising it.
Given that the farm is likely to be their livelihood they may well feel in denial of the own physical or mental reality at times. Both these factors need to be taken into account by whoever has active day-to-day responsibility for the running of the farm and looking after kubota tractors and equipment.
Especially difficult is that it is different to many other businesses in that it is not possible often to transfer people to different or lighter duties and difficulties arise. The nature of a farm but not lend itself to this.
Children or people who grow up in a farm to not have too enter the workforce and be subject to physical or mental examinations in the way that other businesses require. There is unlikely to be any type of ongoing assessment or evaluation of the capabilities of the people employed on the farm.
This means that special care has to be taken to ensure that employees are well cared for and assess raided by other means to make sure they are cared for in a proper manner. The farm operator will have a duty of care to look after everyone on the farm, be they employees or relatives or both.
The nature of people who work on a farm will vary hugely, ranging from those you see it as an agricultural profession, often people with degrees in horticulture or other types of qualifications from agricultural colleges, through to people who simply see farming as a type of lifestyle option.
In between will be many people who spend the majority of their lives on a farm at as family members, or as full-time or part-time labourers are earning a wage, by the short-term or long-term.
The diverse nature of these personal factors means that whoever is responsible for the farm must insure that the workforce is popular but after in whatever way is practicable given the nature of the farm and its environment.
The farm as a workplace – environment
The term environment in an agricultural or farm setting makes people think in terms of either the layout of the land, or the type of practices that are used on a farm that can range from organic farming through to a farm that uses all types of pesticide that it can. The time environment makes people think of an eco-friendly system that is beneficial to the earth beneath it.
Whilst all this can be true to a farm, the time environmental factors relate much more to the external and internal environment that characterises the nature of the farm. Perhaps more than any other business if farm is subject to the weather.
The weather characterises what can and cannot be done at any particular time of year on a farm, but also determines that work, farm must be carried out irrespective of what the work is. Many farms situated in areas that experience extremes of weather, and have to adapt and run themselves accordingly.
Another issue concerning a farm is that there is an overlap in terms of boundaries, both physical and emotional between the farm as a workplace and the farm as a place where the family live. This is not unique to farms and often occurs in retail or other types of businesses.
Where it matters perhaps more narrowly is that people who live on a farm are pretty much on call at all times bail night if the situation warrants it. This could be done to weather or other factors to do with animals on the farm. As long as people who live on the farm recognise there is no clear boundary they can adapt to it but it does make it a more difficult working environment to be in.
People who work on a farm are possibly by nature much more self-sufficient than other people. The nature of most farms means they are quite isolated geographically, and are not easy to get to by any medical or emergency services if needed.
That may sound a bit dramatic, but the nature of work, farm is often quite hazardous and people who were, farm need to know how to deal with any emergency that arises as best they can. This means that emergency services may take a considerable time to reach a farm, and workers and residents of the farm need to be aware of that and plan accordingly.
People who work on a farm, often using kubota tractors, can feel quite isolated, both physically and emotionally.
The nature of work means that people will be on their own quite a considerable period of time during the day or night, with little backup or support from other workers. The sense of isolation can potentially be a problem but can be planned for, if thought through and adjusted accordingly.
Any farm is going to have a number of environmental hazards such as noise, vibration, lighting etc which are a byproduct either of the environment or the work that is carried out on a farm.
The issue from a health and safety perspective is that there is unlikely to be any monitoring or regulation of these hazards in the way that they would be in most other types of businesses take place in either an office or industrial setting.
This means that people who work or who run the farm need to be especially aware of these at hazards, and make sure that both themselves and their co-workers are protected accordingly as best as possible.
Equally there will be no or very little control over personal hygiene of workers on the farm, which can actually be quite a sensitive issue and is down to the individual and their own sense of personal responsibility. There is unlikely to be any type of statutory or legal requirement on personal care or hygiene of workers in the way that they would be in other industries.
The farm as a work environment – general safety concerns
Thinking in terms of a farm as a work environment, is really important in terms of understanding the health and safety issues involved in working on or running a farm. It is important to appreciate that a farm can vary hugely in terms of size and scope of activity. In terms of size it can range from a small holding of a few acres to a large area of land could cover tens of thousands of acres.
A farm can be involved in many different types of agricultural activities. It can be used to grow different types of crop, such as corn, soy bean, wheat, hay or even grass or tree or flower plants. If farm can also have a considerable amount of livestock on it, and many big industrial farms produce beef, dairy, hog, sheep and poultry. There are also many types of fruit and vegetable farms, and in addition many types of garden centres that are of a significant size could also be classified as farms.
The type and layout of land can also vary hugely on a farm. In some areas land is incredibly flat, other areas if farm can have a lot of almost mountainous type terrain, whereas some farms will be a mix of both.
Farms will have a multitude of different types of buildings, with different types of machinery, both fixed and mobile. There will be a wide range of vehicles used on a farm, ranging from heavy duty industrial tractor type diggers, through to normal tractors, through to atv and quad bikes.
A wide range of people will also be involved in running the farm. using Kubota tractors and Kubota equipment. If farm is slightly unique because it is likely to employee people as any business does, but it is also likely to employee or at least make use of the services of family members as well.
Many children grow up on a farm and get used to the way of life from an early age. This can also raise significant issues concerning health and safety, and particular importance needs to be paid to the welfare of young people in any agricultural or farm setting.
There are four main areas of activity that give rise to safety issues surrounding a farm.
These are environmental, personal, work activity and social economic and political factors. All these areas are to an extent unique in the running of a farm because of the nature of safety and how these factors need to be treated in order to make a farm safe environment to work in, but at the same time make sure it is not a risk averse environment.
Kubota lawn tractor – maintenance
Day-to-day maintenance of a Kubota lawn tractor is important both in terms of the safety of the machine, but also in terms of the longevity of its usage and disability to function properly in between regular servicing or maintenance schedules will stop at a practical level when adding fuel to the tractor treated as you would a motor vehicle.
Make sure the engine is off and has cooled down. Kubotakubota.net writes about safety features such as do not fill the tank indoors and make sure you always cleanup any spill spillage of fuels.
Think of the lawn tractor as a motor vehicle in the sense that it should not be started up or allowed to idle in a confined area, in much the same way that it is potentially dangerous to start up or let a motor vehicle idle in a restricted space.
If you need to transport the Kubota lawn tractor any reason, there are two important safety protocols to observe. Firstly make sure that any attachments to the tractor are disengaged both in terms of power supply and physical attachment to the tractor.
The manufacturers recommend that the tractor is not used on public roads or highways. If it is necessary to transport it then it is recommended that you either use a pickup truck or a suitable trailer to transport the tractor to where ever it needs to go to.
This is an important point to realise when buying the Kubota lawn tractor that it is not like a vehicle that you considered right back to the garage. Maintenance and servicing our issues that can be addressed with the dealership which can include the issue of how the lawn tractor is transported to and from the dealership where it is to be serviced.
Kubotakubota.net writes about maintenance safety which is important not just to prevent things going wrong but make sure that the tractor works at peak efficiency. Before making any repairs or checking anything make sure that the engine switched off, brake applied and that it has cooled down sufficiently to be safe to work on.
If when driving the tractor to strike any type of foreign object then the tractor should be stopped and after a safe time inspected to see if there’s any damage caused. If any damage has been caused to the tractor or attachment then this needs to be repaired or corrected before tractor is used again.
The manual will have a specified maintenance recommendation schedule and it is advisable to follow this as far as possible. It is likely to recommend that your tractor be inspected by an authorised Kubota dealer, probably once a year, and this should be here to.
When purchasing the Kubota lawn tractor it is advisable to see if any of the schedule of maintenance recommendations has an effect on the terms of the warranty. Obviously if you buy a new or used Kubota lawn tractor it is likely to have some type of warranty depending on the dealership.
The terms of the warranty may be affected if regular maintenance or servicing is not carried out, or if parts other than recognised Kubota parts are used as replacement parts for the lawn tractor.
When storing a Kubota tractor followed the same basic guidance that you would when storing a motor vehicle. Make sure that the tractor and any fuel supply for it is kept locked in a safe environment that is not accessible by children or other people without your permission.
Always make sure that the ignition key is removed, and if the tractor is to be stored for a significant period of time it is worth considering removing or disconnecting the battery. Depending on your circumstances it may well be worth draining machine of any fuel as well, probably advisable to check this with your dealership when buying the tractor.
Take the same precautions that you would regarding any vehicle, but especially with a lawn tractor make sure that the engine is kept free of grass leaves for excessive grease which could potentially increase the fire hazard potential to the tractor.
Kubota lawn tractors – attachements
Most lawn tractors, and certainly most Kubota lawn tractors, are equipped so that they can use a number of different attachments which will allow them to attend their lawn or garden more effectively.
These attachments can vary in size and mobility, but one of the things that they all have in common is that a lot of extra care needs to be taken when using a lawn tractor that has an attachment on it.
The operation of a lawn tractor when pulling a load has a number of certain safety protocols should be adhered to. A Kubota lawn tractor will have a specified point on the tractor that is known as a hitch point, a term that is a familiar one on most lawn tractors.
There may possibly be more than one hitch point, in any event it is important that only designated hicks points are used when attaching any type of extension to a lawn tractor. Kubotakubota.net shows the need to be aware of the size of the load that you are carrying all likely to use on an attachment, tractor.
The Kubota lawn tractor manual may specify the type of attachments that can be used on the tractor, but in any event common sense will tell you the type of attachments and the types of load that tractor can safely handle. If in any doubt consult the manual and if that does not give you the required information then consult a dealer.
It is important, as when carrying any load that the attachment is proportionate in weight to the tractors is pulling it. Any disadvantage in weight is potentially dangerous and could cause the operator of the tractor to lose control.
When driving a Kubota lawn tractor that has an attachment, be careful about turning sharply and also take great care when backing up the tractor. There is a natural sense to remembering that the tractor has an extended angle to it because of the attachment, and this should be taken into account with all movements of the machine.
If the Kubota manual recommends it, make sure that front ballast or wheel weights are used on the tractor. Failure to do so could result in a disproportionate weight of the load between the tractor and attachments causing it either to upend author the operator to lose control of the tractor.
It is always important to look out for traffic or other people when crossing or near roadways. If using an attachment to the tractor be aware that there’s an extra length to what you’re driving and this will affect the time and speed of your ability to manoeuvre any public highway.
Make sure that you disengage power to any attachment and stop the engine, making sure any break is applied, before leaving the cabin or the operators position. If you need to leave the tractor unattended take all precautions that you would take when leaving a motor vehicle unattended.
Make sure you disengage the power takeoff, lower any attachments, put the dear in neutral, make sure the break is on and turn off the engine. Kubotakubota.net writes about safety features such as making sure that you take the ignition keys with you and do not leave anything in the cabin of the tractor that could be used to started again.
These are simple precautions to take and all in effect similar to those that you would take when starting or using a motor vehicle or leave it unattended.
Kubota Lawn and Garden Tractors – Slopes
Many Kubota lawn tractors are used for the most basic function which is of cutting grass over a significantly large piece of land. To this extent they will either be designed to catch grass in some type of attachment to a checked it through some type of the chute both of which will be attached to the tractor in different ways.
With either of these attachments it is important to make sure that the engine is turned off and the machine completely still before either removing the grass catcher or unclogging the chute of any grass or leaves or other material that may have got caught it.
Kubotakubota.net teaches to be aware when putting your hands on any part of the tractor of any movable parts that could cause damage such as blades, and make sure that the engine of the tractor is completely turned off, and there is no build up of mechanical energy that could cause movement of the blades and cause damage to the operative.
Kubota lawnmowers, in fact all lawnmowers are basically designed to be driven forwards only, and are not designed to be driven in reverse in the way that a car can be.
Because lawnmowers are not designed to be driven in reverse seating of the cabin makes it impossible to see clearly what is behind you and there’s obviously no mirror in the way that a car will have one. If you do need to reverse the tractor for any reason they actually sure you know what is behind you and if possible have someone to guide you as an extra safety precaution.
Most lawn or garden tractors are not designed to be driven up steep hills or slopes. However it is the nature of its sizeable piece of land that there may well be areas at not flat where the lawn tractor needs to go. In this event it is advisable to always back-up when going up a slope.
It is never a good idea to drive forward up a slope or hill that is too steep simply because the tractor could easily tip over backwards. It is a good idea to stay off hills and slopes that are too steep for safe operation.
Again if the Kubota tractor is being used up or down hill is a good idea to do it as gently and evenly as possible. This means essentially not continually stopping or starting the machine, and only knowing up and down the face of slopes and never across them.
If you’re using the lawnmower on a slope going uphill and you find the tractor stops with having extreme difficulty going up the slope then simply stop the blade, and back down again slowly. Kubotakubota.net shows how when using the Kubota tractor on a slope use extreme caution and always drive the tractor at a much lower speed then you would do on flat ground.
This will give you a much greater sense of control and understanding of the feel of the land, and will allow you to take extra precautions and deal with a situation that might arise more safely than if you were using the tractor at a greater speed.
Again use extreme caution when changing direction on slopes. It is difficult to give general advice on the subject, but just be aware that when using the Kubota tractor on any slope or steep hill there is a real danger of you losing control of the tractor, of it tipping over, generally putting you in a much more vulnerable position than when using it on flat land.
Equally be aware and stay alert to any holes be they potholes or holes made by animals or any other type of hazard in the nature of the land.
Kubota lawn tractors – how to operate
Assuming you are familiar with how to operate a Kubota lawn tractor, there are a number of general key safety instructions that you would be wise to follow, which will help ensure that you have a safe operation with yourself, the tractor and any other people in the vicinity of the area you’re using it in.
When driving the tractor it is a good mindset to think of dried it in the same way that you would a car. It is important to disengage all the attachment clutches and make sure that the deer is in neutral before attempting to start the engine.
The nature of a lawn tractor means that it is likely to be used on land that is both flat and hilly, and there’s a tendency at times not to realise the inherent danger of using a lawn tractor where it inevitably will be driven at an angle.
Kubotakubota.net show how thinking in terms of how you drive a car can help prevent this, and simply be aware of driving or not driving on any land where the tractor could either tip over or slip out of control because of the nature of the land.
Many lawn or garden tractors use different types of attachments for various gardening purposes, and a number of these attachments will collect lawn and mulch and other types of garden residue, and inject them from the tractor normally via a chute.
When ejecting any discharge of material from the chute, it is important for the operator of the tractor to have an awareness of where the materials came to be discharged to. This means avoiding any other people in the vicinity, any animals or pets or children, or anywhere such as going to require further work i.e. a pond or similar.
It is important to only use the Kubota tractor in good daylight or good artificial light. Whilst your Kubota tractor may come with headlights and should be used whenever necessary, having good all-round visibility is equally important as this end you need either daylight or good artificial light.
Without such light there is a real danger of overheating and obstruction that you cannot see properly, or of inadvertently coming too close or hitting an object or person that you cannot see clearly.
Again it is a self-evident piece of advice never to put your hands or any other part of your body near the blade or engine whilst they are running or on.
If you need to put your hands anywhere near any part of the machinery make sure at the engine is turned off, the key is out of the ignition, any blades have stop moving and there is no build up of energy within the blade that might cause and to move whilst your hands are in their vicinity.
Kubotakubota.net highlights there is always a danger of built-up energy with any mechanical device and extreme caution should be taken.
It is sometimes necessary to the operator of the Kubota tractor to make an adjustment to the cutting height of the attachment that is being used with the machine.
This can occur for a number of reasons and is normally a fairly simple activity. What is important is that the operator times the tractor off before making any such adjustment to the cutting height of the tractor.
Kubota lawn tractor – Manuals
Whether you are using a lawn or garden tractor for the first time or you are a regular user of such machines, it is a good idea always to have a read of the manual that comes with the tractor. Every piece of equipment you buy will always have a manual, either in printed format or more commonly online nowadays.
There is always a tendency to dismiss the manual as simply information the manufacturer is obliged to disclose which is not necessarily relevant to your use of the machine. Kubotakubota.net shows why with lawn tractors this is not true.
Kubota lawn tractors operate in many ways in similar mode to the type of tractor you might expect to use in an agricultural setting, but obviously on a much smaller basis. However it does mean that there are a number of considerations to do with safety, maintenance and operation which is well worth knowing in advance of your using the machine.
The manual that comes with the tractor will go through a number of fairly basic instructions, which it is important to familiarise yourself with prior to using the tractor. It is a good idea to know where the information is in the manual prior to having access it in the event of an emergency.
One of the important aspects of knowing how to operate a tractor is to know what the controls are, what they do and where they are situated. Kubota tractors will have a number of standard operative control, but they will differ on each individual tractor range, and it is therefore important to familiarise yourself with them.
Aside from instructions as to how to use the machines safely, the manual will also give a number of general pieces of advice about safe operation factor, which may seem fairly obvious that can easily be overlooked or just simply not thought about.
One such piece of advice is to always wear well fitted belted clothing when using the tractor. If you wear loose clothing of any type, there’s always a real danger that part of it could get caught in the workings of the tractor, posing a considerable safety risk or danger to yourself when operating it.
It should go without saying that children should not be allowed to operate the Kubota tractor at any time. This applies to teenagers as well as younger children. There is sometimes a tendency to think of a tractor as a toy in one sense, and this can sometimes lead to not taking it as seriously as you would any other piece of agricultural machinery.
Equally do not carry passengers on the tractor of any age. Kubotakubota.net shows how the tractor will be designed for one operative and one operative only, and having anyone else either in the cabin or on any other part of the tractor is a significant danger and safety hazard.
As well as instructions concerning the use of the tractor and general safety advice for the operative, the manual will also point out a number of general safety instructions concerning the environment the Kubota tractor is to be used in.
One of the most important pieces of advice is to clear the work area first of any objects such as wires rocks etc that could be picked up by the lawn tractor and could inadvertently damage the tractor or the operative or anyone else nearby.
Kubota BX 1860
The Kubota BX 1860 is one of a series of tractors that Kubota make that they assign to their category of rural lifestyle.
This in effect means that they are tractors that can be used on small farms for grounds maintenance as well as for land mowing or gardening and are landscaping gardens as well.
The Kubota BX 1860 runs on a diesel engine as do all the Kubota tractors the diesel engine is a eating horsepower engine.
All Kubota tractors are powered by the own brand specifically built diesel engines which they claim the used typically less than between 20 and 30% less fuel. They also are meant to be more efficient.
Diesel engines are meant to be more powerful on the whole, and one advantage is that they don’t prove require that the fuel be replaced after long-term storage.
This can be particularly useful with certain types of tractors which are only used at certain times of the year.
All the Kubota BX tractors are featured with four-wheel-drive.
This is especially useful given the type of work they do and comes as standard on all their machines.
The BX 1860 also comes with a category ID3 – point H as standard this is hydraulically controlled it allows the tractor to have a wide range of implements attached to it which increase its use and versatility considerably.
The Kubota BX 1860 also comes with a quarter inch fouls which means that it allows the implements that are attached to the one three-point edge to be regulated much more easily because it gives them a much more specific basis on which to be attached and unattached, as explained in kubotakubota.net
Another feature of the Kubota BX 1860 is that it has the radiator positioned in the middle of tractor rather than at the front. This means that the hotair is pushed towards the front of the machine/tractor rather than remain in the middle. This means that the operator area of the Remains much cooler and also there is less chance of the engine overheating.
The operator area of the Kubota BX 1860 is particularly well thought out. It has a high back reclining seat easy to operate controls and is generally spacious. The BX 1860 has a true pedal HST operation which is especially useful. It also comes with hydrostatic power steering as standard on the BX 1860 and has a optional facility for cruise control, like most tractors written about in kubotakubota.net
The Kubota BX 1860 also comes with a space for a cup holder which is an essential part of any maintenance regime to allow you to keep your cup of coffee fresh and warm by law driving a tractor.