The Minnesota Department of Transportation is reminding drivers and farm equipment operators to use caution on roadways this spring as planting season gets underway.
MnDOT said farmers rely on highways to move equipment between farms and fields, especially on rural two-lane roads through early summer. State traffic engineer Brian Sorenson said, “Farmers need our highways to move important equipment to prepare and plant fields each spring, and there are many ways to stay safe during this time. Drivers should slow down and prepare to encounter slow-moving farm vehicles… from now until early summer.”
From 2023 through 2025, Minnesota recorded 392 crashes involving farm equipment, resulting in 12 deaths and 167 injuries.
MnDOT noted that farm machinery is large and heavy, making it harder to accelerate, slow down and stop. Equipment may also make wide turns, cross the center line and create blind spots for operators.
Drivers are encouraged to slow down, use caution when approaching equipment, watch for debris, keep headlights on and only pass when it is safe.
Farm equipment operators are advised to use required lights and permitted flashing lights, display slow-moving vehicle emblems when traveling under 30 mph, and make sure loaded vehicles meet the legal height limit of 13 feet, 6 inches unless a permit is obtained.
