10 Uses for a Bighorn UTV 

On a Farm Utility-task vehicles can’t replace tractors, but they can make many farm jobs easier. Here are 10 of them.

Once upon a time, the typical farmer needed little more than a single, trusty tractor to handle most of the jobs and tasks on a farm. Tractors are still the go-to machine when you need power for big projects, but for many modern-day tasks, tractors are giving way to surprising challenger: UTV's.

While UTV's can’t match the strength of a tractor, their smaller sizes and versatility allow farmers to easily travel across many acres and accomplish a wide variety of jobs. Check out these 10 ways that farmers can use their UTV for farm work.

1. Transporting Supplies

Perhaps the biggest advantage offered by UTV's is their ability to quickly and easily transport supplies across your farm. A large UTV can carry hundreds of pounds of supplies, so whether someone is towing a small trailer of hay or carrying feedbags in the bed, a UTV simplifies all sorts of transportation tasks, saving the farmer from firing up your tractor to simply move a few small bales of hay.

2. Plowing Fields

If a farmer wants to turn their UTV into a miniature tractor, they can add a chisel plow or disc plow attachment to the rear of the machine. It will enable them to start cultivating their fields to prepare them for planting crops or a garden.

3. Raking

Just as a UTV can be used to plow, a rake attachment allows these machines to clean up all sorts of debris. Depending on the number of tines and the spacing, which are adjustable on some attachments, a farmer can use their UTV to rake leaves, pine needles, brush, tree debris and more. You name it!

4. Harrowing Fields

A farmer can take the next step toward preparing their fields for crops with a harrow attachment. Depending on their goals, they can get a disc harrow, a drag harrow or even both for their  UTV, allowing their machine to accomplish whatever they might need.

5. Plowing Snow

If a farmer lives in an area that receives winter snowfall, their UTV might be able to help them keep their driveway clear. With a plow attachment and the right accessories, such as tire chains, wheel weights and sandbags, a UTV can be surprisingly effective at plowing snow. That said, these machines are at their best when the snow is light and fluffy rather than wet and heavy.

6. Mowing Grass

Move over, riding mower: UTVs are entering the lawn care market. With the addition of a mower deck attachment or a pull-behind mower—plus a switch to lawn-friendly tires—UTVs can make serviceable lawn mowers.

7. Building Fences

A UTV can be a big help with fencing projects. In addition to helping a farmer cart supplies and tools to and from the building site, if they're installing wire fencing, they can use a rear-mounted wire unroller to let the UTV unwind the wire with little effort.

8. Spreading Seeds

With a spreader attachment mounted on the rear of their UTV, famers can make quick work of distributing seeds, such as grass seed, across their fields. In addition to seeds, spreaders can handle other materials as well, such as fertilizer or sand.

9. Catching Calves

If a farmer wants to simplify the process of catching young cattle for tagging, vaccinating and so on, a UTV might be able to help. Using a specially designed attachment—essentially a large, side-mounted metal enclosure with user-controlled gates—some people literally “catch” young calves so that they can be temporarily separated from their mothers and cared for with less effort and greater safety.

10. Carrying Firewood

If a farmer harvests firewood from their farm, they know that it can be difficult (or impossible) to get any sort of large tractor or trailer through dense woods. However, the small size of UTVs lets them venture where large machines can never go, simplifying the process of hauling firewood out of the forest. 

For the modern farmer, a quality UTV is an invaluable machine that can accomplish a lot of work for its size. In addition, they can be quite fun to drive.