Seasonal Maintenance Checklists for Large Ag Equipment

Your agricultural equipment undergoes a lot of vigorous use, season after season. It can be easy to push your machines to the limit until they break, but that can be costly and frustrating, especially when you’re in peak seasons. Instead of pushing your equipment to its max, preventative maintenance can reduce your repair costs and prevent profit-losing downtime. 

Castongia Tractor is a full-serve ag dealer in Northwest Indiana and our service team can assist you with inspections, repairs, and maintenance. We’ve compiled a quick list of seasonal maintenance tasks you can complete to help your large ag machinery run smoothly when you need it the most. 

Spring Maintenance Checklist

The spring season is often a busy one as life in the Northern Hemisphere begins to get lively! The ground is warming up, plants begin to sprout, and farmers begin hitting the fields to plant the year’s crops. Before machines get into the fields, there are a few things you can do to make sure your equipment is ready for the work. 

• Oil changes
• Engine inspections
• Replace worn or damaged parts on planters, tractors, and tillage equipment
• Grease any moving parts on implements and attachments
• Remove debris from use or storage
• Check wiring and electrical connections
• Troubleshoot technology 

Summer Maintenance

Once the seeds are in the ground, you’ll be busy with projects like fertilizing and monitoring your fields, so you’ll want to keep up with maintenance tasks between your other responsibilities. Now is a great time to work with your service team to complete any diagnostics, updates, repairs, or changes, especially on equipment you’ll need to utilize during harvest time. 

• Software updates and other diagnostics
• Tire care
• Replace worn or damaged parts
• Detail your tractors
• Wash your implements and attachments
• Fire up the combine 

Fall Maintenance

Entering fall is another busy season, especially for row crop growers who will be harvesting crops during this time of year. Ideally, your harvesting equipment will already be prepped and ready to go, but there are a few last-minute things you can do to make sure it is! You can also get a head start on your winter equipment maintenance. 

• Complete WorkPlanner items in the John Deere Operations Center
• Clean your combine inside and out
• Calibrate your headers
• Grease any moving parts on your fall and winter equipment 
• Inspect your machinery before use

Winter Maintenance Checklist

When winter rolls around, things are slowing down just enough to start thinking about the year ahead. Winter can be a time of rest and planning, but it can also be the perfect time to treat your hard-working equipment to some TLC!



• Schedule your combine inspection 
• Winterize tractors and implements
• Upload field data and analyze reports
• Replace worn or damaged combine components

These checklists just scratch the surface of what it takes to keep your machines operating safely, efficiently, and accurately. Our service teams at our DeMotte, Fowler, Rensselaer, and Valparaiso, Indiana, stores can help you establish a seasonal maintenance routine and assist you with any unexpected repairs to keep you moving forward. No matter what you grow or how you operate, we are here to help! We proudly serve Northwest Indiana and Northeast Illinois.