The things you see on the back roads

@JudyEv (366498)
Rockingham, Australia
October 14, 2025 7:36pm CST
Travelling on the back roads as we have been doing we haven’t seen a lot of traffic but twice now we’re seen these self-propelled crop sprayers. From a distance, it’s hard to know what they are as they look a bit eerie with so much ‘air’ underneath the main body. The ‘arms’ swing out enabling a spray width of up to 132ft (40 metres). Some have adjustable axles to fit different crop widths. Farming has come a long way since my Dad ploughed five acres a day with a horse team.
10 people like this
11 responses
Judy Story
@jstory07 (146761)
• Roseburg, Oregon
15 Oct
When I saw the picture I was wondering what it was. Now I know.
2 people like this
Judy Evans
@JudyEv (366498)
• Rockingham, Australia
15 Oct
It's a strange-looking beast, isn't it?
1 person likes this
Judy Story
@jstory07 (146761)
• Roseburg, Oregon
15 Oct
@JudyEv Yes very strange looking.
1 person likes this
Ron Rybs
@Ronrybs (20940)
• London, England
15 Oct
It is a strange looking beast!
1 person likes this
Judy Evans
@JudyEv (366498)
• Rockingham, Australia
16 Oct
I couldn't work out why the main body would be so far off the ground but it would be so it would straddle tallish crops.
1 person likes this
Judy Evans
@JudyEv (366498)
• Rockingham, Australia
17 Oct
@Ronrybs The width between the wheels can be varied to run between the rows. That's the story anyway.
1 person likes this
Ron Rybs
@Ronrybs (20940)
• London, England
16 Oct
@JudyEv I'd be more worried about the wheels crushing the crop
1 person likes this
Amber
@AmbiePam (107545)
• United States
17 Oct
It’s like there is always a new thing to see if we just happen to look.
1 person likes this
Judy Evans
@JudyEv (366498)
• Rockingham, Australia
18 Oct
I'm sure I pick up on things a lot quicker than I used to. Part of it is because I'm always looking for things to write about here.
1 person likes this
Four Walls
@FourWalls (80680)
• United States
15 Oct
I see similar machines on the “back roads” in farming country here, too. They look like they’re tall enough to drive under.
1 person likes this
Judy Evans
@JudyEv (366498)
• Rockingham, Australia
16 Oct
I thought that too but maybe not with the motor-home.
1 person likes this
Anna
@LadyDuck (488247)
• Italy
15 Oct
I have seen those engines when driving along the highways in Italy. They surely look eerie.
1 person likes this
Anna
@LadyDuck (488247)
• Italy
15 Oct
@JudyEv I am also curious to know why they are made so tall.
1 person likes this
Judy Evans
@JudyEv (366498)
• Rockingham, Australia
15 Oct
@LadyDuck I've had a brainwave!! I guess it's to straddle quite tall crops when they're almost mature or as tall as they're going to grow.
1 person likes this
Judy Evans
@JudyEv (366498)
• Rockingham, Australia
15 Oct
They look a bit like a praying mantis. I'm not sure why they are made so tall but perhaps it's to give the driver a better view.
1 person likes this
Jim Bauer
@porwest (111531)
• United States
15 Oct
I live in a rural area in the middle of the corn belt, so there's always a tractor, combine or some other farm implement crowding our roads here.
1 person likes this
Judy Evans
@JudyEv (366498)
• Rockingham, Australia
15 Oct
At least they move along a lot quicker than some of the older models. And they have indicators and lights, etc which my Dad's old tractor didn't.
1 person likes this
Judy Evans
@JudyEv (366498)
• Rockingham, Australia
16 Oct
@porwest They're pretty good here. Mostly the roads allow them to pull over at some point and let the traffic through and there is very little traffic on some of these back roads.
1 person likes this
Jim Bauer
@porwest (111531)
• United States
15 Oct
@JudyEv Not quick enough. You can get traffic backed up a mile with these damned things. lol
1 person likes this
snowy
@snowy22315 (199529)
• United States
15 Oct
We have those around here too. Some are enormous. I thought the ones we have were corn pickers though. Maybe, they are different
1 person likes this
Judy Evans
@JudyEv (366498)
• Rockingham, Australia
15 Oct
I guess the overall height and arms are a bit similar. We don't grow corn at all in WA, not that I'm aware of anyway. It's amazing how they can create machines to do quite intricate work.
Eva James
@wolfgirl569 (125832)
• Marion, Ohio
15 Oct
We see them a lot
1 person likes this
Judy Evans
@JudyEv (366498)
• Rockingham, Australia
15 Oct
Now we live in the city it's become a bit of a novelty to us.
1 person likes this
Dr Souvik Chatterji
@sathviksouvik (21878)
•
15 Oct
thanks for sharing Judy these vehicles are very new for me
1 person likes this
Judy Evans
@JudyEv (366498)
• Rockingham, Australia
15 Oct
Some of these farm machines are incredibly expensive.
LindaOH
@LindaOHio (207421)
• United States
15 Oct
We see a lot of that type of equipment out here. There are many, many nurseries all around us....and wineries too.
1 person likes this
Judy Evans
@JudyEv (366498)
• Rockingham, Australia
15 Oct
We don't see these on the roads too much but I guess sometimes they need to move them from place to place.
1 person likes this
Arunima Singh
@arunima25 (92672)
• Bangalore, India
15 Oct
Not seen anything like this here. Yes, farming has changed a lot with technological advancements and it's so different now from the traditional old ways. I remember pair of oxen used for ploughing. Now, we have modern tractors.
1 person likes this
Judy Evans
@JudyEv (366498)
• Rockingham, Australia
15 Oct
My father was one of the last in our area to use horses for farmwork. He would be amazed at some of the machinery that is available nowadays.
1 person likes this