The Minnesota Department of Transportation has asked motorists and farm equipment operators to share the road, as the state's rural highways fill with tractors, combines and other wide, slow-moving machinery during fieldwork season.

The appeal, reported by the Austin Daily Herald, is a seasonal safety call aimed at preventing collisions between passenger vehicles and agricultural equipment on the two-lane roads that crisscross southern Minnesota's farm country. MnDOT's message is addressed to both audiences: drivers who approach machinery at highway speed, and operators moving equipment between fields.

Why does the timing matter?

Spring fieldwork concentrates machinery traffic on rural roads in a matter of weeks. Planting compresses the movement of tractors, planters, sprayers and grain-handling equipment into narrow windows dictated by soil conditions and weather. Operators travel between fields separated by public roads, often several times a day, on routes shared with commuters, school buses and freight traffic.

MnDOT's appeal lands in that window. The agency's core instruction to motorists is patience: agricultural equipment travels far below posted speed limits, and the closing rate between a car at highway speed and a tractor can cover the distance between them in seconds.

What does MnDOT ask of each side?

The agency's guidance splits responsibility across both groups.

For motorists:

• Slow down immediately when approaching farm equipment.
• Watch for turn signals and machinery turning into fields, which can look like a pull-off to the shoulder.
• Pass only when legal and with a clear view of oncoming traffic.
• Expect wide loads that may extend across the centre line.

For equipment operators:

• Use lights, reflectors and slow-moving vehicle emblems, keeping them clean and visible.
• Signal turns well in advance.
• Avoid moving equipment on roads during peak traffic periods where alternatives exist.
• Use escort vehicles or pilot cars where width or visibility demands them.

What should farmers watch next?

MnDOT reissues this guidance each fieldwork season, and operators in southern Minnesota counties should expect the message to accompany planting and, later, harvest traffic. The practical takeaway for farm businesses is a pre-season equipment check: lights, reflectors, SMV emblems and escort arrangements verified before machinery moves onto public roads. For motorists, the agency's advice reduces to one action: reduce speed early and wait for a safe, legal passing opportunity.

The full appeal is available through the Austin Daily Herald's report.