Farm truck ELD and tracking. Logs only where needed.
TenTrucks gives farm fleets GPS tracking, elevator wait times and ELD logs only for drivers outside the agricultural exemption from hours of service.
Logs only for the drivers who need them.
Most farm hauling near home needs no logbook, so TenTrucks lets you set ELD, electronic logbook or Not required for each driver.
- Keep farm-plated trucks on Not required, with no clock
- Switch a driver to ELD the morning the hauls go long
- Mark each driver as CDL or non-CDL
Be ready when the scale stops you.
Officers check long runs past the exempt zone. Drivers on the ELD see their time left under hours of service (the driving-hour limits) and show their logs from the app.
- Get warnings at 30, 15 and 5 minutes before a limit
- Lock inspection mode for the officer with an optional PIN
- Send logs to the officer from the app or the web
Know how long trucks wait at the elevator.
Harvest stalls in the elevator line, so geofences around elevators, co-ops and sale barns show how long each truck sat.
- Get alerts when a truck arrives at or leaves a site
- See time on site by truck and by elevator
- Replay any trip on the real-time map
Fix trucks before harvest, not during it.
A grain truck that sat since last fall is a risk on day one. TenTrucks plans preventive maintenance from real engine hours and mileage.
- Plan service by engine hours, miles or days
- Turn every reported defect into a work order automatically
- Get alerts for engine fault codes and low fuel
How the agricultural exemption works
During your state's planting and harvest season, the agricultural exemption switches off driving-hour limits and logs. Each state sets its own season dates.
It covers the transportation of agricultural commodities within a 150 air-mile radius (150 miles as the crow flies) of the source of the commodities. That's usually the farm or field where the load is picked up.
It also covers farm supplies for agricultural purposes hauled within 150 air miles of the dealer. Once a truck operates beyond the 150-mile point, the usual rules for any commercial motor vehicle apply from there.
Do your farm trucks need an ELD?
Find the row that fits the truck and the haul, and stop at the first match.
| Your truck or driver | ELD needed? | In plain words |
|---|---|---|
| Farm-plated truck run by your farm, not for hire, hauling your own crops, livestock, machinery or supplies, rated 26,001 lb or less on the door sticker (truck plus trailer) | No | The farm's own trucks are outside the driving-hour rules anywhere in the US. |
| The same farm truck, rated over 26,001 lb | Usually no | It stays exempt anywhere in your home state, and across a state line within 150 miles of the farm, as the crow flies. |
| Grain, produce or livestock hauled from the field or barn during your state's planting and harvest season | Not for the first 150 miles | No logs for the first 150 miles, as the crow flies, from where the load was picked up. |
| Cattle on a long haul during your state's planting and harvest season | Depends | The first 150 miles from pickup and the last 150 miles before delivery are exempt. Only the middle of the trip needs a log. |
| Driver goes past the 150-mile point on 8 days or fewer in any 30 | No | The driver needs a log from that point on, but paper is fine. |
| Driver goes past the 150-mile point on more than 8 days in any 30 | Yes | Logs start at the 150-mile point and have to be on an ELD. |
General federal rules, not legal advice. Your state may add its own.
What TenTrucks doesn't do
TenTrucks doesn't measure the 150-mile radius or know your state's harvest dates, so it won't switch a driver to logs on its own. Someone in the office sets each driver and changes it when the hauls change. A driver on the ELD logs the whole day, even the hours the exemption would excuse. Tractors, combines and grain carts without a TenTrucks ELD don't show up.
Questions fleets ask us
About TenTrucks ELD for agriculture fleets.
Rules referenced on this page
- 49 CFR 395.1(k): Agricultural operations exemption
- 49 CFR 395.1(e): Short-haul exceptions
- 49 CFR 395.2: Agricultural commodity, farm supplies and livestock definitions
- 49 CFR 390.5: CMV and covered farm vehicle definitions
- 49 CFR 390.39: Exemptions for covered farm vehicles
- 49 CFR 395.8: Who must use an ELD
- 49 CFR 395.3: 30-minute break (livestock exception in 395.1(v))
- FMCSA regulatory guidance on transporting agricultural commodities, 83 FR 26374 (June 7, 2018)
- FMCSA 90-day ELD waiver for agricultural commodities, 82 FR 60323 (Dec. 20, 2017)
- FMCSA second 90-day ELD waiver, 83 FR 12685 (Mar. 23, 2018)
- FMCSA fact sheet: ELDs and the agricultural commodity exemption
- Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2018 (Pub. L. 115-141)
More from the TenTrucks ELD
Choosing a device for the whole fleet? Start with our ELD for trucks overview: the device, the driver app and FMCSA registration.
- ELD for trucks: overview
- Hours of service & custom HOS rules
- Roadside inspection & DOT transfer
- Owner-operators & small fleets
- Hotshot trucks
- ELD device
- Construction fleets
- Oil & gas fleets
- Field service fleets
- Delivery fleets
- Food & beverage fleets
- Waste & recycling fleets
- Utilities & telecom fleets
- Landscaping fleets
- Public sector fleets
- Manufacturing & private fleets
See TenTrucks set up for a farm fleet
Book a demo before harvest. Bring your list of trucks and drivers, and we'll set who logs and draw your first elevator geofences on the call.