What Does this Sign Seen All Over Iowa Mean?

If you live in a larger Iowa city, or you rarely make an appearance in a more rural setting, I bet you'd be curious to know what the sign in question means. The sign in question, which I'll share with you below, looks pretty straightforward, but is it?

Before we get to our sign in question, and what it's all about, let's make sure we're all on the same page when it comes to other commonly spotted road signs:

That bad boy indicates a roundabout is a-comin'! Or, traffic circle, or whatever we're supposed to call it in the U.S.

Ew. We all know this one in Eastern Iowa. Big brother is watching so, SLOW DOWN! This means there's a traffic camera in the area. Well, thanks for the warning anyway.

Oooh, we all know this sign. On highways, and neighborhoods, no one is spared from deer popping out of the trees and ditches. Yikes. But how do they know to cross where the sign is... (joking).

This sign... a warning that you MIGHT have to stop up ahead. This is possibly the silliest road sign in existence.

This one means there's a rocket up ahead. No, no. It indicates you should scoot to the right lane as another lane is combining with the left lane.

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Enough of those, on to what we're all here for. That quintessentially Iowa street sign. Let's take a look:

Well okay. Seems simple enough, right? A man or woman on a tractor. Totally dig that over-the-top cowboy hat. But what's this road sign actually mean? You're being warned there's a good chance there's a tractor (or family equipment) up ahead).

I mean, duh. This is Iowa. We expect that. But what's the sign mean? Like, what am I expected to do? For that, I went right to the Iowa DOT. They have a handy "cheat sheet" of what each commonly seen road sign actually means.

Their description:

Be alert for slow-moving, farm equipment on the roadways. Reduce your speed and pass slowly.

Boom. There you have it. Slow down. Be alert. Don't hit the back end of a planter. We are coming up on the time of year you need to pay especially close attention on rural roads.

Safe travels!