Cutting tools in agricultural machines have to withstand high wear demands. Longer maintenance cycle intervals of these tools can be achieved using coatings reinforced with hard particles, applied onto tool substrates. This work was done to establish the qualified test procedure to characterize carbide containing spray & fuse coatings for agricultural demands under abrasion and impact. Simulating these field conditions in lab-scale, tests were performed with a standard ASTM G65 dry-sand rubber-wheel tester (3-body abrasion) and a special impeller-tumbler apparatus (combined impact and abrasion wear). The interaction of hardphase content and matrix composition was investigated to assess their response varying impact energy effects. The test procedure described is suited to optimize coatings by combining quantitative mass loss measurement with results of surface profilometry. It is shown, that crucial material criteria of carbide coatings, such as edge stability and wear progress, can be characterized in a way which is able to tailor coatings for targeted wear regimes in agriculture.