When you take off the front end of the tractor, which is the sides and nose, its hard to do if the hood is all the way up. If its part way open, thats the easy way to get it off, hence the strap to hold it open part way.
Kubota M8540HDC, L5740HSTC, BX2200, BX2660, John Deere 425&1025R, Case, Massey Ferguson, Ford
We always use ours when pulling the cowling off, much easier than finding just the right position. I know some don't remove the cowling when they do a service, but I like to look things over.