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Windom, MN | Equipment is expensive and it seems like it takes a lot of money to farm. I'm just starting out too, but I have my dad helping me out a lot. We have a plan, but it just takes time.
As far as buying new goes, I try not to look at things like I look at my personal equipment like cars, trucks, toys, etc. In the last two years we have bought 2 new tractors. But the last time we bought a tractor was 1995. We never use a disk, so the one we have is from 1980, and our field cultivator is a used one, around a 1996 model. I know you can get 7 year notes on farm equipment if the monthly payments are something you worry about.
I know different farms have different business plans. Ours has basically been buy new/slightly used (under 1000 hours) and run until about 7-8000 hours, or if repairs get to be more trouble than the machine is worth. Seems to work out to 15-20 years for a power unit (something with an engine) staying on our farm. For example, we traded a 756 for a 7120 and then went to a 245. There was roughly 20 years between all of them and if you have a 7 year loan on all of them, once it's paid for we still run the machine 13 years. And the dealer has never had problems selling our old equipment, telling me that not all farms want to do what we do or just can't afford to. We also seem to have no problem finding slightly used equipment to buy, which tells me there are farms who want to run new stuff and trade every few years and it must work for them as well.
However, with the way technology has been changing, we may need to revisit this policy somewhere in the near future. I don't know how we will afford to do so, but maybe some sort of equipment sharing between neighbors is in our future. If you are just starting out and really want to get out of a 1066, you can always look at an older magnum. The guy who bought our 7120 traded in a 1586, and he said it's a wonderful upgrade. | |
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How do you afford expensive tractors / machinery?
