SW WI | PeteMN - 6/17/2015 14:30
The return on a combine is a lot more predictable than the return on precision equipment. On 200 acres I don't know how much precision equipment will add to the bottom line. Its a different story if you have plans to expand rapidly the next few years, but the cost of harvest will also be increasing in that case, too so my vote is still for the combine. Bins and dryer can offer alternatives at the busy harvest season. It depends on how much effort/time a person is able to put into each operation. If the operator doesn't have the time to prepare and operate the combine then its not going to be effective. Drying corn also takes an amount of time, but less than the combine requires. Some guys with off farm jobs will be ok with paying someone else to combine, some would rather pay themselves.
I disagree with a combine ROI being more predictable than precision Ag. Engine, hydro, AC tires belts hyd lines axle heads rocks. I think a combine is the most unpredictable piece of equipment. Clutches are predictable. Depending why, bins are predictable. I may be wrong, according to my wife I usually am, but I have no interest in a combine at this point. For my situation, the numbers are not there. |
What will be the greater return on investment? Dryer or precisionAg
