Things are getting WAY out of hand

[Rydero]

Equipment costs and repairs must be managed $effectively or kiss production and a profit goodbye
I buy tractors w under 250 hours and swap out with under 1200 hours.
I budget 4k p/yr per 125 hp @pto p tractors and baler. With this expense minus depreciation is 3k per year and just standard oil changes, filters...
I have to shop a lot which is the downside and I swap out every 3 or 4 years

That's would definitely make equipment costs consistent and predictable, I think some folks could definitely benefit but it's not for me. My farm (and I suspect many others) was built on a few good equipment purchases. When you get a tractor paid off and it remains reliable, productive and cheap to repair for years and years that's thousands and thousands saved. On my farm we run 3 tractors and total repair costs for the year (no labor) were under $6000 last year. 2 of the 3 are paid off and can be walked away from if something expensive happens.

My perspective on equipment is that it's far more likely to see repairs as a result of design flaws and weaknesses than age and other causes. Basically if you start with something good, if it's well cared for and not houred into oblivion it remains more reliable over it's entire life. You can pretty easily find out the expected lifespan and common problems of older, popular brands and models of tractors. There comes a point where it gets senseless to continue with something but some tractors that's 5000 hrs, some 10000 and some 20000 and beyond...

 

[SBMF 2015]

Equipment costs and repairs must be managed $effectively or kiss production and a profit goodbye
I buy tractors w under 250 hours and swap out with under 1200 hours.
I budget 4k p/yr per 125 hp @pto p tractors and baler. With this expense minus depreciation is 3k per year and just standard oil changes, filters...
I have to shop a lot which is the downside and I swap out every 3 or 4 years

That wouldn't even began to work for us. We are up to five loader tractors now, and I still managed to put over five hundred hours on the one I bought last year. Back twenty years ago when we only had one loader we put over a hundred hours a month on it.
We used to trade under 5000hrs.

 

[SBMF 2015]

Got plenty of things to fix here. Mostly 70s vintage... Finding parts gets interesting.

Will be doing a lot more field work after the cow herd sell down ends, so the need is there.

At least those old tractors are pretty easy to wrench on.

 

[D2Cat]

The thing about auctions - the final price is usually where 2 fools meet.

Isn't that what most people say when they're buying? But when they're selling it never brings a fair price!

 

[Rydero]

Isn't that what most people say when *they don't get something at a sale*?

 

[damengineer]

I've been told it's going to be at least a couple years before things get substantially better, too. Even if production gets rolling again, there's so much pent up demand that it's going to be a long time to build up inventory.

If you are willing to look at a tractor built in the Ukraine, MTZ/Belarus has some good reliable tractors and heavy built loaders for 30% less than the other red or green and the cabs are a lot bigger. No $2000 glass doors either. http://www.mtzequipment.com/products/tractors I bought a 120hp mfwd w/ loader for 1/2 of what the other colors would cost/ Those others are not made in the USA anyway... They are all metric now, so we have to have that other set of wrenches. Deere builds theirs overseas. CIH is owned 51% by Fiat. All our dollars do when by buy those name brands is give the CEO a bonus..

 

[damengineer]

Isn't that what most people say when they're buying? But when they're selling it never brings a fair price!

Use to be when the buyer thinks he paid too much and seller thinks it was too cheap, the price was fair. The emissions crap on all the new stuff is breaking down and replacement parts are not available. You can get stuck on the side of the road with the emissions junk going into limp mode. If so, it has to be towed into the dealership and then re-programmed. The environmentalist nazis have cost us a fortune. Unless we turn this crap around, we wll be waiting on our fuel seed and fertilizer allowance. Tractors made in the other countries don't have to meet this crap.

 

[rnh2]

That's high, but a low hour 4640 still has a lot of utility for it's age. New stuff is expensive too, and has all of the emissions BS that nobody wants to deal with.

We got an old 4430 a couple years ago, I put more hours on that tractor than any other. They are a joy to run IMO, even though the quad range is a little bit of a crash box.

Maybe we need to go back to gas powered tractors.

 

[Chevy]

Yep I have to stay away from auctions or I'll end up being that idiot in a bidding war just to prove I'm going to win it... when really I want to bid it up and stick them with it. I get real mean at auctions. and most don't serve good coffee or popcorn.

 

[Brute 23]

Maybe we need to go back to gas powered tractors.

Natural Gas

 

[faster horses]

A coworker has a son that works the shipyards out in California. according to his son, their are1000s of ships sitting out in the ocean just waiting to get unloaded. problem being that with California's stay-at-home payments, nobody wants to go to work. his son apparently works 24 hrs strait and then 12 hrs off. My thinking is that if those products would be made in USA, problem solved.

We have to solve the problem of people being paid not to work first. It's causing this country to come to a halt. The USA was built on production, not what is happening now. The current administration has created a welfare country and it didn't take them long to do it.

 

[faster horses]

We have a JD 7520 125 hp that we bought brand new in 2005. It's been a great tractor, used pretty lightly. No plowing, mostly haying and feeding in winter. Now there is an electronic problem as something in the dash throws a fit. We are thinking we will have to replace the dash, which is very expensive (say $5000 real fast and I don't think that includes labor). There is no guarantee that will fix it either. We've had it looked at and they tried a couple of things, but that didn't work. So now what to do? Take a chance the new dash will fix the problem or what? Mr. FH says he thinks whatever is wrong is tied into the clutch because when he backs up with load in the bucket, the tractor jumps up and down. Then everything seems okay for awhile, but we know it isn't. Has anyone had this issue and if so, what did you do? We are retired and we really don't want to buy a new tractor.

 

[kenny thomas]

Yep I have to stay away from auctions or I'll end up being that idiot in a bidding war just to prove I'm going to win it... when really I want to bid it up and stick them with it. I get real mean at auctions. and most don't serve good coffee or popcorn.

You need to come to our auctions, I can always bid against you. Lol

 

[Chevy]

You need to come to our auctions, I can always bid against you. Lol

Let me borrow you pocket book. I'll bid against any body.

 

[Chevy]

There is a reason I never won the lottery. I'd act a FOOL!

 

[hillbilly beef man]

Maybe we need to go back to gas powered tractors.

It might not be that bad of an idea. I think that a 4 cylinder direct injected turbo utility tractor with around 85 pto would sell well. Less emissions junk to deal with on a gas engine, easier to start in the cold, and gas usually being cheaper than diesel would just about make up for the extra fuel use.

 

[chevytaHOE5674]

I highly doubt a gas tractor would sell well. The lack or torque and fuel consumption would drive most far away.

 

[Chevy]

I highly doubt a gas tractor would sell well. The lack or torque and fuel consumption would drive most far away.

The right buyer anything will sell.