When your farm equipment isn’t operating properly, work can quickly grind to a halt. You then have to decide whether the equipment needs to be repaired or replaced. Farm equipment financing through loans can help farmers afford to replace necessary equipment such as tractors, trailers, harvesters, and feeders, often with terms that complement their business models, if replacement is necessary.
We know that functioning equipment is essentially your livelihood for getting your product to market on time. If your machinery is wearing down or nearing failure, it’s usually an immediate issue. But determining whether to repair or replace equipment can be tricky — no farmer wants to keep paying to repair machinery that has run its course, but not many farmers have the time to seek out an alternative unless it’s absolutely necessary.
Even with farm equipment financing and leasing options available, making the decision to let your old equipment go is a tough call. Consider these five situations when you’re on the fence between repairing and replacing.
1. The Equipment Has Been Used Significantly
Some farm equipment can work well for many years, but as you accumulate more hours on a machine, the likelihood of something going wrong will increase. If you’ve been using the machine for a long time, you need to consider whether it’s likely to need more repairs again in the near future.
2. You’ve Already Spent Money on Repairs for the Equipment
If you’ve already had to have the equipment fixed before, the argument for replacing it gets stronger. Farming is already full of unknowns, including the weather, crop and feed prices and pests. You don’t want your equipment’s reliability to be another unknown. If you’re feeling unsure about whether you can rely on your equipment and you’re paying for repairs more often than you’d like, it may be time to replace it.
3. The Machine Is Essential to Your Business Operation
There may be some pieces of equipment that your farm can function without, but when a machine is essential to getting your work done, it’s essential to your livelihood and that of your employees. If you’re taking a vital piece of machinery back for repairs a second or third time, you may need to opt for business equipment financing to go ahead and buy a new machine.
4. Superior Equipment Is Available
As technology and mechanical engineering continue to improve, farm equipment producers continue to introduce new products and services that may be more efficient, effective or cheaper to run than the machine you’re currently using. If that’s the case, and a new machine could improve your overall performance, it’s probably worth the investment.
5. The Current Market Makes It a Good Time to Buy Farm Equipment
As with any type of product, the market fluctuates for farm equipment. Before you decide to make a purchase, do some research on the current market and how it’s affecting the cost and availability of equipment. For instance, ask your dealer if the price is likely to change in the next few months. If the price will go down in a few months and you can wait that long for new equipment, it may be worth the wait. But if now is the best time to buy considering price and availability, don’t keep waiting.
Does one of these situations sound familiar? If your tractor, trailer, feeder or other farm machine is limiting your productivity, it may be time to pursue farm equipment financing. With farm equipment loans, you can get the machinery you need and boost your productivity to keep your farm humming along.
