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It must not be that huge of a problem because farmers are continuing to purchase the most up-to-date tractors with all the wing-dings, bells and whistles they c

It must not be that huge of a problem because farmers are continuing to purchase the most up-to-date tractors with all the wing-dings, bells and whistles they can afford. The guidance consoles are not tied into the machine and don't care how old the equipment is, so why again do you need that brand new $200k tractor? Perhaps this will be a wake up call. Stop buying new equipment and fix your already existing, already purchased, old equipment.

colechristensen 7y ago
The fixable equipment without electronic black boxes is several decades old and increasingly difficult to come by. New farm equipment is financed with loans/leases, trade ins and depreciation in ways that make it a sort of trap that is difficult to escape buying new things all the time.
- Circuits 7y ago
  Not the first time I have heard that and yet I see thousands of machines in hundreds of machine graveyards where old equipment has been sitting for decades collecting rust spread accost the country side. The same can be said about cars and the people who own the old equipment are basically giving it away if not paying people to take it... The problem, imho, is that people actually don't want to be able to fix their machines themselves because they don't want to spend the time it takes to do it. They want to be able to pay a guy to do it for them and even then they complain about the cost or the hassle involved in making that happen. Today's farmers are not the farmers of 20 years ago. They are the same as everyone else, to busy playing angry-birds to learn how to fix a carburetor.
  - jacquesm 7y ago
    I'll take a 9N in any condition.
  - Loughla 7y ago
    From experience - it's not that simple. I run 70's and 80's Masseys. I have to fix them constantly, by myself. The biggest hassle is waiting for parts. The last time I needed a part from an implement or salesman that I couldn't get from a junkyard took 2 weeks for delivery, once they found it. It was 20 days total from breakdown to fix, and all but 12 hours of that was out of my control. So, put yourself on a broken down tractor in harvest season with rain in the forecast for two days from now. That white glove treatment you get with new machinery looks pretty nice when that happens. That being said, I agree that people want to complain more than they want to fix anything. I enjoy working with my hands as a hobby, so I'm odd, I think. Most people just want their machines to work, with no inputs.
    - Circuits 7y ago
      Agreed but as the article noted finding yourself on a broken down tractor during harvest season isn't dependent on having a new machine. In fact, I would argue you are MORE likely to find yourself in that position with one of these new machines. At least in your position you knew what was wrong, you knew what part you needed and you knew how to install it. These new machines are specifically being designed so that a layman such as yourself can't fix them. Big AGG isn't stopping there either. They aren't just trying to cut you out. There trying to cut out the repair guys and the suppliers. They want to own everything: the repair shops, the delivery shops, the manufacturing plants... their even trying to purchase the intellectual properties. Truth is no one needs a brand new machine just like no one needs a brand new car or a brand new house, imho.
  - colechristensen 7y ago
    If you looked at our back you would think it was a machine graveyard. Some farmers want to be mechanics some don't. Most of the ones that care have gotten bought out by enormous operations. >Today's farmers are not the farmers of 20 years ago. 20? Not much has changed, 50 may be more accurate.

colechristensen 7y ago

The fixable equipment without electronic black boxes is several decades old and increasingly difficult to come by. New farm equipment is financed with loans/leases, trade ins and depreciation in ways that make it a sort of trap that is difficult to escape buying new things all the time.

Circuits 7y ago
Not the first time I have heard that and yet I see thousands of machines in hundreds of machine graveyards where old equipment has been sitting for decades collecting rust spread accost the country side. The same can be said about cars and the people who own the old equipment are basically giving it away if not paying people to take it... The problem, imho, is that people actually don't want to be able to fix their machines themselves because they don't want to spend the time it takes to do it. They want to be able to pay a guy to do it for them and even then they complain about the cost or the hassle involved in making that happen. Today's farmers are not the farmers of 20 years ago. They are the same as everyone else, to busy playing angry-birds to learn how to fix a carburetor.
- jacquesm 7y ago
  I'll take a 9N in any condition.
- Loughla 7y ago
  From experience - it's not that simple. I run 70's and 80's Masseys. I have to fix them constantly, by myself. The biggest hassle is waiting for parts. The last time I needed a part from an implement or salesman that I couldn't get from a junkyard took 2 weeks for delivery, once they found it. It was 20 days total from breakdown to fix, and all but 12 hours of that was out of my control. So, put yourself on a broken down tractor in harvest season with rain in the forecast for two days from now. That white glove treatment you get with new machinery looks pretty nice when that happens. That being said, I agree that people want to complain more than they want to fix anything. I enjoy working with my hands as a hobby, so I'm odd, I think. Most people just want their machines to work, with no inputs.
  - Circuits 7y ago
    Agreed but as the article noted finding yourself on a broken down tractor during harvest season isn't dependent on having a new machine. In fact, I would argue you are MORE likely to find yourself in that position with one of these new machines. At least in your position you knew what was wrong, you knew what part you needed and you knew how to install it. These new machines are specifically being designed so that a layman such as yourself can't fix them. Big AGG isn't stopping there either. They aren't just trying to cut you out. There trying to cut out the repair guys and the suppliers. They want to own everything: the repair shops, the delivery shops, the manufacturing plants... their even trying to purchase the intellectual properties. Truth is no one needs a brand new machine just like no one needs a brand new car or a brand new house, imho.
- colechristensen 7y ago
  If you looked at our back you would think it was a machine graveyard. Some farmers want to be mechanics some don't. Most of the ones that care have gotten bought out by enormous operations. >Today's farmers are not the farmers of 20 years ago. 20? Not much has changed, 50 may be more accurate.