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The problem with modern large farmers is the same as with richer tesla owners... you buy a car/tractor with 5y warranty, you service it at a dealer (to keep you

The problem with modern large farmers is the same as with richer tesla owners... you buy a car/tractor with 5y warranty, you service it at a dealer (to keep your warranty), and after 5y, you trade it in for a new one. It's same as with most other devices like that.. even a mercedes... who cares about data/plans/parts/... for a 3yo mercedes? ..it's under warranty, so they'll deal with it. Same with phones... new phone has a warranty, sometimes even insurance The problem becomes real when your tesla/tractor/mercedes/phone is 10yo (phone a bit less) and available for cheap on the second hand market... it's not under warranty anymore, financially it's not worth it to have a dealer fix it, if you can do it yourself, but you're unable to do so, because you don't have the schematics and/or parts available. So, the large industrial farmers don't really care... it's the "little guys" who get fscked by companies like JD/tesla/apple,...

randomdata 5y ago
A lot of the new equipment is not even bought, but rather leased. The largest farms will keep rolling the leases into new equipment and then the used equipment is then put out on the used market for someone to buy. The first users do not have a whole lot of concern about legally of their ownership as their leases have them renting the equipment from the start. The users down the line may have greater concern, but they are limited to what is available on the used market. If the first generation users choose John Deere, that means they are effectively limited to John Deere.
CivBase 5y ago
> The problem with modern large farmers is the same as with richer tesla owners... you buy a car/tractor with 5y warranty, you service it at a dealer (to keep your warranty), and after 5y, you trade it in for a new one. I don't think that's how that works. My grandparents own and operate a very respectable size farm for being independent and they definitely do not trade in their tractors like that. I'd be skeptical that mega-farms do this too. Even with cars the majority of the market buys second-hand, which is why the few who buy new every 5 years have someone to sell to. Tractors are an order of magnitude more expensive and independents who might consider paying good money for second-hand equipment are vanishing quickly.
dncornholio 5y ago
Leasing and/or renting: Fine. But making a monopoly on providing parts and services is not a good thing. People end up paying 2000 dollar for a 2 dollar repair. Imagine the world when buying a new car/truck/tractor is less expensive than replacing the brakes for example. This is how the world works right now.
- basch 5y ago
  >People end up paying 2000 dollar for a 2 dollar repair. That's the entire world economy. Have you watched Shark Tank? "What do you sell it for and what is your landed price." Mark is smiling and clapping at the people who manage to sell a $2 part for $100, the bigger the ripoff the more he loves it, they've achieved the American Dream. The reality in the Apple/John Deer situation is that the profit is going back into overfunding design to also make better products. Not all of it, but enough to keep a persistent edge over competitors.
  - TaylorAlexander 5y ago
    Paying $2000 when you could pay $2 is how much of the economy operates but personally I think situations like that, often under the umbrella of “rent seeking behavior”, are actually harmful to society.

randomdata 5y ago

A lot of the new equipment is not even bought, but rather leased. The largest farms will keep rolling the leases into new equipment and then the used equipment is then put out on the used market for someone to buy. The first users do not have a whole lot of concern about legally of their ownership as their leases have them renting the equipment from the start. The users down the line may have greater concern, but they are limited to what is available on the used market. If the first generation users choose John Deere, that means they are effectively limited to John Deere.

CivBase 5y ago

> The problem with modern large farmers is the same as with richer tesla owners... you buy a car/tractor with 5y warranty, you service it at a dealer (to keep your warranty), and after 5y, you trade it in for a new one. I don't think that's how that works. My grandparents own and operate a very respectable size farm for being independent and they definitely do not trade in their tractors like that. I'd be skeptical that mega-farms do this too. Even with cars the majority of the market buys second-hand, which is why the few who buy new every 5 years have someone to sell to. Tractors are an order of magnitude more expensive and independents who might consider paying good money for second-hand equipment are vanishing quickly.

dncornholio 5y ago

Leasing and/or renting: Fine. But making a monopoly on providing parts and services is not a good thing. People end up paying 2000 dollar for a 2 dollar repair. Imagine the world when buying a new car/truck/tractor is less expensive than replacing the brakes for example. This is how the world works right now.

basch 5y ago
>People end up paying 2000 dollar for a 2 dollar repair. That's the entire world economy. Have you watched Shark Tank? "What do you sell it for and what is your landed price." Mark is smiling and clapping at the people who manage to sell a $2 part for $100, the bigger the ripoff the more he loves it, they've achieved the American Dream. The reality in the Apple/John Deer situation is that the profit is going back into overfunding design to also make better products. Not all of it, but enough to keep a persistent edge over competitors.
- TaylorAlexander 5y ago
  Paying $2000 when you could pay $2 is how much of the economy operates but personally I think situations like that, often under the umbrella of “rent seeking behavior”, are actually harmful to society.