Author Topic: a day in the life of a farm 2.0  (Read 19307 times)

Offline goodfellow

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Re: a day in the life of a farm 2.0
« Reply #15 on: April 29, 2019, 12:15:18 PM »
Harlan, here's an issue that I've been wondering about. It's been in the news and concerns the fact that farmers are fighting with the big equipment monopolies to get access to repair information. What's happening on that front, and are you affected by it in any major way?

For those not aware of the issue, see the linked articles below.

https://www.bloomberg.com/opinion/articles/2019-04-23/u-s-farmers-need-a-better-way-to-fix-their-tractors

https://www.wired.com/2015/02/new-high-tech-farm-equipment-nightmare-farmers/

There are some grassroots efforts on the legislative front to address the rights of farmers to fix their own equipment, but I haven't heard much lately.

If you feel this issue is inappropriate for this thread, feel free to move it into a separate section --

Offline skfarmer

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Re: a day in the life of a farm 2.0
« Reply #16 on: April 29, 2019, 12:21:04 PM »
Just as many openers to work on with an air seeder vs a conventional. And no air tubes to get plugged with dead, rotten mice. And no hyd leaks into seed tubes that take a fire hose to clean out. Things I wish I didn't know for $200 please.

Greyson


i have tossed around going to something different but as you said, they all have issues. they also seem to be more expensive to work on and require  a lot more monitoring equipment.

if i had to guess i covered about 25-30,000 acres since i last did this project. that puts my cost per acre at about 10-12 cents. pretty cheap in my book.
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Offline fatfillup

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Re: a day in the life of a farm 2.0
« Reply #17 on: April 29, 2019, 12:36:39 PM »
SK, glad you restarted this thread. 

As to the drill, if its getting the job done in a timely enough manner, and you know how to maintain and repair it, why would you change unless there is a big economic benefit.

My wife and I had the pleasure of visiting SK at the family homestead.  Couple of observations.  Real friendly, down home folks.  Proud of their state and hometown.  Good kids.  Well equipped shop.  Older equipment but well maintained and not beat up.  Well liked and respected in their community.  Chevy people ;D   Definitely flat landers :))  (said the guy who grew up among rolling hills)  Well maintained property.   Most of you already knew this about SK but might be a few newcomers who don't know him yet. 

GF, as to the Right to repair issues of the manufacturers, if that doesn't get sorted out, look for lots of small farmers to get bought up by the big ones. 

Offline skfarmer

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Re: a day in the life of a farm 2.0
« Reply #18 on: April 29, 2019, 12:43:09 PM »
Harlan, here's an issue that I've been wondering about. It's been in the news and concerns the fact that farmers are fighting with the big equipment monopolies to get access to repair information. What's happening on that front, and are you affected by it in any major way?

For those not aware of the issue, see the linked articles below.

https://www.bloomberg.com/opinion/articles/2019-04-23/u-s-farmers-need-a-better-way-to-fix-their-tractors

https://www.wired.com/2015/02/new-high-tech-farm-equipment-nightmare-farmers/

There are some grassroots efforts on the legislative front to address the rights of farmers to fix their own equipment, but I haven't heard much lately.

If you feel this issue is inappropriate for this thread, feel free to move it into a separate section --
no problem ray. i will gladly talk about it.

the problem is real.  i run a fairly low tech operation. not much stuff around here that i can't do without but it is becoming a real issue. any new tractor or combine is high tech, planting equipment has a lot and even tillage equipment is getting it. it all needs to communicate and work together and any little glitch can shut the whole thing down to a  dead stop.

just last week, the display on my 765b failed. i mean it worked one day and not the next. through that display, i see what gear the machine is in, ground speed and and it monitors almost every aspect of the machine. through it i set ground speed, engine speed, shift sequences, hydraulic flow, etc.

you do not want to know what it cost to replace it and  get it programmed to the tractor. it is available only through the dealer and there is no reman or aftermarket parts available. i was lucky that it would move yet and i was able to take it to the dealer to finish the repair and avoid a second service call.



phil, are those compliments or something else?  ;)
from the ashes shall rise a phoenix

i was here when the hangout turned into mexican food site!

Offline skfarmer

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Re: a day in the life of a farm 2.0
« Reply #19 on: April 29, 2019, 01:09:38 PM »


GF, as to the Right to repair issues of the manufacturers, if that doesn't get sorted out, look for lots of small farmers to get bought up by the big ones.

i am not sure if small farmers are the only ones getting pinched there.  downtime is downtime and it hurts  no matter how big or small. that is one reason that older equipment is holding its value. it is generally lower tech and  honestly can be fixed by anyone. it  requires no def, no regeneration and no computers with brand specific connectors and software to diagnose.

a bigger problem may be lack of equipment. i am finding it more difficult to find equipment that fits the size of my operation. used equipment usually comes from larger farms and is too big for smaller farms to use when it is traded in.
from the ashes shall rise a phoenix

i was here when the hangout turned into mexican food site!

Offline fatfillup

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Re: a day in the life of a farm 2.0
« Reply #20 on: April 29, 2019, 01:24:10 PM »
Haha, I assume you are referring to the Chevy and flatlander comments.  I was a Chevy guy until I bought a Ford last year, now I am still a Chevy guy who happens to drive a Ford.

As to the flatland, you know I have always been amazed at how flat your part of the world is.  I remember sitting in your backyard and you pointed out some dust clouds caused by folks harvesting and said they were 3 to 5 miles away.  In my area you are lucky to see more then a 1/2 mile unless you are on top of a hill and then you can just see to the next hill.



My comment about the big farms buying up the little ones was the bigger ones can better absorb the cost of repair and are more likely to have spare equipment to cover downtime.  I may be off base though.

Offline skfarmer

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Re: a day in the life of a farm 2.0
« Reply #21 on: May 05, 2019, 09:24:18 AM »
finally back in the field yesterday. i may or may not have said it before  but  i am usually in the field before the snow is gone in the road  ditch north of my yard. in fact i started over a week ago and as you can tell. quite a bit of snow actually.
from the ashes shall rise a phoenix

i was here when the hangout turned into mexican food site!

Offline skfarmer

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Re: a day in the life of a farm 2.0
« Reply #22 on: May 05, 2019, 09:32:43 AM »
spend a lot of time with this as my view, looking out the front of my 55. i really like running this old girl. its way over 20 years old but starts and runs better than much of my newer equipment.  yesterday she finished seeding my first field and largest field of wheat. took me over a week but its' done. i have another field worked and ready and another ready to work.
from the ashes shall rise a phoenix

i was here when the hangout turned into mexican food site!

Offline highland512

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Re: a day in the life of a farm 2.0
« Reply #23 on: May 06, 2019, 07:57:25 AM »


GF, as to the Right to repair issues of the manufacturers, if that doesn't get sorted out, look for lots of small farmers to get bought up by the big ones.

i am not sure if small farmers are the only ones getting pinched there.  downtime is downtime and it hurts  no matter how big or small. that is one reason that older equipment is holding its value. it is generally lower tech and  honestly can be fixed by anyone. it  requires no def, no regeneration and no computers with brand specific connectors and software to diagnose.

a bigger problem may be lack of equipment. i am finding it more difficult to find equipment that fits the size of my operation. used equipment usually comes from larger farms and is too big for smaller farms to use when it is traded in.

Ding ding!! 

Some of the 20-30 year old tractors in the 250-300 hp range are actually going up in price. Dad and I went to find some bigger hp a couple of years ago and I was very surprised in equipment prices. We wound up buying a 55 Cat like SK's that was pretty much trashed inside, after a summers full of work and $10,000 in parts we now have a very nice machine that has vastly improved productivity and we can work on it.

Offline highland512

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a day in the life of a farm 2.0
« Reply #24 on: May 06, 2019, 08:00:11 AM »

Done

New tracks this winter

When we brought it home. Most of the glass was out of it and the cab was in bad shape inside.
« Last Edit: May 06, 2019, 08:06:04 AM by highland512 »

Offline goodfellow

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Re: a day in the life of a farm 2.0
« Reply #25 on: May 06, 2019, 08:00:46 AM »


GF, as to the Right to repair issues of the manufacturers, if that doesn't get sorted out, look for lots of small farmers to get bought up by the big ones.

i am not sure if small farmers are the only ones getting pinched there.  downtime is downtime and it hurts  no matter how big or small. that is one reason that older equipment is holding its value. it is generally lower tech and  honestly can be fixed by anyone. it  requires no def, no regeneration and no computers with brand specific connectors and software to diagnose.

a bigger problem may be lack of equipment. i am finding it more difficult to find equipment that fits the size of my operation. used equipment usually comes from larger farms and is too big for smaller farms to use when it is traded in.

Ding ding!! 

Some of the 20-30 year old tractors in the 250-300 hp range are actually going up in price. Dad and I went to find some bigger hp a couple of years ago and I was very surprised in equipment prices. We wound up buying a 55 Cat like SK's that was pretty much trashed inside, after a summers full of work and $10,000 in parts we now have a very nice machine that has vastly improved productivity and we can work on it.

Highland -- Are they going up in price because of the fact that you can still work on them and don't have restrictions put on them by the manufacturers?

Offline highland512

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Re: a day in the life of a farm 2.0
« Reply #26 on: May 06, 2019, 08:19:34 AM »


GF, as to the Right to repair issues of the manufacturers, if that doesn't get sorted out, look for lots of small farmers to get bought up by the big ones.

i am not sure if small farmers are the only ones getting pinched there.  downtime is downtime and it hurts  no matter how big or small. that is one reason that older equipment is holding its value. it is generally lower tech and  honestly can be fixed by anyone. it  requires no def, no regeneration and no computers with brand specific connectors and software to diagnose.

a bigger problem may be lack of equipment. i am finding it more difficult to find equipment that fits the size of my operation. used equipment usually comes from larger farms and is too big for smaller farms to use when it is traded in.

Ding ding!! 

Some of the 20-30 year old tractors in the 250-300 hp range are actually going up in price. Dad and I went to find some bigger hp a couple of years ago and I was very surprised in equipment prices. We wound up buying a 55 Cat like SK's that was pretty much trashed inside, after a summers full of work and $10,000 in parts we now have a very nice machine that has vastly improved productivity and we can work on it.

Highland -- Are they going up in price because of the fact that you can still work on them and don't have restrictions put on them by the manufacturers?
Anyone can work on them at home, no DEF or other emission control systems that randomly require you to stop to allow the system to clean it's self, very wide selection of "cheap" parts, any tech or "jail braking" of tech has long since been figured out and is now very reliable, and the cost of initial purchase. For an operation of our size its really the only option, but even some of the large growers in our area have stopped buying new tractors, one has stopped buying red and green and has started buying AGCO yellow. Reason behind his decision is simple, $$, and the AGCO GPS system works with red and green.

Offline muddy

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Re: a day in the life of a farm 2.0
« Reply #27 on: May 06, 2019, 09:44:57 PM »
Anyone see what boxcar magnums and 50/55 series deeres are bringing lately!  :-\

Offline skfarmer

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Re: a day in the life of a farm 2.0
« Reply #28 on: May 06, 2019, 09:48:49 PM »
quit just before dark this evening. sometimes  a short walk in the evening, just taking in the shadows and the smell of the dirt is good.
from the ashes shall rise a phoenix

i was here when the hangout turned into mexican food site!

Offline skfarmer

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Re: a day in the life of a farm 2.0
« Reply #29 on: May 06, 2019, 09:52:29 PM »
a good sign when the trucks get empty and you have to refill the seed trucks.
from the ashes shall rise a phoenix

i was here when the hangout turned into mexican food site!