Investing in Machinery & Equipment Mini-Course

In recent years, machinery costs have crept up and now rank among the biggest cost items on farms. They often fluctuate significantly even between farms in the same region because farmers have a wide range of options in managing their machinery portfolios. In past years, with high commodity prices and good margins, it was relatively easy to finance machinery, wants sometimes surpassed needs, and detailed financial analysis was only sparsely performed. As the outlook for commodity markets is currently less optimistic, many farmers are rethinking their equipment strategy to reduce and debt service commitments as well as to preserve working capital, so they can take advantage of the opportunities ahead.