Farmers who don’t know if it would make better economic sense to trade
in their tractor or stick with what they have can use an on-line
machinery calculator to help them make the decision.
“It’s a decision tool, it’s a management tool,” said Rick Atkins with
Alberta Agriculture’s engineering services.
Being able to manage equipment costs is one of the few factors farmers
can control, Atkins said.
When farmers enter information about a tractor, baler, swather, combine
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or truck into the cost calculator, they can quickly change scenarios to
help them make the best decision.
“You can do a lot of what ifs.”
He said most producers know fixed costs have the biggest impact on
their bottom line, but the only way to reduce fixed costs is to lower
the purchase price, not buy equipment or produce more with it. Many
farmers don’t fully analyze these options, he said.
“The first step in managing equipment costs is to get a clear,
objective measure of the options,” said Atkins of the department’s Ag
Tech Centre.
Using equipment productively for more hours a year is the best way to
reduce fixed costs. Using those hours more efficiently over the years
can make a significant different in reducing fixed costs.
Sometimes changing farming systems to lower operating systems can
actually lower equipment use and in the process, increase per acre
fixed costs, he said. The switch to direct seeding has reduced annual
operating hours of a large tractor by more than half.
The on-line cost calculator, on Alberta Agriculture’s website, was
developed from a previously developed paper manual. Farmers that have
used the cost calculator have found it helpful, he added.
“They’ve found it very helpful to figuring out those things. They got
an appreciation of where the costs are occurring.”
