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How to evaluate farm machinery costs

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Which are the cost items related to agricultural machinery? Price, operating costs, fuel, insurance, taxes and so on. So, how to evaluate them and turning them into a real investment? Let’s discover it together!

Dear readers, who better than you could tell us which are the cost items in relation to purchasing and maintaining agricultural machinery? Many are the factors that need to be considered: purchasing price, operating costs, fuel, insurance, taxes and so on. So, how to evaluate and manage these expenses, turning them into a real investment? Let’s discover it together!

Business basics: amortization

Don’t worry about the initial price of a new piece of machinery. Instead, evaluate its amortization over time, spreading the cost along the number of years you expect to use it. In other words, you reconsider its value year after year.

TCO: Total Cost of Ownership

It’s really interesting to notice how consumers are taking the TCO (Total Cost of Ownership) more and more into account when weighing up a new purchase. They actually assess the total amount of investment by calculating the costs of the entire product life-cycle, i.e. purchase cost, fuel, maintenance, insurance, repairs – not the initial cost only. Assessing the TCO of your farming machinery will help you managing finance.

Maintenance and after-sales service

We shouldn’t forget about maintenance and technical assistance. Every piece of machinery may need repairs or technical assistance. These operations obviously have an effect on total costs.

Yet, the relationship between manufacturer and user doesn’t end at the moment of sale: more and more frequently, the former is providing routine maintenance service including the supply of fairly priced spare parts and on-site assistance in case of breakdown. Think about it and you’ll agree, that’s a great advantage for your company!

Fuel economy

Fueling a tractor isn’t a matter one can ignore. Reducing fuel consumption is every farmer’s dream. Today’s cutting-edge agricultural equipment is able to reduce fuel consumption on the one hand and to increase productivity on the other hand. A considerable economic benefit, compared to a few years ago!

We should also keep in mind the importance of tires. As you might know, some agricultural tires are specially designed to reduce rolling resistance, which turns into considerable savings on fuel costs. Our top-of-the-range products, Agrimax Force and Agrimax Sirio, have been engineered for cutting-edge tractors. Both tires feature a special tread with a wide contact area providing a uniform footprint along with reduced rolling resistance. The result is lower fuel consumption, a minor environmental impact, reduced operating costs – all factors that improve your farm’s efficiency.

Taking all these cost items into account, you can more accurately evaluate and manage your equipment costs, optimizing your expenses and increasing your farm’s productivity. 

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