Equipment is vital in the start of a farming business, so what tools do I need on my farm?
Running a business is all about experience in your field, because the better you are at your trade, the smoother your business will run overall. However, there are a few different fields associated with business management, mainly in advertising and financing, and knowing how to handle them with little to no issue is important.
Farming is one such business where, with a few seasons under your belt, you’ll become a professional in no time and know exactly how to get the most out of a harvest. However, in order to run a farm yourself, you need equipment, workers, crops, and more, and that all depends on your financial state.
Most businesses that are just starting depend entirely on the business owner’s initial capital, so spending is tight, but you still want to get the best possible setup for your farm. No matter how good you are at your trade, there are limitations in the sense that you have to pass down the work to your employees and trust that your equipment will get the job done.
That’s why many business owners want to know not only what tools do I need on my farm, but the most effective way to get them.
What Tools do I need on my Farm?
To answer the question of what tools do I need on my farm, first you need to know what kind of farm you are running exactly. There are quite a few, from truck farms to orchards to vineyards and plantations, but they all boil down to one thing: product.
No matter what type of farm you are running, it all depends on the crop you’re growing: you’ll have a different setup if you’re producing dairy and poultry from a dairy farm versus a sugar plantation. Generally, farming involves some kind of crop, so taking a look at the farming process helps you get a sense of what you’ll need, although some farms like lumber farms do run things a little differently.
The first step is getting the land ready for planting, which involves cultivating and plowing, so equipment like cultivators, harrows, tillers, and plows are most likely needed. Next, you plant the crops, and in this case you will most likely need some kind of seeder or planter to uniformly lay out your crop, and you may need a mulch layer as well.
The majority of farming is maintaining your crops while they grow, and normally this involves hardware like irrigation systems, fertilizer spreaders, pest control equipment, tractor equipment, and more, depending on your need. The final step is harvesting, and this is mainly dependent on transportation and harvesters so you can uproot your newly grown crops and transport them to your respective storage system.
Should I Purchase my Farm Equipment?
Many business owners will attempt to purchase everything they need simply because they want the best equipment, even if it means most of their initial capital is gone. However, purchasing may not always be the best option, especially in the long term.
While it is convenient to purchase some of your smaller supplies that aren’t as important or serve one job, paying for heavy duty equipment you’ll be using quite a bit may not be so helpful. With purchasing, repairs will always be necessary eventually, meaning you’ll pay to buy the equipment, and then in a few short harvests, you’ll have to make those payments all over again to repair/replace the equipment.
Considering you don’t know if you’ll be able to handle paying to replace all of that hardware within a few years, it’s best not to overuse your capital on purchasing equipment.
Leasing my Farm Equipment
Leasing, on the other hand, will allow you to pay flat, monthly rates to get all of the equipment you could need loaned out to your business, meaning you could get the farm hardware you need every season without having to pay in large chunks. This means your capital is freed up and you can spend more on your crop, your workers, your land, and any other expenses you have.
With leasing, responsibility for equipment is removed from the equation because equipment that needs to be repaired or replaced is done so without you having to pay the full price for the hardware all over again. Many business owners try to determine what tools do I need on my farm and how can I get them without overspending, and leasing is the answer.
As long as you get a lease that suits your business as far as contract period, a lease can be a huge boost for your company in the long run. To learn more about leasing your farm equipment, click here.