Rent or to Buy Farm Machinery?
A few decades ago, farming seemed like a simple job. World hunger was a fairly unknown problem and farmers were able to produce enough food to feed the entire global population. Due to the rapid increase in population, the situation has drastically changed. Today, world hunger is affecting 815 million people, which is 11% of the global population. Besides that, climate change is seriously affecting natural resources, thus interrupting the process of food production. Faced with the world's most pressing problems, farmers are challenged to produce more food with fewer resources. This is the point where a simple crop production turns into a complex business that requires efficient and sustainable farm management. In order to be productive, profitable, and at the same time sustainable, farmers have to carefully manage even the slightest detail in crop production. This also includes making big farm management decisions; for instance, whether to rent or purchase farm machinery, production facilities, farming implements, and other types of farm equipment that require serious investments. Adequate Machinery Is Half of the Work Farming is not an ordinary job. It's a way of life. However, farming requires a lot of sweat and hard work. For this reason, adequate farm machinery and equipment significantly facilitate every farm practice. Today, farmers can use various machinery, production facilities, farming implements, and many other types of equipment, during the entire farm season; for instance: Soil preparation; plows, discs, and harrows Sowing or planting; sowing or planting machines Crop protection; agricultural sprayers Crop nutrient management; fertilizer spreaders Crop maintenance; mowers, soil cultivators, irrigation system, protection nets, hail protection technology Crop and field monitoring; weather stations, yield mapping, sensors, drones, satellite imagery Harvest; harvesters and combines Post-harvest management; machines for hay raking, packing machines, storage and processing facilities, transport equipment Since all of this costs a lot, purchasing farm equipment is a serious commitment of capital, which can have a major impact on a farmer's business. In some cases, it's safer to rent farm machinery than to risk high and long-term investments. However, both purchasing and renting have their own advantages