why trade so much

[bigbull338]

i guess im an old farmer that dont beleive in trading tractors every few years.i live by you buy tractors an equipment when you have to.so i was wondering why every1 trades tractors every 5yrs or so.is it because you can have new write offs every 5yrs.

 

[TripleR]

I guess it depend a lot on what type of tractor as well as how many hours you put on and what you do.

We tend to keep our tractors for quite a while, but we don't depend on them for our living and don't put a lot of hours on them. I also tend to get attached to them. Our grand kids will still be using our M8540 long after we are gone. Our 5030 is eight years old and I may replace it some day, but we still use tractors made in the 50's, 60's and 80's on one farm.

The family that farms our land use to keep their tractors until they wore completely out, but now trade every few years as a break down during harvest or spring planting can be really costly due to delays in getting a repair truck out into the field. Now they still keep their utility tractors a long time, just not the ones they use for production.

Some people just like new things and tractors are a hobby for them, so I can see why some trade, but I suspect some look at tractors the same as cars and trucks and really don't appreciate how long they can last.

My brother has never owned a new tractor in his life and probably never will.

Now mind you, I may buy an additional tractor.:laughing:

 

[bp fick]

Most of the guys here are not farmers. They'll trade off their tractors like they would a truck, a boat or motorcycle. It's no big deal.

Back when a guy bought a little Farmall to work his tobacco patch, his needs didn't change for 20 years and there was no point in changing. We ran this Massy in our produce fields for 25 years. There was no reason to make a change.

It's a new day.

 

[bigbull338]

well im with your brother to some extent,we only bought 2 new tractors in 33yrs.an i beleive in running the wheels off of them.we have bought 5 used tractors over the years.an only have 1 of those left that wont be sold.if my nephew keeps loving tractors i may have to buy a cab tractor with a buddy seat so i can let him ride with me.

 

[tessiers]

I'm gonna trade my Farmall H just as soon as they make a better tractor. They got some good engineers workin' on it so I keep hopein'. Unitl then she'll have to keep workin for a living.

I've gotta admit I also have a 2005 JD 790 that is a pretty good tractor, the small tractors today just ain't made for field work.

 

[TripleR]

well im with your brother to some extent,we only bought 2 new tractors in 33yrs.an i beleive in running the wheels off of them.we have bought 5 used tractors over the years.an only have 1 of those left that wont be sold.if my nephew keeps loving tractors i may have to buy a cab tractor with a buddy seat so i can let him ride with me.

We had a buddy seat rigged up in our cabbed Case CX80 my son used for his kids, they just loved it. The cab on our 8540 isn't quite wide enough for one; he sure misses it.

 

[TripleR]

Most of the guys here are not farmers. They'll trade off their tractors like they would a truck, a boat or motorcycle. It's no big deal.

Back when a guy bought a little Farmall to work his tobacco patch, his needs didn't change for 20 years and there was no point in changing. We ran this Massy in our produce fields for 25 years. There was no reason to make a change.

It's a new day.

That sure is a great picture.

 

[DAY]

his needs didn't change for 20 years
And I guess the way he got the job done didn't change either. A moldboard plow will still git 'er done, so why buy new, when the shares ain't worn down?

Henry Ford built cars to do a job, and didn't change them from year to year. Then Madison Avenue whispered in our ears , "Newer! Better! Have the latest!", and our cars became fashion items. Keep up with the Joneses.

CUTs have followed this marketing scheme; they realize that most of us deep down consider them toys, not tools, although it will take a few beers- and NO wimmen folks in earshot- to admit it.:laughing:

As for changes in farming; now we GPS in the air conditioned cab, hybrid seed, and satellite mapping of our soils. Because farming is business!

 

[bp fick]

That sure is a great picture.

Thanks TripleR, btw, that's me, on left, on my very own Massey.

Produce farming is in my blood, I guess. Almost 57 years after that photo was shot, I'm still at it. Changes? Far fewer than one would think. 90% of the stuff I do as we always have. There's almost nothing I'm doing today that I couldn't still do with that Massey just as well. Well, accept for one huge thing!!!

That big old bucket I can stick to the front end of the 'Bota. Oh yeah, .....and one more thing!!!! Power steering. :thumbsup:
That alone is worth every penny of a modern tractor.

 

[Grandad4]

Contract harvesting outfits replace their combines every season or every other season at, what, $200,000+ each. There's a tax advantage in depreciating the equipment quickly and they don't have to take quite so much chance of downtime vs. older equipment. That makes business sense; if you're a really big farming operation, you probably also do that with other big ticket items, like tractors, spray rigs, planters, etc.

If you're not farming on such a grand scale, though, it's hard to see how frequent trades pay off. And for rank amateurs like me, the distinction between "needing" a new tractor vs. "wanting" a new one gets kind of fuzzy.

 

[ultrarunner]

One reason is they are being regulated out of existence in places like CA...

If you are in business and your equipment doesn't meet the State requirements... you are out of business...

Covers most equipment that runs on Diesel...

Know a guy that is always trading used equipment... it has turned out into a profitable sideline for him...

 

[Soundguy]

i buy stuff to keep usually. only in rare instances have i traded..

soundguy

 

[TripleR]

Thanks TripleR, btw, that's me, on left, on my very own Massey.

Produce farming is in my blood, I guess. Almost 57 years after that photo was shot, I'm still at it. Changes? Far fewer than one would think. 90% of the stuff I do as we always have. There's almost nothing I'm doing today that I couldn't still do with that Massey just as well. Well, accept for one huge thing!!!

That big old bucket I can stick to the front end of the 'Bota. Oh yeah, .....and one more thing!!!! Power steering. :thumbsup:
That alone is worth every penny of a modern tractor.

There isn't much produce farming in my area as it seems no one really wants to "work" anymore. We were row crop farmers with some cattle, but we had a pretty good sized garden that helped feed us. We didn't use chemicals, so we all spent a fair amount of time using a hoe, weed hook, Kaiser Blade, Brier Scythe etc.

My dad traded two old N Models in on a brand new 1955 Ford 600 that we still have. Prior to getting the N Models which were bought used, dad farmed with Mules and raised them though I was a wee small tyke then.

I had to give up driving the Fords a couple of years ago, I still drive with my thumbs outside the steering wheel.:laughing:

Power steering and FEL.:thumbsup::thumbsup:

 

[JoeinTX]

"Most of the guys here are not farmers. They'll trade off their tractors like they would a truck, a boat or motorcycle. It's no big deal...."

That's the impression I've gotten and I see it most in the new-to-tractor-buying posters who seem to look at buying their "new" tractor just like they would a vehicle. It would seem that, like another mentioned above, that many of these don't realize the inherent life built into a tractor as compared to the average vehicle.

But I think we also see people who have misjudged or skimped on their original buy, later regret it, and now look to trade into what they really wanted all along........bigger, cab, loader, etc.

 

[fredhargis]

"Most of the guys here are not farmers. They'll trade off their tractors like they would a truck, a boat or motorcycle. It's no big deal...."

That's the impression I've gotten and I see it most in the new-to-tractor-buying posters who seem to look at buying their "new" tractor just like they would a vehicle. It would seem that, like another mentioned above, that many of these don't realize the inherent life built into a tractor as compared to the average vehicle.

But I think we also see people who have misjudged or skimped on their original buy, later regret it, and now look to trade into what they really wanted all along........bigger, cab, loader, etc.

I would agree with that, I think one thing that is happening is that so many people now have tractors that would not have and them in earlier years (like me). They have become a status symbol for those who have larger yards; the Wall Street Journal had a story about that maybe a year or so ago. Some of those folks change their cars every 3 +/- years for reasons only God understands, and I suspect some are doing that with their tractors as well. I won't be swapping tractors routinely, too expensive and I have better uses for that money. But if I did swap, I'd never trade in the old one...that makes an expensive transaction even more so. I'll take that back, there might be a few specific reasons I'd trade (problems with the old tractor) but they are very few. At age 63, I think in my life I've traded in a car/truck maybe 3 times.

 

[Grandad4]

For some people, always having the newest and most expensive of everything is a status symbol. Shows you've got enough dough to waste it and not care, I guess. That wouldn't impress very many of the real farmers I grew up with.

 

[WilliamBos]

Some simply cannot afford the down time. I know of Dairy farmers, that trade mixer tractors every 7 years or so. At 1200-1500 hours per year, once they get close to 10,000 hours, time to trade. Since the cows pay the bills, taking care of them is important.

A 30 - 40 year old tractor with only 3-4000 hours on it cannot be compared to a newer tractor that has 10,000 hours on it. Both may of been trouble free, but one spent more time sitting in a shed. Not a fair comparison at all.

We traded up to cast iron, a cab, and Powershuttle. It will be around for years.

 

[Soundguy]

For some people, always having the newest and most expensive of .

Wow.. I got it all wrong. I got the oldest and cheapest..

soundguy

 

[WilliamBos]

Wow.. I got it all wrong. I got the oldest and cheapest..

soundguy

And being payment free is great too, eh??

 

[aebsmithcreek]

That's the impression I've gotten and I see it most in the new-to-tractor-buying posters who seem to look at buying their "new" tractor just like they would a vehicle. It would seem that, like another mentioned above, that many of these don't realize the inherent life built into a tractor as compared to the average vehicle.

But I think we also see people who have misjudged or skimped on their original buy, later regret it, and now look to trade into what they really wanted all along........bigger, cab, loader, etc.

this is the catagory i fal into....kinda. i have 5 acres of florida river bottom flat land and use of 5 more that belongs to my neighbor and best freind since 1975 or so. i have been needing a tractor since i bought this land but couldnt afford it til last year. i have been doing everything with riding mowers and having to replace them every year to 18 months depending on brand, the exception being troy built, ive been using it for about 4 years now, its been a tough machine. this land is classic florida, thick enough you cant walk through it, gall berry, bay trees and palmetto so i needed to get it cleared, that means tractor...4wd tractor. i know very little about tractors so i asked questions of everybody i could think of and then went lookin at new and used. i decided on the 5105 used mfwd because it was plenty big for the terrain i needed to get walked down and would pull the implements i wanted and never know they are there, i looked at smaller tractors and actually prefered something around 30 to 40 horse but they was scarce and priced high, big demand i guess. now for the difference. the land clearing is done and the 5105 is kinda big for 21/2 or 3 acres of row crops so i was considering selling or trading down to a smaller tractor even though i love the ability of the 5105 for pushing and diggin around lighter stumps that need gettin up. after going back and forth for months what i came up with is i am gonna keep the 5105 and rearrange the crops to get the rows 5 or 6 hundred feet long, right now our longest rows are 175 feet, thats a lot of turning around at the end of every row. i still want a smaller tractor for the plowin, cultivating etc' but i'll wait until i can afford another one without sacraficing the 5105. i am not a trader because your giving your old one away, thats why i got a delapidated old 92 f150 i'll probably never drive again but i sure wasnt gonna give it to a dealer when it can sit here for free. i guess its kinda like my best freind who ive known for all these years, the thought of it not bein there just aint a pleasent one,