CropWeek 2010 - What is Important to You When Purchasing a Combine?

by

Buying a combine has become a much larger decision than in the past.  Combines are a piece of equipment that you use only in the fall but are incredibly important to getting the crop in the bin.  Like most pieces of machinery they have become more sophisticated although the threshing concept is still based on many of the same parameters that were used back in our grandfathers time.  What is interesting is that the sophistication of the combine has achieved in making the operators job much more enjoyable and accurate.  We can now change all settings from the cab, have auto steer and fully understand the full workings of the machine by what the monitors say.  Machines still plug up but the reality is that you know longer need to crawl into the back of the machine to change the sieve settings when your dad says your dropping to much grain every hour.

I asked Jeff Just from CASE about what are a couple of the considerations a farmer need to think about when buying a new combine.  We chatted about rotary versus conventional and what is the right size of machine for your farm.

Check out the Cropweek Tweets

Check out the CropWeek Photos

Whether you live in Tennessee, Montana, or Ontario combines are really what define farms within the farming community.  “What colour do you drive” is a question for many that is taken quite seriously.  I guess lawyers are defined by the car they drive or the suits they wear but farmers are defined by the color and size of the combine they harvest with.

What do you think is the most important criteria when purchasing a new combine on your farm?  Is colour that important?  Have you ever bought a machine that was way to big for your operation but you just needed the biggest to impress your neighbours?  Do all the manufactures have great products and it really comes down to the service reputation of your local dealership?  Let us know!!!

Wake up with RealAgriculture

Subscribe to our daily newsletters to keep you up-to-date with our latest coverage every morning.

Wake up with RealAgriculture

Please register to read and comment.

 

Register for a RealAgriculture account to manage your Shortcut menu instead of the default.

Register