I Need Help With Selecting The Right Equipment

[Gnos]

Hello,

I am getting ready to start a farming business in a tropical environment to grow yams (vegetables that grow under the grown in the form of tubes), with the same size as pineapple, but much taller, and sometimes wider. The soil where they are planted must be fluffed, as the tube can grow from 12 to 18 inches underground. Each plant will occupy 1 square meter of space between plants, and the rows are also about 1 meter apart.

With the minimal capital available, I would like to get a tractor and the necessary attachments for preparing the soil, and forming rows of mounds where the crops will be planted.

I spoke with a few farm equipment manufacturers, and they recommended attachments such as [Till elevator, disc bedder, and rolling cultivator.] A manufacturer told me that some of these attachments would require tractors with 80 - 150 HP.

The lot size is unlimited, and the farming equipment will be moved around quite a bit.

Questions:
1. Are there alternatives for achieving the same results for soil preparation, crop planting, fertilizer administration, etc. at an economic cost (reduced cost)?

2. What type of tractor do I need? Would prefer a one from the gray market for the cost reduction aspect.

3. I would also need irrigation equipment, as most of the area depends heavily on the rainfall for growing crops. My intent is not to depend on the rainfall.

4. My budget is really limited, how much money do you think I would need to budget for this project?


I have inscribed a few URLs for you to see the type of equipment I was talked into, but they are way over my budget.

For the Disc Bedder
www.bighambrothers.com/discbedr.htm

For the RowTill Ripper:
www.bighambrothers.com/rowtill.htm

For Rolling Cultivator:
www.bighambrothers.com/6400.htm


Please help!!

 

[RonR]

I can't tell from your post how big your acreage will be. The links suggest that you are talking large scale (100HP and 20 foot implements).

Unfortunately, buying a smaller sized tractor and implements NEW won't save you much cash and will take longer to work the ground. Your only option to save cash would be to buy used equipment.

I'm not in the tropics, but around here, you couldn't plant enough vegetables to sell and pay off new equipment.

Also, if this really is your main business, you want a very reliable tractor--you won't be able to stand to have it down for maintenance when the veggies need tending.

Ron

 

[btolle]

I could be wrong, but:

What happens if the tractor breaks down in the middle of planting or harvesting season and it takes 6 weeks to get the parts to get it running again?

Dealer support and parts availability would be the #1 criteria if I was farming for a living. Saving 10% or even 30% on equipment would be useless if the equipment was not ready to go when the crop is ready to be harvested.

I would want a dealer who has rental tractors available in case of a major breakdown in the middle of planting/harvest season. Mother Nature does not wait for parts or for me to get ready. When she is ready, I (and my equipment) had better be ready or I might lose an entire years crop.

If the budget is tight I would look for used (but in good condition) and/or rental equipment to reduce the expense.

Another alternative is to look to other farmers in the area and see if they would do some of the work for you under contract. Not only would that save you from having to buy all the equipment the first year but watching them and learning from them would be invaluable experience.

Having been in business for myself for 25 years I can tell you that one of the biggest causes of business failures is under-capitalization.

I have been in several different businesses in that time and I always had a business plan before I started. I always tried to UNDERestimate the income and OVERestimate the expenses and be sure I could succeed in those circumstances.

I saw lots of folks who overestimated income and underestimated expenses and they came and went pretty quickly. They ran out of money and went out of business before the business had time to "turn the corner" to profitability.

My best guess if I were going to start farming is that I would plan on losing the first years crop entirely and still have the money to go for another year. Besides the weather, bugs, crop disease, etc., my inexperience in a new business would all be working against me for the first few years and I would take that into account before risking my life's savings on any business venture.

Bill Tolle

 

[btolle]

For an example of what I was talking about in planning on crop failure the first year see Louisiana Market Bulletin which talks about the problems the sweet potato farmers had in 2002 with wet weather. There is a picture of them harvesting and they have 2 tractors hitched together just to be able to get through the muddy fields.

"A number of observers are predicting that as many as 25 percent of potato farmers will get out of the business following 2002’s soaking rains which came hard on the heels of three drought years."

It can be a tough life out there on the farm and no farmer can control the weather.

Wonder how many crops were wiped out by the salt water in the tsunami this week?

Bill Tolle

 

[BarryinMN]

A greenhouse irrigation system runs about $1,000,000 per acre. A tractor would be a small expense in comparison. Other tips on validating your plan with current growers (the experts) & ability to carry the enterprise for an extended time are very real.

Have fun!