Boosting uptime is one of the constant battles agricultural workers face. Every day, a new challenge threatens productivity, primarily due to equipment issues. Whether it is scheduled maintenance or an unexpected shutdown, it should always be the goal to reduce equipment downtime in any way possible. These are the best tips and tools to use to enhance productivity across the property.
1. Stop Sidewall Compaction and Improve Closing
Furrows are finicky and require significant upkeep to prevent monumental damage to flourishing seeds. Luckily, there are several ways the trench can prevent plants from emerging or hinder their healthy growth cycles.
Typically, stock closing wheels are the go-to attachment for encouraging crops to sprout uniformly. However, some models are unable to accommodate certain soils or conditions as effectively. Switching conventional wheels to spiked alternatives improves the chances of closing, as they can manipulate more types of soil, including highly moist ground.
2. Eliminate Gauge Wheel Slop and Maintain Consistent Depth
With enough wear and tear, gauge wheels will start to wobble. This is typically an issue with bearings, bushings, or pivots, which inevitably degrade over time due to excessive use. If they have too much play, they are unable to provide consistent control over plant depth. Seeds may not germinate as well, which can disrupt emergence.
Though farmers create downtime by reviewing machinery for gauge wheel slop and undergoing maintenance, the time investment will eliminate further downtime down the road. Sometimes, it may even be necessary to replace or rebuild the most commonly worn parts, such as the arm.
3. Protect Your Seed’s Path
Seed tubes are vital for accelerating the planting process, but they are under constant stress. If they go too long without maintenance or replacement, it could lead to seeds being scattered in areas outside the planting area, resulting in wasted time and potential output. Sloppy seed distribution could also influence the growth of nearby crops, making this essential to curb.
Many people use supplements like seed tube guards made from alloys because they are more durable. It keeps seed drops more consistent for a longer period.
4. Guarantee Seed-to-Soil Contact
Most equipment moves or alters the soil in some fashion, with the hopes of closing any air pockets to create the best home for seeds. Ensuring every plant has ideal seed-to-seed contact is impossible, especially over hundreds of acres. Workers could spend a considerable amount of time trying to determine why some furrows have more openings than others, often blaming it on one mechanism or another.
Alternatively, farmers can reduce equipment downtime by installing a peripheral device, such as a seed firmer, which tamps down the soil and removes some pockets without damaging the seedlings. Doing so helps the ground retain moisture more effectively, nourishing crops with the right amount of water.
5. Get Ahead of Opener Disc Wear
Digging trenches is a significant waste of time if they are sloppy and lack proper angles. This could occur because the opener disc did not receive enough attention, leading to more downtime in the long term. These components should receive replacements regularly.
Additionally, workers should keep them as sharp as possible throughout their life cycle. By scheduling this maintenance during regular equipment audits, farmers can ensure that furrows remain more reliable.
6. End Your In-Furrow Fertilizer Clogs
Fertilizer tubes are another common piece of farm equipment that breaks, clogs, or wears down. It is constantly distributing dense fertilizer. Regardless of whether it has chemicals or not, it still puts significant strain on the mechanism. Fertilizer can easily cause mud to accumulate to the point of tearing off tubes entirely.
Then, it requires manual intervention, where staff climb under the machine to distribute the mess. Investing in durable, high-quality fertilizer tubes can solve these issues and maintain the machine, tube, and fertilizer itself.
7. Automate Your Chain Tension
In tractors and combine harvesters, maintaining chain tension is crucial to ensuring the equipment lasts a long time while keeping operators safe. Slackness could cause injuries or poor performance, but constant use means the chain inevitably loses some of its tautness over time, causing significant downtime from incessant finagling.
Chain tensioners reduce equipment downtime by utilizing a spring-loaded component to perform the task automatically. Then, farmers have to remove the chains and deal with greasing the mechanism far less often.
8. Manage Residue Proactively
Debris and residue from the ground bog down every piece of farming equipment, whether it be leftover fertilizer or compost or lubricants that dripped off machinery. Any residue accumulating on equipment will eventually enter or pollute areas of the farm where it should not, such as seedbeds or animal feeding areas.
Cleaning buildup is key to keeping the machine running smoothly and preventing it from gumming up. Workers can take care of some of this by installing a row cleaner, which helps prepare trenches for openers. Doing so will preserve parts like gauge wheels from excessive wear.
9. Build an Inventory of Critical Spares
Some equipment downtime occurs due to recurring maintenance, while other instances may result in more significant losses. A part can unexpectedly break, or a tractor can shut down, taking a long time to diagnose the problem, even before worrying about getting replacement parts.
Production comes to a halt if the farm lacks the necessary part for a critical machine. Investing in a library of backup parts could save weeks of time by having them readily available in storage. This also minimizes headaches related to supply chain concerns. Anticipating the part will fail eventually and acquiring it early is the best way to shorten repair times later.
It is equally important not to stock too many parts ahead of time, as environmentally sensitive materials—such as plastics in heat or metals in moisture—can degrade over time. Farmers prevent additional downtime by storing spare parts correctly and ordering consciously.
10. Keep Your Coulters Cutting Clean
Coulters are crucial for making ploughshares work more effectively, especially on farms attempting to reduce soil disturbance. All coulters eventually dull beyond the point of repair or sharpening, which makes the attachment use more fuel and resources to work properly. Eventually, it compromises performance entirely, leaving smeared soil in its path. Having several replacement blades on hand can make operations more consistent and help prioritize soil health.
The Best Companies Providing Tools to Reduce Equipment Downtime
If workers need to acquire more reliable, durable equipment before the busy season, these options deliver a quality that reduces maintenance needs by default.
1. Barndoor Ag
Barndoor Ag has a wide catalogue of parts that could solve each of these downtime concerns. From seed tube guards to stock closing wheels, it has everything. This option values service and speed, promising fast and free shipping, as well as easy acquisition for all farmers and ranchers.
Each of its offerings enables precision agriculture, especially since it stocks only the most reputable brands in the business. These include John Blue, Banjo, and Hypro, among others. Barndoor Ag’s digital-first approach makes it a leader in the agricultural e-commerce space. Pair this alongside an incomparable support team, and farms will have the smoothest parts acquisition experience of their lives.
2. RelaDyne
RelaDyne takes a different approach with its products, helping farmers boost uptime. It mostly stocks fuels and lubricants, but it also offers value-added services like maintenance and cleaning. These include tank decontamination, chemical flushing, equipment installation, and more.
The brand is nationally recognized, having developed a positive reputation for its deep industry expertise and constantly evolving reliability services. Its blend of on-site support with product distribution provides a wonderful balance of resources for farms of all types.
3. Western Equipment
Western Equipment has been around for over a century, operating out of several states, including Texas, New Mexico, and Oklahoma. Its strong relationship with John Deere contributes to its wide coverage area.
For farmers who have brand loyalty but also want access to a range of other services, Western Equipment has them covered. Its experience shows through its personalized support, which helps with acquiring and operating new and used equipment. There are also frequent promotions to make downtime prevention an affordable part of operations.
4. RangeLine Group
RangeLine Group out of Webster, New York, has one of the largest presences of any agricultural equipment distributor. Its stock of replacement parts is immense, and consumers can tell it comes from a dedication to improving the sector. The entity stocks everything from tillage equipment to hay tools, showing its commitment to being a one-stop shop for efficiency improvements.
Its mission is to improve uptime for its customers while making products as cost-effective as possible. Everything is ready to ship, so there is no wait.
5. Kibble Equipment
Kibble Equipment is another John Deere-certified dealer throughout the Midwest. Its uniqueness stems from its location, as it offers profound knowledge about the specific region’s weather and its impact on farmers’ machinery. The team has insights for every season for this area.
Alongside parts, Kibble Equipment offers services including inspections, maintenance checklists, and winterization for more comprehensive coverage. Its professionals accomplish this with a transparent pricing structure, eliminating the confusion that is common in the industry.
6. Zook Farm Equipment
Zook Farm Equipment has been operating out of Michigan since 1972. Having always been a family-owned business, it has a valuable perspective other companies of this nature lack. Its team has a personability that builds meaningful relationships with customers.
Its specialty is grain handling and equipment preparation, especially with pre- and post-season reviews. It also offers troubleshooting and installation services to try and minimize downtime from every stage of the equipment’s life cycle.
7. Graco Inc.
Graco Inc. has been in the business for over 100 years, specializing in fluid handling services. Its agricultural equipment maintenance solutions promise heightened farm safety and productivity.
Some of its expertise includes fuel refills, optimizing lubrication systems, and enabling lubrication for autonomous machinery. While Graco has a more narrow focus than other providers, it still offers a priceless downtime-reducing service that many farmers would appreciate delegating to experts.
8. CFAB Global
CFAB Global primarily stocks aftermarket parts, making it easier for farmers to acquire what they need without the long lead times for OEM machinery. Its unique selling proposition is its Machine Reliability Program, which provides buyers with a customized maintenance service to help all equipment achieve a longer lifespan.
This provider is U.S.-based, but it has a global reach. Its international experience has enabled it to optimize its custom engineering.
How to Choose Which Company Is Best for You
Farmers can take several approaches to determine which outlet would be most helpful. Here are a few criteria they may find important:
- Number of brands the company supports or supplies
- Coverage area and availability of on-site services
- Customization options, especially with OEM parts
- Specialization and its relevance to common pain points
- Digital-first, innovative approach
- Fast shipping with a large inventory
- Personalized customer service with extensive industry knowledge
However, making a final decision can also come down to the unique value proposition of each business. Some of these providers have decades of experience, while others are newer but have more profound knowledge of a specific niche. All farms face different problems, but many share similar woes when it comes to downtime associated with their most frequently used machinery.
Uptime, All the Time
To reduce equipment downtime, staff have to pay attention to every aspect of their essential planting tools before the season begins. Doing so will ensure every furrow is perfectly crafted, leaving enough room for seeds to nestle into their new homes, which increases the chances of healthy growth. Agricultural experts who experience pain points every year related to these concerns should invest in better tools to make the planting months more celebratory and seamless, thereby making the harvest all the more enjoyable.