Birkey’s Farm Store, a 17-store Case IH dealership with locations in Illinois and Indiana, announced Jan. 6, 2022, it had become 100% employee-owned as part of an Employee Stock Ownership Plan, otherwise known as an ESOP. 

If you asked your customers their equipment cost per acre, would they have an answer for you? Some might have a general idea of what their principal and interest payments are annually and could arrive at a per acre cost. But would that include key factors like depreciation, inflation and appreciation in equipment costs over the lifetime of the equipment fleet? Most likely, no.

“If I believed everything the dealer, salesman and retail companies told me I’d be raising 800-bushel corn!” I’ve heard similar statements across the U.S. and Canada with different crops, products and value-added sales pitches.

The airline industry rolls out new airplanes with an anticipated life expectancy. Some aircraft are designed for 15-20 years of heavy use, while others are designed for much longer periods of time; 80-100 years. This evaluation is made based on estimated miles, conditions, environments, and specific uses. Why then, do we do such a poor job of handling our farm equipment the same way?