We grow hay to feed our beef cattle on about 100 acres +/- a bit. But all around us are plenty of farms growing small farm (under 500 acres) or row crops/beans etc.
We were having this very discussion today when picking up some hay to help us get through till spring with a guy that cuts about 500 acres of hay 3 times a year. He just keeps rebuilding his equipment rather than get sucked into the new stuff he can't work on.
This is becoming another huge issue that affects smaller farms more than it affects larger corporate type farms. When a piece of equipment goes down it's needed back in service in hours to days, not the potential weeks that hauling it to a repair depot can cause.
We were having this very discussion today when picking up some hay to help us get through till spring with a guy that cuts about 500 acres of hay 3 times a year. He just keeps rebuilding his equipment rather than get sucked into the new stuff he can't work on.
This is becoming another huge issue that affects smaller farms more than it affects larger corporate type farms. When a piece of equipment goes down it's needed back in service in hours to days, not the potential weeks that hauling it to a repair depot can cause.