Farmers are looking for less technology

lugbolt

Well-known member

Equipment
ZG127S-54
Oct 15, 2015
4,807
1,575
113
Mid, South, USA
I am staying mostly out of this because I am no longer farmin. Only thing I'm doing now is going to the farm to fix their tractor and even that's fairly rare now.

Most of the larger farms here are Deere. Deere owns the market for ag tractors and large implements for them in this area. Kubota doesn't stand a chance since deere's been around (here) for like ever and then some.

Guy across the road here pulls hay from his 194 acres (house sits on 22, not included, but he mows it with a ZD1211). Still using an old non emissions 4440 Deere to pull a disc mower and then a 3150 to pull the baler (4x5 round). I've asked him about upgrading to newer more fuel efficient and quieter/nicer tractor but he ain't having it. Said he'll sell the farm before he fights with tier 4 stuff. Although most of the fleet is green, his mower and small tractor are both orange; the 1211 and then he's got an L2800 that I see once a year for servicing. Just did the 400 hour service on it last week and had no issues outside the ordinary (HST switch and pump inlet hose crack). Both cheap and easy.
 

bird dogger

Well-known member
Vendor Member

Equipment
Kubota B2650 and lots of other equipment
Feb 24, 2019
1,569
1,409
113
North Dakota
Reading this thread compelled me to go outside and brush the snow off to evaluate my twin cylinder Kubota forerunner! With a couple of scotch-brite pads and a gallon of Kubota orange it could be ready for the “new” pre tier 4 demand!! You can tell from the wheels that this is no lawn mower! This tractor would do well no matter what your produce or product is, whether it be sugar beets, tobacco, potatoes, peanuts, corn, logging, and even hay!! Guaranteed
to be pre Tier 4. In fact, it’s pre tier most everything!! :D

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Kurtee

Active member

Equipment
BX2660, BX2680 cab, JD 2032R, Honda 5518, JD X590, JD X739
Oct 3, 2013
303
98
28
Nicollet, mn
Nice pissing contest here. Just as a point of interest the same thing is going on in the transportation industry. The older trucks are being resurrected and run. Just cant go to California. I am thinking it is happening in the logging and construction industry also. These environmental rulings have cost people lots of money. Getting the emissions to where we are now took a learning curve. Who paid for the education? The end user, who else. Lots of dollars spent in the name of environmental issues. Where do you think it comes from?
 

Daren Todd

Well-known member
Lifetime Member

Equipment
Massey Ferguson 1825E, Kubota Z121S, Box blade, Rotary Cutter
May 18, 2014
8,961
4,326
113
Vilonia, Arkansas
Nice pissing contest here. Just as a point of interest the same thing is going on in the transportation industry. The older trucks are being resurrected and run. Just cant go to California. I am thinking it is happening in the logging and construction industry also. These environmental rulings have cost people lots of money. Getting the emissions to where we are now took a learning curve. Who paid for the education? The end user, who else. Lots of dollars spent in the name of environmental issues. Where do you think it comes from?
Quite a few contractors are renting larger equipment instead of buying. If it starts acting up, they call the rental company to take this one back and give them another one.

Sent from my SM-G965U using Tapatalk
 

JRaf

Member

Equipment
L245DT
Oct 15, 2019
47
6
8
Los Olivos CA
I think its possible that some people commenting are missing the larger point (and I think this widely distributed article misses it as well). The problem isn't the size of the tractor, or the farm or ranch or the amount of money the "farmer" makes, and it's not just that older tractors (of any size) are simpler, more repairable, and less reliant on complex systems... it's that John Deere is heavily opposed to "Right to Repair". They're system and engine software is completely locked down, no one other than a dealer can access it, change it, manipulate it any way. (Nevermind that their parts are often proprietary... and have no third party option.)
The modern John Deere company believes when you purchase a tractor, you don't purchase an item or a machine, you buy a right to use their device.
This approach to business didn't work for Apple (they now authorize repair and distribute parts to non-Apple repair shops) and I think most of us hope it won't work for tractor manufacturers.
BTW, I'm not sure Kubota doesn't have a similar POV regarding right to repair. I'm not sure their systems aren't just as locked down, but they're not as big or powerful as JD.
 

skeets

Well-known member

Equipment
BX 2360 /B2601
Oct 2, 2009
14,094
2,755
113
SW Pa
Kurtee the kid lives in Ca and has, I think 06 Dodge diesel 1 ton. They use to pull horse trailers and hay and well anything that need pulled. She had it in for service and had 5 offers to buy it on her answering machine, before she got home. SO yep seems lots of people are trying to go old school
 

GreensvilleJay

Well-known member

Equipment
BX23-S,57 A-C D-14,58 A-C D-14, 57 A-C D-14,tiller,cults,Millcreek 25G spreader,
Apr 2, 2019
9,668
3,915
113
Greensville,Ontario,Canada
re: The modern John Deere company believes when you purchase a tractor, you don't purchase an item or a machine, you buy a right to use their device.

That's been Microsoft's way 'EULA' works for Windows and others...
'fun' thing with 'aps' is you click, they get use of all your data on your device....
 

3bfarm

New member

Equipment
rtv 900
Oct 19, 2019
13
2
3
kansas
I think there are several factors to this. The high cost of a new tractor makes a low houred used one a smart alternative. Getting away from computers and def is a plus. I can only comment about what I see here but my local JD dealer caters to 2 types of people. Big farmers that buy new and suburban type that buy small tractors and lawn mowers. Small farms that run older stuff they don't want that business. If they trade for an older tractor they wholesale it, there is very little on their lot except new or close to it. When I bought my Kubota I discussed with the salesman that people like me that they are trying to sell to, not the big ones but smaller operations. I priced a green one and according to adds I saw the Kubota was much cheaper, can't really price green they are not interested in talking to me. Is this the dealer or the company? I don't know.
 
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