Essential maintenance tips for prolonging farm equipment lifespan

Want to extend the lifespan of your farm equipment? Operational farming simply can't happen without machines that aid the process. Equipment failure in the middle of the season during a crucial planting or harvest can rack up costs very quickly. And guess what?

Good maintenance practices can increase equipment lifespan by thousands of hours and drastically reduce repair costs.

In this article, we will share:

• Why Maintenance is Critical for Farm Equipment
• Understanding the True Cost of Equipment Downtime
• The Maintenance Plan Farmers Neglect at Their Peril
• 6× Must-Do Maintenance Tips That Work
• Schedule Your Own Maintenance Plan for Your Equipment

Why Maintenance is Critical for Farm Equipment

Every farm equipment needs maintenance, right?

Without a functioning tractor, harvesters, tillage system or the like, no seeds will be sown. Crop yields and ultimately profit can dwindle.

Here's the fact: If a tractor is properly maintained, it can last anywhere from 4,000 to 15,000 hours. That's about 15 to 30 years of service in normal operating conditions. However, if that same tractor is not properly taken care of, it would stop working a lot sooner.

This difference results from one thing only: maintenance.

Regular and proper maintenance not only prevents breakdowns. It also ensures that the equipment can run at its best during the short planting or harvest season. Looking for quality farm equipment and service support in Wisconsin? Visit a Madison farm equipment store today!

In other words, for every one hour of preventive maintenance, you save multiple hours of unscheduled emergency maintenance in the future. And emergency repairs will always cost you more!

Understanding the True Cost of Equipment Downtime

Let's look at the numbers. Repair costs for farm equipment have spiked by 41 percent since 2020 according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Cost of Parts and Labor for agricultural equipment has almost doubled since 2005.

Big numbers for a farming operation that usually has low profit margins.

Wait, because it gets worse.

Agricultural machinery maintenance services hit 39.7 billion dollars in 2024 according to Global Market Insights. Billions of dollars are spent on repair work that could be easily avoided.

And here's what neglecting maintenance can really cost you:

• Downtime during critical farming seasons – Lost opportunities for planting or harvest season cause major losses in crop yields
• Higher repair costs – Small issues often turn into more costly and expensive breakdowns
• Shorter service life of equipment – Machinery wears out much earlier than it should
• Lower resale value – Equipment with a poor maintenance history loses value 

Fortunately, most of these costs are completely avoidable.

The Maintenance Plan Farmers Neglect at Their Peril

Here are proven maintenance tips that every farmer can benefit from. Pick a couple you feel are right for you and execute on them diligently. Results don't lie.

Fluid Levels

Oil, hydraulic fluid, coolant and transmission fluid all break down over time.

Dirty fluids that are clogged with debris and contaminants are going to wear the internal components faster. Clean fluids, on the other hand, would protect the internal expensive components and ensure that the equipment is running at its best.

The solution?

Follow the manufacturer's recommended intervals for changing those fluids and stick to it. Check the levels of these fluids at least once a week during the busy farming season and replace the filters when the fluids are changed.

Doing this will also help your equipment to last for thousands of extra hours of service.

Air Filters

Air filters are important components that if not checked on, would shorten the lifespan of your equipment drastically.

Farms are usually in dusty environments and most times, the fields produce a lot of dust and debris that air filters would stop from getting into the engine. Most farming experts would advise that air filters are checked every 50 hours of operation.

Tires and Tracks

Tires and tracks on agricultural equipment take quite a lot of beating.

If they are not inflated properly, they can lead to irregular wear. Damaged treads also leads to lower traction and might also be the start of other problems later on.

Checking your tires and tracks at least once a week would help to nip these problems in the bud.

Grease it up!

Lubrication is relatively cheap when compared to the cost of replacing worn-out components.

Moving parts generate friction, which would produce heat and eventually cause the components to wear out. Proper lubrication would reduce all these.

Get into the habit of greasing all the moving parts in the recommended intervals by the manufacturer. Pay special attention to loader arms, pivot points, and PTO shafts.

Failure to lubricate is one of the quickest ways to ruin expensive equipment.

Storage

Weather is a great enemy to agricultural equipment. Exposure to rain and sunlight could damage the equipment.

Rain leads to rust, while the sun's ultraviolet rays usually degrade rubber and plastic components. Temperature also causes stress to seals and gaskets and snow and ice would also accelerate corrosion.

To ensure a long lifespan for your farm equipment, make sure that they are stored in a dry and covered space. When indoor storage is not possible, it is important to use quality covers for the equipment. It is also ideal to use a solid surface under the equipment when they are parked and not in use.

Before storage, it is important to clean equipment thoroughly and remove dirt and debris to prevent moisture that could get trapped.

Hydraulics

Hydraulic systems are the most important components on modern farm equipment. Therefore, it would pay you to make sure you check your hydraulics before and after use.

Leaks and moisture lead to the loss of system pressure and result in the waste of expensive fluid. Contaminated hydraulic oil also leads to damages in the pumps and cylinders.

Damaged or worn hoses could also cause hydraulic system failure and when these hoses are not replaced at the first sign of damage, problems usually escalate in no time.

Always check your hydraulic systems for leaks, pressure levels and fluid condition before every use.

Schedule Your Own Maintenance Plan for Your Equipment

Maintenance work on farming equipment can't be done haphazardly.

Successful farmers and farming business treat their equipment with a lot of care. Equipment maintenance is treated like any other important task. It is scheduled, it is tracked and most importantly, it is done.

Here are a few tips to help you build an efficient equipment maintenance schedule for your farm.

• Daily checks – Check fluid levels, tire pressure, visible damages and strange noises.
• Weekly inspections – Lubrication points, air filters, hydraulic systems, belts, and hoses
• Seasonal service – A more detailed service that involves fluid change, filter replacements, and professional inspections.
• Annual check-ups – Complete deep cleaning, component evaluation and preventive part replacements. 

Note that it is important to maintain a maintenance log for each of your farm equipment. Include in this log the dates when service was carried out, the services that were carried out, and the parts that were replaced.

The log would come in very handy when you would like to troubleshoot problems, calculate cost of maintenance as well as resale value.

Some farmers prefer to use electronic tools and software to track their maintenance plans and schedule reminders, while others like to maintain a paper log book which would be placed in the equipment cab.

The approach doesn't really matter, as long as you are consistent with it.

Wrapping It All Up

Maintenance of farm equipment is not rocket science.

The principles of taking care of the agricultural equipment remain the same no matter what kind of equipment you are looking at. Check fluid levels, clean filters, lubricate moving parts and inspect regularly. Ensure that they are also properly stored.

Doing this will separate a 15-year-old equipment from one that breaks down after five years of use.

And if you were looking for a good reason to take care of your farm equipment, here it is. Preventive maintenance is much cheaper than emergency repairs. Equipment that is well-maintained also maintain its value, better than those that are not.

Pick one or two maintenance tips you are comfortable with and start to build consistency in the way you take care of your equipment. One season is usually enough to build these tips into habit.

Remember that farm equipment is a huge investment on your part, and the least you can do is to protect that investment by making sure that they are well-maintained.

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