The big yellow monster.

Farm equipment has come a long way in the last 100 years. 

Back in the day when farmers walked behind draft horses to pull two sharp plow blades through the soil to turn it over.

Today's 30-foot row plows that are GPS guided and tractors that are self-turning.

In a lot of ways, these new inventions make our life easier.

 However, Farmers very much have a love-hate relationship with their equipment, because anything with an engine and wheels is subject to breakdowns and problems. 

Now if your car breaks down you probably get a tow to the mechanics, you probably need a ride to work, the grocery store and back to get your car when it's fixed.

I get it, it's annoying but consider this.

 Our work is completely dependent on our equipment and often very time-sensitive, so when one of our tractors breaks down all work stops.

Unless you have the wherewithal and income to own two of everything it is very unlikely that you are going to continue work during a breakdown. 

We have been in this situation so many times I can't even count the 100's of times.

It is frustrating to the point of tears.

There was one day back in the fall where my poor husband made 6 trips to the automotive store in an attempt to fix a simple problem, I don't remember a lot of the details at this point, I just remember it being a horrible day at the end of which he was tired and grumpy, understandably so. 

He got nothing done except driving back and forth looking for parts that never seemed to be the right one. 

Another example I can give you is when driving our old Massey-Harris to a friend's woodlot to help with the removal of some downed trees, we got a flat tire on the side of the road. 

Not a safe situation to be in, and not a simple fix, far away from home, from all our tools and workshop conveniences.

In the end, we did get the tire fixed and the tractor off the road by that evening, but not without several trips back and forth getting, very exhausted and personally having a hairline fracture in my finger. 

These tires are extremely heavy and I did already know that but now I know it for sure.

1500 lbs sure!

In some instances, an equipment breakdown can mean no food for the animals, no transportation for you, and a potential loss of crops. 

I intend to do several posts for all of you explaining all our different crops and how they need to be cared for and harvested but, I'm not going to go into those details now. 

Just try to understand that if the equipment doesn't run the crops don't get brought in the longer the crops don't get brought in the more risk involved in losing them, which equals losing income. 

Farm equipment is very expensive to purchase, very expensive to keep running and almost always very expensive to repair.

99% of the time farmers do it themselves, its quicker and saves money.

The justification of a new piece of equipment must meet the criteria of the cost of the investment and the added ease it makes in your life balance out somehow.

The farming equipment that we have in our area of New England is nothing compared to the large pieces of equipment that are used out west where they harvest 100s of square acres. 

Hard to even fathom in our Hills and Valleys of Vermont, but it doesn't matter the size of the equipment if something breaks, goes flat, doesn't turn over, or just simply won't run, all work on the farm comes to a screeching, clattering, smoking, halt.

sometimes literally.

There's frustration, cursing, bruised fingers, greasy jeans and at the end of the day, you're left exhausted and lacking a feeling of accomplishment. 

The worst day on a farm is getting nothing done!

So if you get a flat tire on your way to work and you're popping on your spare donut be glad that it only weighs about 35 lb and remember not to get your finger behind the rim because 35lb would hurt, but a thousand lbs cracked my finger. 

Just another day at work,

Let's keep it rolling