(Source: Pennsylvania State University. Agricultural Safety and Health)
Use the following format to cite this article:
Safety checklists for used farm equipment. (2012) Farm and Ranch eXtension in Safety and Health (FReSH) Community of Practice. Retrieved from http://www.extension.org/pages/64392/safety-checklists-for-used-farm-equipment.
Purchasing used equipment may be a cost-effective option for adding or replacing equipment on your farm or ranch. Before you make an investment in used equipment, however, you should consider the following questions:
- Is there any reason that you should consider new rather than used equipment?
- Is there a new model available that has beneficial safety features or updated technology?
- Does your lending agency have any special stipulations or requirements, such as appraisals, that make buying used equipment less cost-effective or feasible?
- Does the used equipment meet the requirements—horsepower, towing capability, and so on—of the jobs that you need to complete?
- How many hours have been logged on the equipment, and what is the typical “wear-out” life for the particular piece of equipment? (See table 1 for typical wear-out life, in hours, for different types of agricultural equipment.)
| Machinery | Wear-Out Life (hours) |
| Tractors | 12,000 |
| Crawlers | 16,000 |
| Combines | 2,000 |
| Cotton pickers | 2,000 |
| Drills | 1,000 |
| Planters | 1,000 |
| Plows | 2,000 |
| Swathers | 2,000 |
| Tillage equipment | 2,000 |
Source: Table provided by Dr. Jim Rumsey, Lecturer, Department of Biological and Agricultural Engineering, University California, Davis.
Used equipment can be cost-effective, but before purchasing used equipment, it is extremely important that you examine the equipment and consider factors such as affordability, dependability, safety, usability, and compatibility before making a final decision.
Resources
The following links provide additional information, including safety checklists, to consider as you decide whether to buy a piece of used equipment:
- Buying a Used Farm Machine – Utah State University Cooperative Extension
- Checklist for Used Tractors – Utah State University Cooperative Extension
Use the following format to cite this article:
Safety checklists for used farm equipment. (2012) Farm and Ranch eXtension in Safety and Health (FReSH) Community of Practice. Retrieved from http://www.extension.org/pages/64392/safety-checklists-for-used-farm-equipment.
Citations
Jarrett, V. (n.d.) Buying a used farm machine: Farm machinery fact sheet FM-02. Utah State University Cooperative Extension. Retrieved from http://extension.usu.edu/files/publications/factsheet/FM-02.pdf.
Jarret, V. (n.d.) Checklist for Used Tractors: farm machinery fact sheet FM-04. Utah State University. Retrieved from http://extension.usu.edu/files/publications/factsheet/FM-04.pdf.
Rumsey, J. (1998) Small farm news fall 1998. UC Small Farm Program. Retrieved from http://sfp.ucdavis.edu/pubs/SFNews/Fall98/farmequip/.