DON’T CALL ME AN EXPERT  This is just the way I do things

Leasing a Combine Through MachineryLink

By Clint “Boomer” Patterson

In today’s world you need an open mind and progressive style approach to production agriculture in agronomics, as well as the machinery used to farm the acres. One of those approaches is through MachineryLink.

I am a third generation farmer, operating my farm west of Bottineau, N.D.  I’m 33 years old and will be seeding my 12th crop this year, since I took over after the untimely death of my dad in the spring of 1995. The crops raised in my rotation are wheat, sunflowers, flax, canola and barley.  We have implemented a minimum/no-till system to the small grain side of the operation.  

I learned about MachineryLink in 2004, and met with Terry Steckler, a regional sales manager for MachineryLink, and we visited more about the program. After our meeting, I signed a 4 year contract for a John Deere 9750STS combine.

I currently own a John Deere 9600 combine that I use in small grains alongside the MachineryLink combine. My farming operation is large enough to have this combine along with the MachineryLink combine to get the wheat harvest off in a timely fashion. So I use the two combines on the wheat, and am able to handle the other crops fine with my 9600.

You are charged based on separator hours used, at an hourly rate that varies by make and model of combine, number of hours you contract and number of machines rented or leased at one time. Bear in mind that my lease is three years old, and the company’s lease terms might be different today. My lease is 175 hours/year and I figure my lease cost is about $6.11/ac, not including fuel or labor.

My main reasons on how MachineryLink benefits my farm are:

1. The combine will be no more than three years old.
2. All regular service maintenance and repairs due to normal use is covered by the company.
3. No off season storage required.
4. Opportunity cost of money I would be putting into owning a second combine or individual lease instead of a managed lease can instead be directed to other areas of my operation.
5. Direct tax write-off.
6. Insurance premium on combine only for lease time.  I am responsible for liability, property and ingestion (ie, rock damaging the rotor) insurance on the machine, but only during my lease period (Aug 26 - Sept 15).
7. Flexible delivery/return dates depending on harvest conditions (ie too wet/too dry).  In 2005, I lost over 50% of my crop due to heavy June rains.  I did not take delivery of the combine through MachineryLink, a no-cost option in the contract. In most cases, the contract hours are simply carried over for an additional year.   Now if I owned it, I’d still be making combine payments even if I harvested half the acreage.

My lease with MachineryLink doesn’t include a header. I have a 36 ft draper head I use on the 9750 that I lease.  Terry tells me that the company no longer includes headers in their program, since they’re difficult and costly to transport, and because the type of header used or desired by the grower varies so much.  If customers need a header, Terry says MachineryLink will work with growers to find one that fits their needs through their network of farm equipment dealers and producers.

There’s a deposit at contract signing ($2,500 when I signed up, this fee varies according to the contract, such as crop, machine or length of lease). This deposit is given back to me in installments each year of the contract.  Each year of the contract I make a split payment, the first is due a month before I take delivery of the combine, and the second before the machine leaves my farm.

My experience over the past three years with MachineryLink has exceeded my expectations. Outstanding service, including consistent contact with Terry and the 1-800 number that MachineryLink has during your lease for breakdowns, machine adjustment advice, or any other topic related to the combine, which helps during this stressful time of year.

MachineryLink has a good relationship with my local dealer, Gooseneck Implement, for service calls or any other issues.  When the MachineryLink combine hits the yard a week before harvest, they have a field representative show up to inspect it and go through the combine with me to make sure it is clean, sound and field ready.  This inspection is very important to me and will also be done with a field representative when we are completed with my harvest.

I feel this company truly operates with the farmer-customer in mind, and I’ll give you some examples. In 2004, when my harvest went past the lease expiration date due to bad weather, MachineryLink was flexible with me on the late return on the combine.

To my surprise, the vice president of MachineryLink, James Webb, also showed up when I was servicing the MachineryLink combine last fall.  Keep in mind, I farm near Bottineau – a bit out of the way from their headquarters in Kansas City. It was nice to have somebody from the corporate office come visit and ride around with me harvesting, getting a personal view from the customer. He actually drove the combine and got the feel of it working.  I feel more companies should take the time to visit their customers one-on-one like MachineryLink to better understand the challenges we face as farmers.

That’s my story about how MachineryLink fits in with my farming operation. If you think it might fit in with yours, I wouldn’t hesitate to check it out.