Before we know it, spring will be here again, begging us to get back into our crop fields. Having our equipment ready and able to handle the task requires some advanced planning and scheduling of check-ups, tune-ups and routine maintenance.
Truthfully though, as costs continue to rise, it is easy to forego these expenses and try to stretch a few more hours out of the old tractor, chopper or baler.
As expensive as some of these maintenance expenses are, repairs and the opportunity cost losses from breakdowns are far more expensive and stress-producing. As margins narrow, “getting by” quickly changes to “getting left behind.” An example of “spend now to save later” originates with my father.
Dad was a tractor mechanic and shop foreman for an International Harvester dealership for more than 25 years, and he taught me a great deal over the years. One helpful hint that I have used to save money and shared with others comes from his wisdom on rake teeth.
Conventional wisdom suggests that as your rake loses teeth over time, you need to replace them; however, the best strategy is to rebuild the rake with a full set of teeth, keeping the remaining teeth as replacements.
I had a colleague who approached me with a problem of his rake losing the same teeth at the same time and thought something was amiss with his rake.
What he failed to recognize was that as he installed new teeth, those replacements weren’t worn as the others were, so when the rake was lowered into working position, the new teeth struck the ground first and with the most stress, causing them to fail as well.
By replacing all 100 teeth, his rake was now running true, and as he did lose rake teeth in the future, he had a ready supply of semi-worn teeth to replace and match to the others.
Another friend recently shared that he “despised changing the oil” in his tractors and trucks. But frankly, there is nothing you can do that extends the life of these expensive pieces of equipment more.
As diesel fuel (even low-sulfur diesel) burns, it creates sulfuric acid that slips down past your oil rings into the crankcase of the engine. Over time, this acidic build-up eats away at main bearings and seals, leading to costly and time-consuming repairs.
Many people also don’t realize that antifreeze will lose its punch over time, and dirt and deposits in your coolant can act as mini-combustion chambers that pit metal and cause sleeves to leak and fail.
Checking your fluid levels and keeping your engines as clean as possible can really help save you money; cleaner really does run better. A ⅛-inch layer of grease, dirt and grime cuts an engine’s ability to cool itself in half, so be sure to wash off spills and leaks to prevent further damage.
An extension publication by Dr. Bobby Grisso and Robert Pitman summed up machinery maintenance this way: “A Midwest study showed that many farmers could reduce machinery repair costs 25 percent by improving routine maintenance procedures.
With a yard full of machinery, that savings can be significant. As an example, an $80,000 tractor will typically require about $24,000 in repair costs during 5,000 hours of operation when receiving average maintenance. This cost can be decreased to approximately $18,000 with excellent service management.
Timely preventative maintenance and inspection will not only help reduce major problems and downtime, it will also help identify problems when they can be corrected with relatively minor repairs.”
Let’s face it, the most important equipment on a dairy farm is in the parlor.
Dr. Clell Bagley, extension veterinarian with Utah State University, had this to say about servicing dairy equipment: “The milking machine (milking system equipment) receives some of the hardest use of any equipment on the dairy farm and yet is often neglected for routine maintenance.
Besides long hours of use each day, the milking equipment is also exposed to water, milk and chemicals as well as multiple persons using it – all of which are severely detrimental to equipment. This equipment is critical for the proper harvest and storage of the dairy farm ‘crop’ and will function best if provided routine maintenance.”
Rubberware deteriorates rapidly but is often not changed on schedule as recommended by the manufacturer. It still “looks OK” to the dairyman, so it tends to get left on longer. This is especially true with inflations because they do still look OK at the time of their expiration – and they should.
But they are beginning to undergo some changes that are detectable microscopically, and “pitting” begins to occur. They retain milk and bacteria in these small pits in the surface, and this all begins to have a subtle effect on somatic cell count and mastitis levels.
Soon the dairyman is paying an expensive price (mastitis) for the choice to use old inflations. The same principle applies to the rubber hoses that begin to crack and develop small holes. Some pulsator brands are designed to be washed out periodically to maintain their function.
There are also kits that should be used periodically to replace the parts within the pulsator that wear with time and use. Pulsators should also be checked for proper function.
Some dairy farms are able to do much of the maintenance work themselves while others find it more economical to have a service contract with a milking equipment supplier, utilizing their professional expertise.
Whichever system or combination of systems you choose, it is important that each dairy have a method to accomplish routine maintenance in a timely manner.
One of the major problems for dairies who choose to do much of the work themselves is that it is often not performed on time and may eventually be skipped altogether. That’s when problems and breakdowns begin to occur.
No doubt, it is expensive to service and maintain a line of equipment. But thinking of the investments you have already made and the replacement costs of the on-hand equipment should convince you that regular maintenance pays dividends in the long run. PD
Andy Overbay holds a Ph.D. in ag education and has more than 40 years of hands-on dairy and farming experience.
Andy Overbay
Extension Agent
Virginia Cooperative Extension
