While our winter weather is behind us, equipment that wasn’t started (and even those that were) may begin to exhibit the battery drain of the past season.

Good help is hard to find … and those words are true in just about any industry you can imagine. Whether you are looking for a farm mechanic or a high-school basketball referee, a qualified person who is skilled, punctual and affordable is an elusive creature indeed.

We all know how expensive equipment is today. I often think back to the economic boom that was the 1970s in the dairy industry. One of my professors at Virginia Tech, the late William Etgen, called the ’70s the “Golden Age of Dairying,” and part of the outward signs of the truth of that term was the expansion of our equipment line on my home farm.

Farmers are problem-solvers; we have to be. Often, when the chips are truly down, there are few if any options in the way of assistance we can call in time to make a difference. Winter weather can bring all kinds of challenges – frozen pipes, protecting livestock from the elements or simply being able to physically traverse to our tasks.

In the world of farming, efficient, effective and economical have always been valuable traits welcome in just about any setting or application. When it comes to tractors and implements, those traits take on a completely new level of importance and expectations.

Farm transitioning can be a very stressful time. Change is never ceasing, but it still comes with more than a little heartburn for those of us who have been in the production side of agriculture on the same piece of the earth for more than a few years.

Farm show season is here, signaling a glorious time to be dreaming of new equipment for your operation. As fun as looking at new machinery and gadgets can be, it is also a stressful time due to the decision-making process.

Post-season harvest is a great time to get things cleaned up, serviced and put away. While it is satisfying to see a clean and shiny piece of equipment, I must say, as I get older and acquire more machinery to wash, the motivation to clean up is far less than it once was.

My parents instilled a mantra in me I am sure many of you have as well: “Hope for the best, but plan for the worst, and everything in between is gravy.”