With 24,600 farms and ranches in Idaho, accessing remote fields and moving commodities to market place a big demand on the roadways. Never is that so obvious as when harvest is in full swing and motorists find themselves sharing the roads with trucks, combines and other large equipment.

The true cost of equipment breakdowns is often far higher than the dollars spent on parts to get up and running again. And regardless of why equipment breaks down, downtime adds additional costs to your operation.

Most, if not all, farm operators can relate to the difficulties women in particular encounter trying to use a bucket tractor or skid loader designed for a man who has a longer reach, higher grip strength and a much different way of engaging the safety seat power shut-off switch.

A 50-plus-year-old Idaho equipment dealership has a new location for its sales and repair shop in Jerome, Idaho. Mountain View Equipment moved into a brand-new $10 million facility just off I-84 Exit 165 in Jerome in April.

At the end of the day, no piece of equipment is going to properly perform in the field without a good maintenance routine, and any good maintenance routine includes frequent greasing.

If you're restoring a piece of farm equipment for show quality, you might consider wrapping it instead of repainting it.