Machinery Planning Exercise - Essay Example

Machinery Planning Exercise Machinery Planning Exercise Introduction The largest investment in an agricultural farm is the machinery planning exercise. This is despite the fact that the cost of machinery is not given reasonable consideration. The purchase of farm machinery sufficient to function efficiently in a farm that is as extensive as that of the farm owner in this case and that which is expected to yield several crops is likely to increase the amount of money required in the production. It is because of this that, in the planning, imperative decisions should be made to provide the owner with the lowest possible start up cost and offer him the real value for his money. Selection of Machinery Owing to the nature of farming activities that will take place at the farm, a number of different machinery will be necessary. As a professional in the agricultural field, I would recommend the following for the farm or land owner. The soil in the farm is loamy hence soft. Because of this, the purchase of a sub-soiler and the plough will put into consideration the purchase of a machine with higher speed value. The farm is an extensive farm where manual labour cannot be exclusively employed. For this reason, the machinery becomes necessary in the provision of service as a form of mechanization certain machinery will be needed for planting, soil cultivation, harvesting, sorting, irrigating and fertilizing among other farm activities. For instance, chaser bins will be required to transport the produce to the trucks that are headed for the road for them to be transported to the silos. Tractors, which are composed of the caterpillar tractor, the common farm tractor (four wheel drive) and the two wheel tractor as well as the farm truck will be required. They will be mostly applied during cultivation of the soil. Other necessary machines include the cultivator, chisel plough, sub-soiler and the mulch tiller. There other machinery will be needed for planting. These include a large seed driller, row planter, pesticide sprayer, the broadcast seeders and the mulch layer. A Lexion combine harvester will be most appropriate for harvesting purposes in order to save on costs. It is appropriate since it can harvest all the available types of crops such as wheat and is also capable of picking and cleaning as it sorts them out from the junk. The other necessary equipment for harvesting will be the bean harvester. However, for purposes of harvesting soya bean and the winter oil seed rape it will need to be adjusted while a distinct header will be required while harvesting the sunflower. In order to save on the operation cost and increase production costs in the future, the soil cultivation tools should be modern, spraying machines should save materials, fertilizer spreading machines should be easy to regulate, and the power machines should be of small volume. Additionally, the appropriate farm implements will be matched with the right tractor to minimize on time and labour requirements. Finally, machines that are related to the centre pivot method of irrigation will be of essence (Kulkami & Sharma 2004, p. 270). It is because of such factors that the machinery to be purchased will be required in specific sizes and types as follows; the tractor should be a 200 horsepower machine, A John Deere 8111 farm tractor that effectively combines with a plough. Additionally, the Lexion combine harvesters will be appropriately model 770TT and 780 due to their ability to harvest numerous tonnes of grain within a short time For the three tractors and the farm truck, the purchase of entirely new machinery will be justifiable and appropriate as a result of issues related to their efficiency and ability to serve for a longer period. In addition, it will decrease the chances of shouldering repair costs due to the availability of warranty. As such, significant profit would have been made from the produce before parts of the machine begin to wear out and hence increase its cost of maintenance. With regards to the fuel and lubrication costs, a new machine would be best considered (Extension 2013, par. 1). This is because although it does not undergo significant changes over time, the fuel efficiency of a new engine is better retained than that of an old one. With this, the reduction of this operation cost would signify the solution towards the implementation of optimal machine systems. Moreover, as stated by Johnson et al. It will be of use for a longer period before the need for replacement arises (1985, p. 300). It will be better to purchase a second hand plough, cultivator, spreader and sprayer among the other machines in order to reduce the cost of depreciation during the first years of its usage. In this sense, there will be gradual depreciation of their value, as opposed to the trend revealed when a new machine is purchased. This will also help to reduce the interest and insurance rate associated with new machinery. In addition, this step will reduce the financial burden associated with the purchase of new machinery (Anderson 1998, p. 145). Bearing in mind that this particular area is not well serviced by agricultural machinery hence the lack of reliability, it will be necessary to purchase the machines from the reputable market in the UK. Most of these will thus be purchased from an auto line in Ukraine. Purchase of the Machinery The conventional purchase plan is still the widely used method to acquire farm equipment. Cultivation Strategies This will enable the use of various cultivation strategies that include rotation and mulching in soil cultivation. Solid fertilizer will be used in each of the processes. Moreover, in order to improve the soil composition and reduce the load, necessary nutrients should be provided. An important strategy to avoid the fluctuation of yields would be the establishment of proper irrigation methods. In this respect, the creation of modern water management systems will be necessary to minimize losses. These include building of drainages, amelioration and protection of soil, and spatial planning (Kulkami & Sharma 2004, p. 279). To achieve the best production results, the plants will be rotated across the farm. Each will be apportioned 700 hectares. In each piece, the following order will be used; sunflower, winter wheat, winter wheat, winter oil seed rape, winter wheat, soya beans, then winter wheat. This is despite the fact that the order will be varied depending on the first crop planted in the seed. However, to prevent soil degradation the regular planting of winter wheat will be reduced for a particular piece. To achieve profits from these strategies, micro economic competitiveness should be applied by use of research and development strategies. With this, each of the crops will be provided with adequate conditions that are different from the rest for maximum growth. For instance, sunflower should be planted at low density to minimize the amount of water logging. Total Cost In the determination of the total cost, only the cost of machinery, cost of seedlings and the payment of wages will be considered. This is because the cost of road haulage, storage and drying will not be under my jurisdiction. Additionally, the cost of transportation of the machinery will not be included in this plan. Budget for the Machinery MACHINE MODEL/TYPE AMOUNT/ NUMBER COST/MACHINE TOTAL COST Tractors 200 HP MFWD 2 €24.27 €48,540 Farm Tractor John Deere 8111 1 €92,500 €92,500 Two wheel drive tractor John Deere 7222 1 €51,579 €51, 579 Chisel Plough 15 foot 2 €19,000 €38,000 Farm truck Mercedes Benz 400 HP 1 €32, 500 €32,500 Combine harvester Claas Lexion 480 2002 Merc Engine 14 Ft header 3 €90,000 €180,000 Bean harvester BP2100 1 €19708 €19708 Chaser bin T740 3 €33,807 €101421 Drill Masse Ferguson 30 4 €900 €3200 Cultivator Vaderstand 4 €17,500 €70,000 Sprayer Hardi 2800 2007 1 €11,897 €11,897 Solid Fertilizer spreader New Donder BL 1000 2 €1,150 €2,300 Farm Managers 3 €3600/annum Labourers 40 €6400/annum TOTAL COST 661645 As such, the total cost for setting up the whole project will be €661,645. This will be the entire amount for the first year and will include the wages of the workers as initially indicated. Conclusion The costs made while purchasing farm machinery greatly influence whether the farm becomes a high or low producer. The above planning procedure reflects the ways through which costs can be minimized while efficiency due to quality is still maintained. As such, in order to obtain the best yields, modern reliable machinery should be applied. Bibliography Anderson, M. 1998. Agricultural Resources & Environmental Indicators: 1996-97. DIANE Publishing. Extension. 2013. Match Implement Size to Tractor to Save Fuel http://www.extension.org/pages/62015/match-implement-size-to-tractor-to-save fuel Johnson, G. Thomas, Brown, J. William & O’Gady, Kevin. 1985. A multivariant analysis offactors influencing farm machinery purchase decisions. Journal of agriculturalEconomics, Vol. 10 (2): pp. 294-306. Launders, A. 1998. Farm machinery selection, investment and management. Farming Press Kulkami, S., & Sharma, A. 2004. 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