When is the best time of the year to buy a Tractor?
Tractors are widely used in mechanized agriculture, construction, and engineering purposes. Amongst all of these uses, agricultural purposes remain the priority of tractors.
This might not sound new to many as we’ve started using these machines to cultivate the land. However, some of us are still comfortable with the old conventional practices and find adapting to this new routine challenging.
This article will not introduce you to Mechanised Farming nor teach you how to integrate it into your agricultural practices. It will only be talking about a particular machine used on the farm. You know what it is already.
An Overview Of The Tractor
A tractor is an engineering vehicle or machine designed for a specific purpose, which is to deliver a high tractive effort at slow speeds. That is, tractors are used to pull objects.
How does this apply to Agriculture? It’s not far-fetched. Tractors are made to haul agricultural machinery such as harvesters, plows, cultivators, etc. It is pretty easy to operate.
Most commonly, the term is used to describe a farm vehicle that provides the power and traction to mechanize agricultural tasks, especially (and originally) tillage, but nowadays, a great variety of functions.
Agricultural implements/machinery may be towed behind or mounted on the tractor, and the tractor may also provide a power source if the implement is mechanized.
Specific Use of Tractors
As I said earlier, tractors have a variety of uses, but they are widely used as farm vehicles. Tractors on farms are usually called farm tractors. They can be used for purposes that include;
- Pulling or pushing agricultural machinery or trailers
- Plowing
- Soil Tillage
- Disking
- Harrowing
- Planting etc.
Tractors also serve as a power source, especially if the implement is mechanized. For example, a farm tractor can power a pump for land irrigation.
Other tractors have also been developed to solve certain farm problems. For example, row tractors have adjustable tread width to allow rows of cereals, maize, tomatoes, and other crops to pass down the tractor without crushing the plants.
Many utility tractors are also used for non-farm or non-agricultural purposes like grading, landscape maintenance, and excavation, particularly with loaders, backhoes, pallet forks, and similar devices.
Some farm-type tractors are found elsewhere than on farms, within large universities’ gardening departments, in public parks, or for highway workman use with blowtorch cylinders strapped to the sides and a pneumatic drill air compressor permanently fastened over the power take-off.
These are often fitted with grass (turf) tires that are less damaging to soft surfaces than agricultural tires.
When is the best time to buy a tractor?
From my perspective, I don’t feel there is the best time of the year to buy a tractor. You can buy a tractor whenever you need it, but there are things to consider before getting one.
You should consider timing, so time is essential when planning to get one. I will elaborate on this. If we integrate economics with agriculture, you will agree that the best time to get a tractor is when there is a high supply (or low demand). Some laws back this up.
Laws of demand and supply state that the price of a commodity will increase when there is a high demand (low supply) for it and decrease when there is a low demand (high supply) for it in the market.
One has to be observant of the market. Everyone wants to get something that’s quite affordable. No one would go for a product sold at a very high price when they can get it lower later.
Figure out when the companies producing the tractors have a high production-to-consumption rate. When this happens, the company will have no choice but to bring down the price of the tractors. It’s as simple as that.
Demand for tractors and other agricultural machinery usually spikes during summer. The logic behind this is quite simple. We all know the best time for pre-planting and planting is summer, so the use of these machines will increase during this time.
As the demand goes up, the price follows suit. This is the worst time to buy a tractor. Instead, you could go for it even before you need it. Get yourself a tractor in the rainy season, and thank me later.
Farminly’s Take
This principle of buying things before they become helpful applies to tractors and anything with a price tag. It is called an off-season purchase. It is like buying a snowmobile when it’s not even snowy. I bet you’ll get the best deals if you do this.
Another great time to buy tractors could be the end of the year. Many manufacturers will want to sell off the machinery in their inventory before the production for the new year begins.
I won’t say the manufacturers will sell at ridiculous prices, but at least the costs will be relatively lower compared to the regular price range during the sales period or middle of the year.
You might also want to consider your land’s size before purchasing a tractor. Small farmlands do not need tractors with very high HP, so you might want to wait till the end of the season before getting one.
