Whatever color tractor you drive, preventative maintenance on your equipment now during the offseason can prevent downtime during critical times of the year such as planting or harvest.
Willem Van Der Kooi is a territory manager with Ziegler Ag, working with farmers in Dane, Columbia and Sauk counties. He says that now is the best time to order parts and talk to service technicians because they’re not as busy as they will be this spring.
Engines should never be empty, he says. On tractors, you should change your oil in the winter and sample the oil for steel. Start the planting season with new oil, he says.
Also take a look at those moving parts, such as bearings and shafts. If there’s play in the steering or drive shaft, or if there are lose chains — stay ahead of the game and take care of it now. Van Der Kooi says it’s harder to get these issues taken care of when there’s an emergency — usually during the height of fieldwork when everyone else is having the same problem.
Also consider a new set of tires. If you lost traction, hit something on the edge of the field, you may want to get a second opinion from a tire specialist. Van Der Kooi warns that you’ll want to do this well ahead of spring fieldwork because of supply chain hold ups.
“Sometimes to spend a bit of money in parts and have things upgraded before it breaks — sure enough you could have maybe got a half a year longer out of it — but once you have it all tuned up and ready to go , you’re more secure of doing fieldwork without downtime,” he says.
Ziegler Ag offers preventative maintenance inspections or PMIs for any type of equipment. It comes with a full inspection, oil samples, and discounts on parts and labor.
Van Der Kooi emphasizes to do this maintenance in the offseason because of backlogs and delays in getting parts. If you’re looking to get a new piece of equipment in 2023 — he predicts inventory to be tight again this year because of heightened demand, not necessarily lack of supply.
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