With less profit and operating costs varying from one harvest to another, finding ways to reduce unnecessary costs in the field has been a priority for grain producers in Brazil.
More than reducing costs with inputs, spare parts and other resources, the solution is in assessing the processes, correcting the waste, and getting most out of the agricultural machines of your farm, understanding how to use them, especially for Precision Agriculture.
This content will make you understand how the fleet management, preventive maintenance and agricultural technology usage can transform the pieces of equipment into profit allies.
Why does the agricultural equipment impact on the crop field costs?
When it comes to operating costs, the agricultural pieces of equipment are in the center of the equation.
More than operating tools, they are responsible for good part of the technical and economic performance a crop field. However, the financial impact goes beyond the acquisition value.
Fuel, spare parts, corrective maintenance services, idleness, and even operating failures could cause silent costs that when added along the harvest, they may impact the entire profit margin.
A large portion of these costs is not linked to the agricultural machine itself, but how it is managed in operations.
Poor measured agricultural pieces of equipment, poorly regulated or operated without a strategy cause over work, increase the consumption of inputs and shorten the lifespan of components.
On the other hand, an efficient management transforms the machinery into in a high-performance asset: producing more, spending less, and delivering precision to the crop field demands.
Fleet management: the most efficient path to save in the field
The actual economy starts in fleet management — a practice that transforms data, planning, and maintenance in more assertive decision in daily basis of the farm.
Managing the fleet means to understand how much each agricultural machine delivers in yield, how much it consumes, how it is being used, and what the ideal moment for operation is.
When well applied, the management allows:
- Mapping issues;
- Avoiding the unnecessary usage of inputs;
- Reducing the stopped machine time;
- Reducing the cost per hectare and increase the general yield based on different types of planting.
On-board systems such as the Stara ones allow you to see the performance of the machines in real time, identify failures before they become issues and instruct the operator precisely. These are only some of the agricultural technologies available:
It is possible to move from reactive use to a strategic approach that treats machinery as an investment - especially when aiming to facilitate and streamline the daily lives of producers and operators, with technology produced domestically.
Six practices to increase the agricultural efficiency and reduce costs
Saving in agricultural pieces of equipment doesn’t mean only to cut expenses, but to make every penny invested is worth it so it returns as performance, durability, and yield.
To do that, you need to follow some best practice that optimize the usage of agricultural machines, avoid waste, and ensure higher field efficiency.
See below, six essential practice that help the farmer to reduce operating costs smartly — based on as much on the Stara experts’ experiences as in studies that prove the innovation results in the production process.
1. Have the preventive maintenance done and avoid unexpected stops
The preventive maintenance is the first step to avoid unnecessary costs. It allows you to anticipate failures, schedule maintenance in the correct periods and make sure the equipment always operates under good conditions.
When neglected, it increases unexpected stops and yield losses.
In addition to prolonging the machinery lifespan, having the maintenance done in the correct period improves the operating performance and reduces the fuel consumption thanks to the higher efficient operation of the engine, transmission, and hydraulic systems.
Stara provides you with the Stara Maintenance Program. The dealer lets the operator know a few days earlier when the machine is reaching the required operating hours for maintenance. For this maintenance, 70 components are inspected, and the replacements are done only when necessary.
Learn more: Five reasons to have the preventive maintenance done on your agricultural machines!
2. Monitor the fuel consumption and wear of the parts
When following the performance of the agricultural pieces of equipment with on-board technology, the farmer starts making decisions based on their farm real data.
It includes the precise control of the fuel consumption, the monitoring of the component wear and the planned replacement of the spare parts.
According to the Stara agronomist engineer, Lucas Luersen, efficiency starts on how the farmer sees the machine usage:
"The issue is not only on the machine, but how it is used. When the operation is planned with monitoring and mapping, you can apply the resources at the right metering and even avoid unnecessary operations."
Solutions such as the Telemetria Stara allow you to follow the usage of pieces of equipment in real time and follow the performance among different operators and crop field conditions to ease the immediate adjustments.
3. Plan the usage of the agricultural pieces of equipment during the harvest.
Every field has a different need — either for fertilizer, seed, or the number of passes. For this reason, planning the operations aligned to the soil variability makes such a difference in economy. The Stara engineer, Lucas Luersen, explains:
"In precision agriculture, we can apply more fertilizer in poor nutrition areas and less fertile soils, without losing productivity. In the case of soybeans, for example, we use less seeds where the soil is more fertile as the crop plant branches out more. On the other hand, for corn, where the soil is more fertile, we apply more seeds to increase the number of cobs per m2 for higher yields."
This kind of fine adjustment is possible thanks to the usage of prescription maps and tools such as the variable rate control — a resource found on the Stara agricultural machines. Therefore, the farmer avoids both the over metering of the inputs as the cover failures, reducing the total cost per hectare.
4. Store and clean the machinery correctly
The improper storage and lack of cleaning critically jeopardize the machinery durability.
Dust, residues of chemicals and moisture can speed up the wear of parts and electronic system and cause failures in the sensors and hydraulic systems.
Creating a sanitizing routine after using and ensuring a covered place for storage are simple measures, but highly efficient to preserve the pieces of equipment and avoid costs with premature replacement of components.
5. Provide training for the agricultural machine operator for correct usage and with less wear
The technology only provides economy if well used. The agricultural machine operator training is crucial to ensure that the pieces of equipment are regulated correctly, precisely operated and used in the right time.
Additionally, well trained professionals get the most out of the machine on-board resources such as the section control and map reading, boosting results.
6. Adopt Precision Agriculture technologies
Using precision agriculture technology allows you to apply inputs precisely, following the soil variability and the actual needs of each field.
According to a scientific study about the topic, implementing variable rate application (ATV) resulted in cost reduction when acquiring agricultural fertilizer and increase in yield, making the productive process higher efficient economically and environmentally.
This technology is found on Twister 1500 agricultural spreader, among other Stara models.
In practice, it means less waste, more profit per hectare and more assertive decisions about where and how to apply each resource.
The Stara agricultural machines are compatible with customized maps for seeds and fertilizers, allowing the farmer to apply technology precisely, easily, and with high potential return of the investment.
Cost-benefit: how to evaluate the investment return of your agricultural pieces of equipment
In the field, cost and return walk along — and understanding what really delivers value is what differentiates a purchase and an investment.
The real cost of an agricultural machine is on how much it helps in the crop field routine, how long it is stopped, in the efficiency it uses the fuel and inputs, in the lifespan of the spare parts, and the type of technical assistance that farmer receives when they need.
In practice, what defines a good cost-benefit from an agricultural equipment involves factors such as:
- Operating performance: how much it delivers per hectare, per hour, or per fuel liter.
- Easy to be used and adjusted: can operators get most out of the technology without losing constant assistance?
- Maintenance and durability: easy to find parts, good lifespan, access to technical assistance
- Taking advantage of the on-board technology: can the farmer use the machine data to improve operation?
- Adaptation to the farm reality: does the equipment meet different crops, fields, and soil conditions?
These results can be seen along one or two harvests by means of indicators such as consumption, productivity, and operating time.
Thanks to the Stara solutions, the farmer is provided with the agricultural equipment always available for operations, accessible conditions for an agricultural loan, versatility, and the capacity of using data of the own crop field to decide the best management type.
Conclusion
Reducing operating costs depends on a management that sees agricultural machines as a strategic part of agribusiness.
When well used, adjusted to the crop field reality, and integrated to technology, they are no longer an unexpected expense, but become an actual economy.
Stara understands that field savings come from well-informed decisions. For this reason, the company develops solutions that help the farmer to use the best resources they already have, planning with more precision and avoid waste.
Did you like the hints and want to find out the agricultural machine that best suits your crop field?
Stop by a Stara Dealer and find the most suitable equipment to boost your crop production.
