Preventative Maintenance: You Can't Afford to Skip It.

It’s been a few months since we rolled out the new SIP 360 program. I was talking with Dillon Brazelton, our Terre Haute Service Manager, and he hit the nail on the head with a statement that stuck with me. Look at the invoices below – they prove his point cold: "You just about can’t afford not to." 

In these lean times, with unpredictable commodity markets and farm expenses climbing higher, you need to know exactly where every penny is going and when it’s leaving your pocket. We all see the bills growing while commodity prices sit still. This is why preventative maintenance for farm equipment isn't merely a good idea; it's a non-negotiable investment in your future. Knowing your costs upfront and having the flexibility to pay, whether through scheduled equipment maintenance or financing like Productivity Plus – that’s how you control your outflow. That’s how you make sure the work gets done when it needs to, not when you’re desperate. More uptime means you're in the field when that narrow weather window opens, planting or harvesting, not wrenching on a broken machine. 

"Regular maintenance shows up as productivity, allowing the equipment to process more efficiently." - Dillon Brazelton

Dillon nailed it. A machine dragging its feet or spitting out lost crop isn't just inefficient; it's bleeding your bottom line dry. You know this. Every bushel lost is money out of your pocket. Let’s put some money behind that. In the video below, Matt Jahnke, Precision Farming Specialist, breaks down how crop loss affects your bottom line.  

Dillon told me a story about a grower. He’d gone out to get this guy back on his feet after a plugged DEF filter had him sitting in the field for hours. After making sure the machine was running again, Dillon brought up preventative maintenance. "I don’t have the money," the grower grumbled. Dillon, with the best interest of his grower in mind, made him a bet: do the maintenance, and he’d gain 2-3 cents per bushel. The grower, skeptical but willing, took the gamble. 
He ran that entire year without a single service call, finishing harvest in fewer hours than ever before. Later, the grower called Dillon. He was glad he took that bet, seeing real savings in both time and money per bushel. 

Don't wait for a breakdown to manage an emergency you can't afford, whether it's precious time in the field or hard-earned cash. You're a farmer; you understand the true cost of downtime and lost yields. Take control of your equipment maintenance by planning it around your schedule. It's more than just preventative maintenance; it's the total machine insight that ensures maximum uptime, protecting your farm's profitability and securing your next harvest. Be proactive, take control, and plan your maintenance around your calendar with SIP 360. It's not just maintenance; it's the total farm readiness that keeps your operation running and your profits from dwindling.