When in doubt, prioritize. If several different needs are coming up at once, it’s time to take a close look at each once. Analyze the current state of the item that needs to be repaired or replaced. Get repair estimates and replacement cost estimates, if possible. Consider getting a neutral third party’s opinion on whether something can be safely repaired rather than outright replaced. Then, determine the “priority level” of each item against the basic needs of your operation. You might even create a simple rating system to gauge the priority level of each item, and then list them in order.

Is this purchase feasible? To get a strong sense of whether your operation can handle a particular purchase at a given time, you can get a feasibility study done on that purchase. The study shows how the purchase will impact your farm’s key metrics – and help you determine whether or not to move forward with the decision at that time.

Get a capital expenditures plan in place. This is the key to careful management of big purchases on the farm. Your plan accounts for all equipment, buildings, bins, etc in your operation – and then notes when they will next be up for repairing or replacing. Some farms do this with a look ahead at the next five years, some at the next ten years. Your plan lets you know what big purchases are coming up – whether that’s replacing a combine or bin. When major breakdowns happen, you can then look at your plan, see when that piece of equipment is due to be replaced, and make an informed decision on whether to repair or replace at that time instead.