| PROJECT SUMMARY |
Machinery ownership costs are a major expense for crop producers. Machinery costs limit diversification and adoption of alternative crops/tillage systems. The timeliness of planting, crop protection activities and harvesting substantially impacts yield and loss. Timeliness is a disadvantage of custom operations because activities are controlled by the over committed custom operator.
Machinery ownership costs can be reduced through coordination. Machinery cooperatives can provide cost savings of 35%. They can be structured to address both timeliness and costs. Machinery cooperatives allow producers to operate larger, more efficient machines, access the latest technology and negotiate more favorable purchase prices. They can also provide greater access to machinery by small and disadvantages producers.
The project will analyze the costs of individual and cooperative machinery ownership. It will focus on producer groups most likely to adopt shared-ownership arrangements. Interested producers will be assisted with feasibility assessment, structure, operating policies, bylaws and incorporating documents.
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| NUMBER OF PARTICIPANTS: 50 |
| TOPICS COVERED |
| Product and enterprise diversification |
| Capital and financial assets |
