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For tech-weary Midwest farmers, 40-year-old tractors now a hot commodity

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Re: For tech-weary Midwest farmers, 40-year-old tractors now a hot commodity

#471

Post by privateSFacct »

asdff wrote: post #49
ziftface wrote: post #13

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I can't help but think that this is intentional. I'm pretty sure it's possible to create a more modular design without sacrificing anything. Especially given John Deere's record, it doesn't seem far fetched that they would actively seek out ways to make it more difficult to repair their tractors.

It's definitely intentional. You pop the hood of a new car and you see a plastic cover, not the engine. The plastic cover doesn't do anything for the car, it adds cost to the car, and mechanics have to remove and reinstall it if they do any work at all. However, it does have a function: to obscure you from the workings of your car, and push you to take the car to a dealership or someone buying genuine parts at least.

Phones are sold this way - and people like everything "packaged up" into a black box in many cases.

My guess - the company that makes all the parts / wire runs / etc very visible has a harder time selling to mom and dad when they stop by with their kid.

Re: For tech-weary Midwest farmers, 40-year-old tractors now a hot commodity

#472

Post by haihaibye »

dumbfoundded wrote: post #403
steveklabnik wrote: post #157

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I come from at least three generations of cattle farmers. My dad had to work a tool and die job, because unlike his father, it was already not possible to raise a family via family farm. It's really brutal.

I actually think the trend is starting to reverse. At least in the area where I live in Ashland, OR where I have a 10-acre farm. What I'm seeing is products are becoming more and more niche. Kind of like how craft beers became a thing. I think it's easier than ever for a farm to create specialized products and sell them directly to consumers. Before this way of ecommerce tools, it was nearly impossible for a small fa…

50% of farms make no farm income. 40% rely on external income.

https://www.ers.usda.gov/media/10292/farm-household-income-i...

Re: For tech-weary Midwest farmers, 40-year-old tractors now a hot commodity

#473

Post by bsagdiyev »

BoorishBears wrote: post #337
bsagdiyev wrote: post #327

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Or install a replacement part without taking it to the BMW dealership and having them code it to the car. Why is it only don't work on cars or pollute like no tomorrow? There is a middle ground and a lot of people are screwed by DRM like this because of it.

>Why is it only don't work on cars or pollute like no tomorrow? Who said it was? The comment mentioned working on the engine specifically, there's not much DRM that can interfere with working on the engine unless you're trying to tune your ECU. It's not like the N20 is going to check your pistons and connecting rods for authenticity before starting after all. There are not even that many parts in BMWs that are VIN-lo…

The N52 engine will refuse to start if the iDrive system is not working (if the car has this feature), the iDrive system is an expensive replacement, on top of the work required to code it to the car. All of the in-car systems signals go through the computer that controls the iDrive system since it is a fiber ring network through the car, terminating at the amp in the trunk and the iDrive system in the front.

Re: For tech-weary Midwest farmers, 40-year-old tractors now a hot commodity

#474

Post by magduf »

zozbot234 wrote: post #384
nine_k wrote: post #378

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Because it's simple to fix and it didn't need a official licensed laptop to be serviced. This is exactly my point. Imagine that you are selling cars. If you sell a reliable, easy to fix car, you don't get any recurring revenue. But you need to make as much money as the competition who sells less reliable cars, and more because you can't cut corners. So your upfront cost is higher. The competition, which sells less…

The manufacturer of the more reliable car can win by offering a warranty and/or "discounted" repairs. That way, even a naïve customer who doesn't expect the manufacturer to make a reliable car will be incented to buy it anyway. Of course, this will only work if building a more reliable car really is more efficient than doing constant repairs on a less-reliable one. IOW, it actually leads to properly-aligned incentive…

A warranty is utterly worthless if there's no company to back it up. Would you trust a brand-new company to be around for 10 years if they offered a warranty that long?

For cars, at least, "discounted" repairs are pretty much impossible in the USA: manufacturers aren't allowed to own the service shops here, by law. The service has to be done by independent dealers. Of course, the manufacturer could heavily subsidize this service (by paying most of the cost directly to the dealer), but that's going to take away all their profits.

Re: For tech-weary Midwest farmers, 40-year-old tractors now a hot commodity

#475

Post by mywittyname »

strken wrote: post #333
Balgair wrote: post #329

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> I can't fix things. This one sticks out to me from a job-market POV. Plumbers are already on par with psychiatrists in terms of pay. Sure, the work is hard, but from a supply-demand POV, the markets are saying that they do work that is of equal value (all this varies highly, but stick with me here). Most repair work takes a LOT of experience until the employee is anywhere near proficient. Farmers will tell you that…

Do you have a source for plumbers being on par with psychiatrists? I have friends in the trades (back in Australia) and my impression is that their pay isn't as high as is commonly believed.

The Bureau of Labor statistics provides this information.

Plumber median pay is $54,000, while 10% make more than $94,000.

Psychiatrist median pay is $220,000, while 10% make beyond the wage cap for BLS data. https://www.bls.gov/oes/current/oes291066.htm

Re: For tech-weary Midwest farmers, 40-year-old tractors now a hot commodity

#476

Post by magduf »

castratikron wrote: post #385
ajmurmann wrote: post #266

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think the transition from capitalism to Star Trek Utopia is where basic income guarantee can be very helpful

In Star Trek the transition from capitalism to utopia involved a global nuclear war.

And a visit from the Vulcans.

Re: For tech-weary Midwest farmers, 40-year-old tractors now a hot commodity

#477

Post by [deleted] »

syshum wrote: post #452
cosmodisk wrote: post #418

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Having worked in plumbing for a while, I can say that anyone who's got their arms in right places and a bit of flair for entrepreneurship can make pretty good money in this field. There's so much work is unbelievable and most of it isn't that hard to do. Also, the hours are decent. Psychiatrists,on the other hand,while on higher income, have to deal with some very challenging and sometimes dark personalities who tend…

Yea, I would rather deal with peoples physical shit than their mental shit

[deleted]

Re: For tech-weary Midwest farmers, 40-year-old tractors now a hot commodity

#478

Post by cylinder »

dumbfoundded wrote: post #403
steveklabnik wrote: post #157

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I come from at least three generations of cattle farmers. My dad had to work a tool and die job, because unlike his father, it was already not possible to raise a family via family farm. It's really brutal.

I actually think the trend is starting to reverse. At least in the area where I live in Ashland, OR where I have a 10-acre farm. What I'm seeing is products are becoming more and more niche. Kind of like how craft beers became a thing. I think it's easier than ever for a farm to create specialized products and sell them directly to consumers. Before this way of ecommerce tools, it was nearly impossible for a small fa…

yes but how do you find these niche products if you are not in the fine dining industry?

Re: For tech-weary Midwest farmers, 40-year-old tractors now a hot commodity

#479

Post by cylinder »

strken wrote: post #333
Balgair wrote: post #329

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> I can't fix things. This one sticks out to me from a job-market POV. Plumbers are already on par with psychiatrists in terms of pay. Sure, the work is hard, but from a supply-demand POV, the markets are saying that they do work that is of equal value (all this varies highly, but stick with me here). Most repair work takes a LOT of experience until the employee is anywhere near proficient. Farmers will tell you that…

Do you have a source for plumbers being on par with psychiatrists? I have friends in the trades (back in Australia) and my impression is that their pay isn't as high as is commonly believed.

it's just like anything else. you need to be self employed and own a business that you've scaled out to earn the big money.

Re: For tech-weary Midwest farmers, 40-year-old tractors now a hot commodity

#480

Post by wraithKingPrime »

magduf wrote: post #465
jplayer01 wrote: post #444

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don't see why the two should be at odds when it comes to how tractors should be designed. I feel like tractors that can be repaired on-site by your own employees is a far better deal than being 100% reliant on the manufacturer's good grace.

It IS a far better deal. Farmers should try only buying those, instead of throwing their money at a company that abuses them. The problem is that many farmers absolutely insist on buying only from John Deere, and then they complain about Deere's terrible policies and unrepairability. It reminds me of Apple customers who complain about their MacBooks not having normal USB ports or their iPhones being so locked-down. T…

I am not a farmer, I fix sewing machines- but I see people still buy Singers, based on brand perceptions that are 50 years out of date. Modern Singer sewing machines are cheap garbage, but people remember their grandmothers or great grandmothers using these old, reliable machines, and accordingly, they buy Singer.

Same thing is happening with John Deere. It may take a very long time for the anti-consumer actions of the company to burn through decades of goodwill.

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