Combines Education Question

If you allready have good mechanical skills and do most of your own work now, you're probably better off just getting to the farming. More likely the vo tech would just be a review for you. And with the way technology is moving along today, most of what you would learn there is allready dated material, would really be out dated right after you finished. There is no replacement for experience. The sooner you get started, the faster your experience will grow. The ability to improvise a repair in the field will get you a lot further than knowing how to fix it after it gets towed or hauled back to the shop. Just my opinion, which is what you asked for.

80% of repairs are not complicated, just need to use common sense and accumulated experiences of yourself and others you know. My dealer let's me read the service manuals that I don't already have. The truly complicated stuff you really don't want to touch. Concentrate your time on better buying and selling skills as well as recognizing economic, weather, political, ect. trends which will amount to BIG bucks in the long run. Keep in mind, most shops do not get rich repairing equipment... the buying and selling is their gravy money. The shop is the carrot to get you to buy their equipment (along with a few others).

I majored in heavy equipment and diesel repair. I went on to own my own repair shop were I did tractor repair for 15 years. I am now retired to full time farming. There is no way I could ever have started farming with the high equipment costs if i couldnt have bought other peoples broke down stuff. I bought most for pennys on a dollar. The same is true for repairs on your equipment. If you know how to overhaul lets say a roosa-master injection pump, Costs me about $35 to $75 For a kit to fix most normal problems. 3 hours to pull, fix and install on the machine. How much would a dealer getIJIJ It adds up fast. Pull a tractor down and do a inframe overhaul. The savings my keep you in business. Just know when your time is better spent in the feild, or in the barn. Some things shouldnt be fixed just because you can or know how.

It sounds like you have both oars in the water and your tiller is set in the right direction. Keep on doing what you are doing. In my humble opinion, you can never get enough education and you will be learning new stuff for the rest of your life. Only you can determine what type of training will give you the biggest bang for your buck. You said you already have good mechanical skills which should get you through most farm related repairs. How important is engine and tranny work on your farmIJ In 30 years of farming I havent run into the first major engine job and the tranny jobs, I did have required special tools that I couldnt afford to buy for the limited use I had for them. So for me, additional mechanical training wouldnt have helped much. Here are a couple of suggestions I would give my son if he were in your shoes: As you may know already, marketing is becoming increasingly important to todays farmer and having a full understanding of how markets work is almost a necessity. If you havent already gotten into marketing, you might consider a course or two in this field. You mentioned Ag Econ. Does that program include things like the rule of 72sIJ If not, I would suggest you get some advanced economics training that will enable you to make long range decisions that are every bit as important and maybe even more important than saving money on repairs. Here is another thought on major engine_tranny work. You dont have to do all of it yourself; you can hire a professional to get you started or review what you have done. I do this all the time on stuff that is over my head and the total cost over the years hasnt put me in the poor house yet. Good luck to you.

"Keep in mind, most shops do not get rich repairing equipment... the buying and selling is their gravy money" Selling new equipment is a low margin activity. Doing repair work and selling parts are where most dealers make their "gravy money" since their is a much higher margin on parts and labor.

True statment BirdH. New equipment sales are low margin if not no margin. labor and parts sales are a major factor when it comes to dealers covering fixed costs and potential income after. The "carrot" is essentially the new_used iron they sold you that you will bring in to the shop. My thoughts for "Thor" are that general mech work is going away as more and more technology is incorporated into Ag machinery, most new equipment has its own diagnostics and any more the day to day problems are all computer_electrical related. A bit frustrating sometimes I might add....even for a younger guy that grew up in the "computer age" I am a green paint man but if a JD rep ever says I am having a "canbus" problem again I might shoot him. Not really.

I graduated 3 yrs ago with a degree in plant and soil Science. I went into farming with my father afterwards. The only thing we let the shop do is complicated repairs such as transmission and electronics. Everything else, we do ourselves. of course, I've learned a lot from him, but I was surprised what I could do on my own when I had to. I'm sure that you could be the same way

Skills in the maintenance and repair of farm machinery will save you a few thousand dollars a year. Good knowledge and skill in the agronomy of crops and the careful application of that knowledge will make you tens of thousands of extra dollars each year. Good marketing and financial skills will add even more thousands of dollars to your income. Don't get hung up on the glamour of machinery. Perhaps, before you start your farming career, you might like to spend a year or so back packing through the farming areas of the world. My son, Rolf, drove combines across the USA for 2 seasons as well as going to the UK. like a lot of young Australians, my two daughters spent a year or so in the USA, Europe and a short time in Russia. They all came home with a much wider and more tolerant knowledge of the world and a realisation that other places and other people were just as good as Australia even though there is no place like home. Cheers.

Old Pokey's right. Every repair job is different too. A learning experience. Get yourself some good tools,torch and welder, maybe a little extra patience at times, and a good safe attitude you can go a loooong way.

My suggestion;buy service manuals for your main eq.Take your combine to your dealer for a preseason check over.They know what to look for and usually dont charge alot for this service.Have them fix what youre uncomfortable with and do the rest your self.