October 6, 2017
CapitalPress.com
3
Fix or replace? It’s often a taxing question
“The biggest factor I find is whether they need a tax write-off or not
and how much of a write-off they need.”
By BRENNA WIEGAND
For the Capital Press
Whether to fix or replace
old farm equipment usual-
ly boils down to one thing,
according to Will Schwartz,
owner of the Tractor Store in
Eugene, Ore.
“The biggest factor I find
is whether they need a tax
write-off or not and how much
of a write-off they need,”
Schwartz said. “If they’re
having a bad year they just
wind up fixing the old stuff
rather than buying new.”
The Tractor Store sells all
kinds of farm equipment ex-
cept balers and combines, he
said.
“Sales have been about
the same for the last four or
five years, at least for me,”
Schwartz said. “There are a
lot of small farmers that just
can’t justify $30,000 for a
new tractor and they don’t
need a huge write-off.
“When it comes to the used
equipment, most of our cus-
tomers are willing to spend
$6,000 for an engine over-
haul on a tractor that may be
worth only $6,000,” he said.
“To go buy another used one
it’s going to cost $6,000. At
least this way when they fix
their own they know that the
motor’s going to be good for
the next 15 or 20 years.”
Others simply love older
and antique farm equipment,
whether for sentimental rea-
sons or simplicity and rela-
tive ease of repair, he said.
The store generally
serves customers from Al-
bany to Coos Bay, Ore.,
where there are a lot of
small farms, with an in-
creasing number going into
organic farming.
Hobby farms also contin-
ue to gain in popularity.
“We have a lot of hobby
farmers,” he said. “They
have a full-time job and
they make good money and
it’s more that they want to
live in the country, and if
you live in the country you
Will Schwartz, owner of the Tractor Store
Photos courtesy of Cameron Schwartz
Will Schwartz, owner of The Tractor Store in Eugene, Ore., with a
Branson 2400. He says many small-scale farmers don’t want a lot
of onboard electronics.
Jim Hall looks over a Ford 3000 at The Tractor Store in Eugene,
Ore. Store owner Will Schwartz says whether to fix or replace an old
tractor usually boils down to the farm’s tax situation and bottom line.
have to have a tractor. Those
people will buy a brand-new
tractor because they’re us-
ing the farm for a write-off
anyway.”
To prevent unexpected
breakdowns and subsequent
delays during the busy sea-
son, it’s good to get machin-
ery in order before putting
it away for the winter, when
waits are shorter and down-
time isn’t an issue.
New small tractors cost
anywhere from $15,000 to
$50,000. Most of the farm-
ers Schwartz sees tend to
steer clear of onboard elec-
tronics, so he stocks his in-
ventory along those lines.
With some of the other
tractors that have the com-
puterized engines, farm-
ers are stuck with taking it
back to the dealer to have it
worked on, he said. “Unless
you have the computer pro-
gram there’s no way of do-
ing too much to the engine
on it. You plug the computer
in and it tells you what’s go-
ing on.”
WSG17-3/101