How Supply Chain Issues Are Impacting Farm Equipment Availability
June 15, 2022 Of all the categories serving the vegetable industry, farm equipment is bearing the brunt of supply chain issues the most.
During chats at 2022 fruit and vegetable trade shows, suppliers spoke off the record about how a single, humble part in a piece of large planter equipment threatened to shut down sales. One spoke about not being able to access the metal coil for the hinge that allowed transplants to drop into the soil. Another couldn’t source small tires needed for a part that pivots off the main frame after his usual supply was trapped in a port overseas.
Smart — or lucky — suppliers stocked needed parts well ahead of time.
“We have found that it is more important than ever to plan far ahead,” says Joseph Sutton, Owner of Sutton Agricultural Enterprises, Inc. “Shipping slowdowns from imports is where we have seen the most dramatic slowdown and unpredictability.”
After finding that even its vendors estimates were off, B.W. Implement began doubling and even tripling their orders to avoid running out.
Since overseas supplies are hard to find, U.S.-based parts suppliers are struggling to keep up with new demand, says Dan Timmer, Mechanical Transplanter. And for some parts, there just aren’t many — or any — American manufacturers. Timmer pointed to ball bearings as a good example of hard-to-come-by parts.
“Once those orders are filled, we are then at the mercy of the shipping company, the port, and then the trucking industry,” says B.W. Implement’s Joel Seal. “We are all in this together and are all losing.”
His advice? Plan ahead as much as you can by using available information.
“Look at a maritime container ship tracking website and really see the scope of how bad things have gotten,” he says.
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