There are times during farming when there are no substitutes for hard work. Drains cannot be laid on their own, tracks cannot be flattened just by driving over them, and the soil does not magically become soft just because spring planting has arrived. Plant equipment gives farmers the necessary tools to ensure their property is in ideal condition.
Plant equipment rental is now a viable option for farmers who want to perform demanding agricultural work without adding additional financial burden to their operations. By bringing in the necessary equipment only when it’s needed and working it until it has done the job, the farmer may then return it to the rental company. No ongoing equipment maintenance fees or staggering outright costs.
What Plant Equipment on Farms Entails
Plant equipment is not about fancy features; it is about machines specifically developed to withstand and overperform in stressful working conditions. Providing farmers with the ability to perform the day-to-day farming functions of digging, pushing, lifting, carrying, and compacting.
Frequently used plant equipment on farms includes a variety of high-impact machinery:
- Excavators
- Wheel excavators
- Trenchers
- Dozers
- Graders
- Posi tracks
- Challenger tractors
- Moxy dump trucks
- Water trucks
- Padders
Each specific type is capable of thrashing any project within its skillset thrown its way. Allowing farmers to meet the various demands of running a working farm.
Land Preparation
Excavators are commonly used to prepare land for farming. Excavators are versatile; they can dig trenches, lay drainage systems and irrigation channels, clear roots, create terraces, and provide a foundation for multiple uses, such as sheds, crossings, and yards. They provide a combination of reach, control, and power, which is essential when you need to be accurate.
Trenchers will pay for themselves quickly by providing straight, consistent trench runs at set depths for underground services or irrigation pipe. Whereas other machinery can only go at crawl speed and requires multiple passes to get things correct. Trenchers allow you to complete the job quickly whilst achieving a quality finished product.
Once the excavation is complete, a grader takes over to smooth things out. Graders are used by farmers to smooth out planting areas, create access roads, and manage water flow. Graders will also be used to restore ground disrupted by heavy equipment operations. A properly graded surface will save time and help extend the life of any piece of equipment that operates over it.
Transporting and Compacting Materials
The agriculture industry requires extensive movement of material; soils, rock, fill, and feed, all will be moved off of and back onto agricultural fields at various times. Moxy Dump Trucks are the best-suited means of transporting materials over rugged terrain/farm where access roads are not always smooth.
Dozers push, spread, and reshape materials. Land clearing, backfilling of trenches, and formation of pads all require a precise amount of force and stable control; dozers are manufactured to do just that. After the shape/grade is created, the earth must be compacted so it doesn’t wash away or sink after rain. That compaction is accomplished through the use of a pad compactor.
Water trucks are also critical to this process. Helping control dust, conditioning the soil before it is compacted, and creating a safer working environment when multiple machines are operating.
Rough Terrain and Restrictive Access
Not all jobs are performed in an open paddock; many occur around sheds, orchards, dams, and yards where access is limited and the ground can become soft very quickly due to weather conditions. Posi-tracks were designed to overcome this. The tracked design of a Posi-track allows the weight to be dispersed; they have more grip than wheels do in tight places, allowing operators to work in narrow conditions without damaging the surrounding area.
Challenger tractors provide pulling power and stability for larger jobs, working with a wider variety of farm machinery. The Challenger tractors are designed for applications that require strength and traction, rather than being able to turn quickly and nimbly.
Why Hire Instead of Owning for the Majority of Farms
While it may seem that owning plant equipment is a mark of independence, the reality is that for the majority of farms, it is an ongoing liability. Most small equipment, such as excavators, graders, and trenchers are used only a handful of times each year, so the cost of purchasing, servicing, and maintaining these machines will continue to accumulate regardless of whether they are used or not. Hiring the equipment means you have the equipment available when required to complete the job, and then you can return it. Without hiring equipment, a farmer will have to pay for the machine, the repairs and service incurred while the machine is sitting idle, and at the same time watch its value decrease year by year. Hiring also gives farmers access to a larger variety of equipment. So they can select the appropriate machine for the particular job based upon ground type, weather conditions, and the scale of work, rather than the machine that they have on hand.
Your Choice: Dry or Wet Hire
Whether you prefer dry or wet hire of plant equipment comes down to how hands-on you wish to be. If you can confidently operate machinery and you want to operate at your own pace, consider dry hire.
Wet hire of machinery provides the operator with an experienced professional who operates the machinery every day. For the more complicated aspects of your projects, such as shaping drains, cutting grades, or being alongside existing infrastructure, wet hire may lead to more accurate and quicker results, as the operator knows how to get the most out of the machine without exceeding its limits.
Ensuring A Smooth Hire Process
It is imperative that you know what to expect before hiring plant equipment. Be sure to get satisfactory answers regarding delivery and pickup, fuel expectations, and what happens if a machine breaks down in the middle of the job. A reliable provider of plant equipment will ensure that their equipment is frequently serviced and ready to work, to avoid unnecessary delay when the seasons are short.
Tackle Your Next Job with Sunstate Pipelines Plant Hire
Plant equipment hire gives farmers the ability to accomplish their heavy work without incurring long-term costs. Simultaneously enabling them to go beyond everyday farming with access to works, drainage, clearing, and infrastructure upgrades. Because the correct machinery changes everything.
Sunstate Pipelines has equipment for any job readily available for rental. For those harsh environmental conditions and high workload operations, with dry or wet hire capabilities. If you have a job on your property awaiting the right equipment, contact Sunstate Pipelines now so you can understand the difference between making it through the job and conquering it.
When you’re ready to take control of the ground and advance your farm, Sunstate Pipelines is ready to assist with the plant equipment necessary to meet your needs.