An analysis of East Tennessee farmers' decisions to purchase farm equipment

The purpose of this study was to identify and rank the reasons farmers purchase farm machinery. Various selection criteria for purchasing equipment were evaluated including: based on cost, based on specific features, because of specific features, to update with new technology, to replace old machinery, to save labor, based on size (power), based on durability, and to increase farm production. In addition, fourteen decision-making statements were analyzed, as well as the demographic criteria of respondents.

To expedite the study, the following specific objectives were explicated:

1. To develop a personal profile of East Tennessee farmers who had purchased farm machinery in the past five years;

2. To identify and rank specific selection criteria farmers used when purchasing new machinery;

3. To determine the decision-making process farmers used when purchasing farm machinery; and

4. To determine the differences between the selection criteria and decision-making process used by farmers when purchasing machinery and selected personal and farm characteristics.

A questionnaire was developed by the researcher to evaluate the study objectives. A closed ended Likert-type scale was used for the decision-making statements on the survey. In addition, selected demographic information was collected. The questionnaire was mailed to 240 East Tennessee farmers. The farmers' names and addresses were provided to the researcher by The University of Tennessee Agricultural Extension Service. A pre-test was completed to determine content validity and reliability.

Questionnaire data were tabulated by the researcher using the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS for windows version 10.05). The findings were deduced through the use of descriptive statistics, the t-test for Equality of Means, Levene's Test for Equality of Variances, and Duncan's Multiple Range Test for multiple comparisons.

Farmers participating in this research indicated that their decisions to purchase farm equipment were based on economic aspects. When the selection criteria for purchasing machinery were ranked, safety ranked as one of the least important criteria. Updating with new technology was the least important criteria utilized in purchasing equipment.

Findings further revealed that farmers who owned smaller land acreage deemed it more important to consult the Extension Agent before purchasing equipment than did farmers who owned more land. Farmers with smaller land holdings and less education tended to seek the approval of others more often than farmers with larger farming operations and more education.

Farmers at all income levels deemed it important to purchase farm machinery to increase production. Buying farm equipment because it was on sale was not important to farmers in any income level.

Few of the farmers indicated a need for approval on their farm machinery purchases or a need to select farm machinery similar to that of neighbors. Even though many farmers select farm equipment based on economic aspects, more education in the area of farm machinery selection and economical purchases is needed.