Rent a No-till drill?

[Fallow Farm]

Do people rent out these drills? I’d love to have one to use, but also to rent out to recoup some of the cost. I’d want a decent sized one (8’ or so) to be worthwhile.

Is there a market for renting out a drill? If so, what size would get the most use?

What would be a decent price to ask for renting out a drill?

 

[GMan5465]

Our SWCD has a not till drill it rents out. The only problem is you need an 80 HP Tractor to use it. For that reason...I'm out! Here's the link for more info.

SWCD No Till Drill

 

[SwampCat]

Have you ever heard the saying when discussing a rented car - “drive it like you stole it”.

Our nrcs office rents drills. Their agent told me one time he would not rent it to me because of the exposed tree roots from the trees in my food plots, plus their was a propensity for folks to hit a tree with it trying to plant close to trees. He has seen my place. You can see everyone’s place first.

Our g&f also rents a drill. A lot of competition at least in my area.

 

[Turkey Creek]

Do people rent out these drills? I’d love to have one to use, but also to rent out to recoup some of the cost. I’d want a decent sized one (8’ or so) to be worthwhile.

Is there a market for renting out a drill? If so, what size would get the most use?

What would be a decent price to ask for renting out a drill?

I think you could stay busy enough to recoup your costs. I would not rent it out for someone else to use for the reason already stated. I do not bother with the NRCS ones. I have heard they generally have been abused and you dont know something is broken until you take the time to pull it to your place. I have a neighbor down the road that I realized now has a 6' GP. I will hopefully be allowed to rent it on occasion from him.

 

[roymunson]

If I were to get one, i'd want to do the planting. I'm not letting some yahoo beat the heck out of my expensive piece of equipment. I'll come plant them at $XX per acre. There's a semi retired guy who does that and does ok doing it. Not huge dollars, but you'd at least know the routine.

 

[Ikeman]

Our SWCD has a not till drill it rents out. The only problem is you need an 80 HP Tractor to use it. For that reason...I'm out! Here's the link for more info.

SWCD No Till Drill

Ours has a 100hp minimum, so I’m in the same boat.
I REALLY which I had access to a smaller one for rent.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[swat1018]

I have a drill. I think I could make some money back planting for others, now that I'm retired. There are quite a few guys around my farms that want better plots and have asked. Problem is, they all need done at the same time. I think I may do some, just to help some guys out.

 

[somich]

I think you could stay busy enough to recoup your costs. I would not rent it out for someone else to use for the reason already stated. I do not bother with the NRCS ones. I have heard they generally have been abused and you dont know something is broken until you take the time to pull it to your place. I have a neighbor down the road that I realized now has a 6' GP. I will hopefully be allowed to rent it on occasion from him.

Our local fsa drill to rent is well maintained because, the people responsible care.

That said it's tow behind and that's a PiA to use as I work around a lot of stuff.

I bought a saya 5' and have been asked by a few people to put in plots and habitat.

No way i would rent or lend it out. Even though and partly because, it's an inexpensive nt drill, it takes care and maintenance.

I haven't used it enough to be able to come up with a cost per acre or per hour price for me to do it for others.

 

[SwampCat]

I am retired and have quite a bit of equipment. Have had quite a few folks contact me about doing work for them. I have quoted a few out and most folks and especially most plotters think I am high. Most people without equipment dont understand how much advanced equipment costs. They dont understand travel time - to and from. They dont understand you may need to prep a spot - even with a drill - you may need to apply herbicide, you may need to bush hog, then there is timing. You will probably need commercial insurance. I dont think it is worthwhile unless you go all in.

 

[Skye King]

I am retired and have quite a bit of equipment. Have had quite a few folks contact me about doing work for them. I have quoted a few out and most folks and especially most plotters think I am high. Most people without equipment dont understand how much advanced equipment costs. They dont understand travel time - to and from. They dont understand you may need to prep a spot - even with a drill - you may need to apply herbicide, you may need to bush hog, then there is timing. You will probably need commercial insurance. I dont think it is worthwhile unless you go all in.

I agree. The only way is to jump in with both feet. I bought my drill because I wanted one and gave some thought to renting it out or bidding jobs and doing the work myself. But, after thinking about it,,,,,Nah, ain't gonna do that

 

[Foggy47]

I don't think you could charge people enough to cover your costs of doing this kind of work. Maybe if you know the ground is well prep'ed and ready to go.....but that is seldom the case.

 

[rocksnstumps]

Think as others have mentioned, a tough business model unless you can hook up with wealthy clients that have more money than time. You have a big capital investment with a no till drill and multiple times that for a tractor that can handle the drill. On top of that you also have to have an adequate truck and trailer to haul that stuff. Joe small tract land owner wants to get 3-5 acres planted for like $75-$100/acre. By the time you pay for seed and fuel (mostly to haul your equipment to the site) your labor is valued way low like maybe $10/hr. Forget that. Trying to get your real costs into your pricing and Joe is gonna remember this is a hobby not a necessity. They don't like paying a mechanic thousand(s) of dollars to get their car fixed to get to work but not much choice unlike a food plot.

Remember when I got some low grade pulp wood logging done, about half the total amount the mill was paying went to the trucking firm, not the logger or me as the land owner. They have to show you the cords sent to the mill and they tell you the mill pricing so was easy to calculate the money flows. Fuel moving heavy stuff is expensive.

 

[Mortenson]

Iowa custom rates are always close to being spot on. They give a range. For food plotting small acreage I'd charge a minimum base fee, and then rates on top of that. Drilling a 2 acre plot for some guy at $17/ac isn't worth it obviously. Ask a lot then it's a win win whether you do the job or not.

What Iowans expect to pay for custom farming in 2023

The annual Iowa Farm Custom Rate Survey, released this week by Iowa State University Extension, shows custom machine work is on the rise in the state, and so are custom costs.

www.agriculture.com

 

[Foggy47]

Iowa custom rates are always close to being spot on. They give a range. For food plotting small acreage I'd charge a minimum base fee, and then rates on top of that. Drilling a 2 acre plot for some guy at $17/ac isn't worth it obviously. Ask a lot then it's a win win whether you do the job or not.

What Iowans expect to pay for custom farming in 2023

The annual Iowa Farm Custom Rate Survey, released this week by Iowa State University Extension, shows custom machine work is on the rise in the state, and so are custom costs.

www.agriculture.com

I would not load my tractor and drill for $17 / acre. No way Jose.

 

[Fallow Farm]

I would not load my tractor and drill for $17 / acre. No way Jose.

Maybe for 640+ acres that money works out, but not for 15 acres.

If you hired out, you would have to do it as such:

Base/transport/Setup fee: $XXX
Cost per acre $XX
Running Time: $XX/hr
Total:$XXXX

*With a minimum charge of $XXX

My tractor is a 170 hp John Deere 7800. That thing is not an easy machine to haul. I think w front end loader it’s pushing 14k + lbs, so I would have to use my 24k trailer. I hate moving it. It makes my butt pucker.

I guess all of you are probably right. Not worth renting out a drill, and most people won’t pay what it takes to just cover costs.

There are apps now where you can rent out your trailers. Dump, car haulers, horse trailers, goosenecks etc. I actually signed up and put my new 14k lb dump trailer on there at $189/day. I thought it was a bit low, but I wanted to see what kind of demand there was. Have not had a single inquiry in 2 months.

There is an app called Rubbl (I think) where you can lease out your own equipment. Once again, I considered leasing out my CAT 259D3, but it’s brand new and I just can’t bear the thought of someone running it hard.

People really suck sometimes.

Thanks for all the input. It’s kind of what I expected, but it’s always nice to hear others confirm my concerns.

 

[Fallow Farm]

Our SWCD has a not till drill it rents out. The only problem is you need an 80 HP Tractor to use it. For that reason...I'm out! Here's the link for more info.

SWCD No Till Drill

I think that is a reasonable cost for a drill. If that was around my ranch, I’d be in for that deal. $200 + $15/ac isn’t too bad.

 

[SwampCat]

Maybe for 640+ acres that money works out, but not for 15 acres.

If you hired out, you would have to do it as such:

Base/transport/Setup fee: $XXX
Cost per acre $XX
Running Time: $XX/hr
Total:$XXXX

*With a minimum charge of $XXX

My tractor is a 170 hp John Deere 7800. That thing is not an easy machine to haul. I think w front end loader it’s pushing 14k + lbs, so I would have to use my 24k trailer. I hate moving it. It makes my butt pucker.

I guess all of you are probably right. Not worth renting out a drill, and most people won’t pay what it takes to just cover costs.

There are apps now where you can rent out your trailers. Dump, car haulers, horse trailers, goosenecks etc. I actually signed up and put my new 14k lb dump trailer on there at $189/day. I thought it was a bit low, but I wanted to see what kind of demand there was. Have not had a single inquiry in 2 months.

There is an app called Rubbl (I think) where you can lease out your own equipment. Once again, I considered leasing out my CAT 259D3, but it’s brand new and I just can’t bear the thought of someone running it hard.

People really suck sometimes.

Thanks for all the input. It’s kind of what I expected, but it’s always nice to hear others confirm my concerns.

A 170 hp tractor could not get to 2/3rds of my food plots

 

[GMan5465]

I think that is a reasonable cost for a drill. If that was around my ranch, I’d be in for that deal. $200 + $15/ac isn’t too bad.

I agree. Only time I’ve wished my MX6000 was bigger…so far

 

[Fallow Farm]

A 170 hp tractor could not get to 2/3rds of my food plots

I think that’s the case with lots of guys!

I just do not need a tractor that big. The largest plot I have is 11 acres. All I do is lift stuff with it. I got a CAT 259D3 recently that has pretty much replaced every job my tractor did, except plowing.

I saw a skid steer drill online that looks pretty intriguing. I’d only be planting 4-5 acres w it, maybe that’s a plan I need to look into.

 

[Foggy47]

I think that’s the case with lots of guys!

I just do not need a tractor that big. The largest plot I have is 11 acres. All I do is lift stuff with it. I got a CAT 259D3 recently that has pretty much replaced every job my tractor did, except plowing.

I saw a skid steer drill online that looks pretty intriguing. I’d only be planting 4-5 acres w it, maybe that’s a plan I need to look into.

What brand and size is the skid steer drill? I have never heard of one of those........and just the other day I was just wondering if anyone made one.