As anyone who’s made it outdoors these past few months is likely aware of, this summer has proved a scorcher. In fact, the summer of 2012 is breaking record after record in terms of overall heat, producing the hottest summer in American history, or at least since weather has been kept track of on the national level. 55% of counties across the U.S. have been declared “natural disaster regions” by state and federal authorities. Crops are withering, cattle are being forced to adopt imported feed, and wildfires rage unchecked in many “hard-to-reach” corners of the country. In short, it’s looking to go down in the books as yet another, all-American, 21st century-style summer. Who knows what records remain to be broken?
Already economic forecasters indicate the price of cereals will go up in 2013 on account of the drought. For the average consumer, that means a higher price-tag on their breakfast cereal. But for those in the agricultural industry, it means a lot of belt-tightening needs to be performed. Like it or not, the weather is the weather, and every farmer since the days of the Fertile Crescent in Mesopotamia knows there are ways and means of keeping down the cost of drought on his or her livelihood.
One way that those in the farming sector are reducing their costs is by making due with tractors and combines they already possess, rather than purchasing new ones. At Production Materials, we’ve definitely noticed an uptick in the frequency of rush requirements in providing spare parts for tractor suppliers. That’s a strong indicator that farmers are investing in replacing individual broken-down parts. We’ve also noticed a faster need for replacement, which is in all likelihood an indication of how the soil is affecting the performance of the farming equipment.
We know it’s been a hot one for those in agriculture this year. But we at Production Materials are trying to do our share to help our farm implement suppliers fight the drought. If you need new parts for your tractor or combine, and you need them in a hurry, we are part of the team that will be there to help. That’s a promise from one Midwestern company to all others: we won’t let you down in good times, and certainly not in hard times.