WITH the end of the financial year looming and farmers wanting to take advantage of tax breaks to upgrade equipment, a frustration for some has been a lack of stock availability.
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But the stock shortage story does not necessarily apply equally across all agricultural machinery dealerships and there are still opportunities to upgrade and ease tax burdens with just a week to go.
McIntosh & Son general manager for Albany, Esperance, Kulin and Katanning, Devon Gilmour, said this week those dealerships have forward planning to thank for their current machine stock.
"In the next week there are still lots of opportunities for both new and used equipment," Mr Gilmour said.
"A perfect example is the Harrington Seed Destructor for anyone with a header - they're in stock right now and are the best value for anyone thinking of reducing their weed seed bank via an impact mill.
"We also have New Holland tractors arriving as we speak".
For McIntosh & Son, the key has been to plan for a long-term purchase cycle, rather than for seasons or traditional sale periods.
"We're planning our manufacturer orders two years ahead, so there is stock being delivered on a rolling basis," Mr Gilmour said.
"We have our orders allocated for this harvest arriving between June and August and then another round arriving in January and February next year for those wanting a June 2023 settlement.
"Planning is critical to ensure a continuing supply of stock and we also need customers to plan out beyond season to season."
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"Like everyone else, we have experienced delays, but because of business considerations made early when the pandemic hit, we're in a far better place to continue to deliver machines and parts to our customer base.
"The same concept applies to our parts supply - our pre-season combine parts are already in our dealerships.
"We saw the writing on the wall two years ago and no longer rely on manufacturers to hold parts stock.
"Our Katanning parts warehouse has four Hanel units (12 metre-high storage units containing 73 shelves, with each shelf holding up to 36 tonnes of parts - a total of 150 square metres of storage space on a small footprint which has been featured previously in Farm Weekly).
"Those units are 70 per cent full and we have another two on order.
"We've negotiated return policies with manufacturers so we can stock up and do our best to ensure supply.
"The industry purchasing cycle has changed forever - it's now 2-2.5 years out, as opposed to 6-12 months - and we're making sure we're staying ahead where we can."
Growers can contact their local McIntosh & Son dealership or go to mcintoshandson.com.au/stock to view current available units.
