Tractor Mike's video: Are Retiring Old Guys the Tractor Owner s Biggest Challenge

Got a letter from a viewer who is worried about the lack of qualified technicians at his local dealership. It's a business that his family has patronized for decades, but they've sold to a large conglomerate and are struggling to find tractor mechanics. He's wondering if he needs to buy a trailer to be able to haul his tractor to a distant dealer with a better service department. Unfortunately, I don't think you can get away from this problem by becoming a tractor trucker. All dealerships, everywhere are having trouble finding technicians. The older ones are retiring, and the young ones may move on to higher paying job in the construction and trucking industries. The problem is coming because of the number of mechanics who are my age or older, who are retiring in large numbers. In 2017 I wrote an article for a trade publication that said that half of all mechanics would be retiring in ten years. Covid sped that up. So now we have dealerships with no older techs mentoring the young folks who come in. It's a bad situation, but it's pretty much everywhere. It's especially acute in the farm equipment business for a number of reasons. First, being a tractor mechanic is tough. In a car dealership you'd never expect to work on something built in the 40's or 50's, but that's common in the tractor business. You may have to work on other items that you don't have a passion for, like skid loaders, hay balers or lawn mowers when the business is in the busy season. Plus, the new equipment is more sophisticated, if you became a tractor mechanic to avoid computer diagnostics, it's caught up to you. Finally, there aren't a lot of kids with mechanical ability coming from the farm anymore, so the learning curve is steep. The good news is, tractor dealerships are raising their shop labor rates to get competitive with the industrial and trucking industries, which is needed to attract qualified mechanics. So, young people heading toward a career of turning wrenches can make really good money right now, and hopefully that's going to attract our next generation of tractor mechanics. Like I said earlier, I don't think the answer is buying a trailer and driving halfway across a state to find a dealership with qualified technicians, but rather, to work with your local dealer and patronize them so they can have the income coming in to attract good young people. At least that's what I'm doing. LINKS YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT... The Tractor Fun Store: https://asktractormike.com/products-for-sale/ Support the Tractor Mike Channel: https://www.patreon.com/TractorMike Visit the Tractor Mike website: http://asktractormike.com/ Visit Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/Ask-Tractor-Mike-312112962245304/ Copyright 2022 Tractor Mike LLC