Buy or lease farm equipment - how to choose the best option for you

Aug 31, 2021

Farm equipment is the most expensive investment after land. But is it better to buy or lease?

Farmer and veteran accountant Lance Stockbrugger says producers should weigh both options carefully before deciding how to make equipment investments.

The comfort of buying

Most Canadian farmers still prefer to buy rather than lease equipment, Stockbrugger says, because it’s familiar. There’s security in the tradition of bringing longevity of ownership and comfort in avoiding the possibility of contract-related surprises back to the farm.

"After farmland, equipment is the most expensive investment. But is it better to buy or lease?"

Leasing, by comparison, is a relatively new business model that usually comes with conditions. Of course, all the conditions are included in the leasing contract. But the concerns for complications — say, if a leaseholder wants to run a machine for longer than detailed in the lease — gives some producers pause.

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Video: Evolution of Beef Cattle Farming

The Clear Conversations podcast took to the road for a special episode recorded in Nashville during CattleCon, bringing listeners straight into the heart of the cattle industry. Host Tracy Sellers welcomed rancher Steve Wooten of Beatty Canyon Ranch in Colorado for a wide-ranging discussion that blended family history and sustainability, particularly as it relates to the future of beef production.

Sustainability emerged as a central theme of the conversation, a word that Wooten acknowledges can mean very different things depending on who you ask. For him, sustainability starts with the soil. Healthy soil produces healthy grass, which supports efficient cattle capable of producing year after year with minimal external inputs. It’s an approach that equally considers vegetation, animal efficiency, and long-term profitability.

That philosophy aligned naturally with Wooten’s involvement in the U.S. Roundtable for Sustainable Beef, where he served as a representative for the Colorado Cattlemen’s Association. The roundtable brings together the entire beef supply chain—from producers to retailers—along with universities, NGOs, and allied industries. Its goal is not regulation, Wooten emphasized, but collaboration, shared learning, and continuous improvement.