Business of buying

Mar 1, 2002 12:00 PM

Age, education affect buying habits

Many factors affect how farmers buy. The Farm Industry News exclusive BuyQ survey (featured in the previous story) reveals that farmers' buying habits often depend on their age, education, the number of acres they own, and if they buy only new equipment.

Age

Dealer service is significantly more important to farmers 35 years or older than to those younger than 35 when buying seed corn or corn herbicides.
Financing terms are significantly more important to farmers under 35 than to those 35 or older when buying seed corn.
Price is significantly more important to those under 35 than to those 35 or older when buying corn herbicides.

Acreage

Brand is significantly more important to farmers who own fewer than 3,000 acres than to those who own 3,000 acres or more when buying seed corn or a tractor.
Volume discounts are significantly more important to farmers who own 3,000 acres or more than to those who own fewer than 3,000 acres when buying corn herbicides.

Education

Financing terms and volume discounts are significantly more important to farmers who have no college education than to those with some college education when buying a tractor.
Warranty is significantly more important to farmers who have had no college education than to those who attended college when buying seed corn.
Dealer service and brand are significantly more important to farmers who did not attend college than to those who attended college when buying corn herbicides.

Buy new or used equipment

With tractor purchases, product performance, brand and volume discounts are significantly more important to farmers who buy only new equipment, whereas financing terms, price and the recommendation of others are significantly more important to farmers who buy used equipment. than to those who buy only new equipment when buying a tractor.