Spare parts shortage may delay harvest

Grain growers are facing a shortage of crucial machinery, including tractor and truck parts as harvest gets off to a rough start.

A slow start to harvest may be delayed further with reports of a severe shortage of spare parts for farm machinery, tractors and trucks.

A string of natural disasters, the Covid-19 pandemic and war in Ukraine have created global supply chain bottlenecks so severe that some parts are not currently being manufactured, including engine electronics, due to a shortage of raw materials to make them.

The situation has given rise to a hotchpotch of temporary solutions with some farmers, desperate to get crops to market to recoup this year’s record input costs and take advantage of high commodity prices, fashioning parts in their workshops.

Every winter harvest witnesses a multitude of mechanical breakdowns, but Victorian Farmers Federation grains council president Ashley Fraser said that would be multiplied this year as farmers encountered a range of extraordinary issues, including bogging in sodden ground and paddocks lousy with undergrowth.

“The shelves are stripped at local dealers and it’s getting harder to ship anything from capital cities or overseas, and if you can there is a long wait. So, suddenly, farmers are trying to manufacture parts themselves to keep machines going,” he said.

The need for replacement parts for farm machinery will be exacerbated by wet weather and sodden paddocks. Picture: Kate Dowler

Mr Fraser also said many farmers purchased parts in bulk over the past two years and were carrying much greater inventories than ever before, with one Victorian farmer storing more than $1.5 million worth of replacement parts in his workshop, far more than he would normally stock.

Meanwhile, an increasing number of truck owners were parking up rigs while waiting for components, such as wiring looms, to be shipped from overseas. Others reported they were making emergency freight orders and having them flown in.

A western Victorian parts dealer said there was currently a four-month wait for once freely available common parts.

He also said the demand for parts, particularly belts and bearings, had accelerated since harvesting began in recent weeks and that truck owners were increasingly seeking rims and tyres due to damage from potholes across regional Victoria.

“We have had to make and repair parts, find a kit the parts come in and break it down, source second-hand parts, use other dealers. You cannot tell farmers and truck owners they have to park their machines, it’s their business. So, you go the extra mile and exhaust every option,” he said.

“But it is going to be a slow, drawn-out harvest anyway, hunting for parts will slow it more.”