Equipment Sharing

For as long as expensive equipment has existed in farming, so have communities who have joined together to jointly own, lease, or otherwise share that equipment.

Sharing equipment might not make or break a farm business, but it certainly can alleviate some of the financial stress of investing into pricey resources. One study in Sweden found that even when using equipment at non-optimal times, farmers still saved 15%+ in costs by participating in an equipment cooperative.

Many farmers engage in informal equipment sharing, but there are legal and social benefits to establishing a more formal arrangement. There are many ways this sort of arrangement can be established. Read below to learn about successful models from around the world, and find templates, guidebooks, and more about starting an equipment sharing collective of your own!

Spotlight on the Intervale farmer equipment company

The Intervale Center (IC) is a nonprofit based in Vermont that houses several innovative projects: they run a food hub and a conservation nursery growing native plants, provide farm business technical assistance, and own farmland that is leased out to several farm businesses.

Originally, the IC owned and operated all farm equipment onsite. In 2005, the Intervale Farmer Equipment Company (IFEC) was formed: an LLC jointly owned by the farmers and the nonprofit. The equipment (tractors, implements, and greenhouses) were sold to the LLC. The farmers jointly contributed cash contributions equal to about 65% of the value, while the IC contributed the remaining 35%.

Members of the IFEC pay by hour for tractor and implement use, and by bench for greenhouse use. They are required to contribute work hours towards maintaining and repairing equipment.

Read more about the management structure of the IFEC, including how repairs, training, and billing are handled, via this fact sheet.

cumas: an international cooperative equipment sharing model

A CUMA (Coopérative d'Utilisation de Matériel), translated to Agricultural Equipment Cooperative, is a model of cooperative farm equipment ownership that originated in France. The concept is ubiquitous in the region—nearly half of all French farmers are part of a CUMA.

The CUMA office requires at least one meeting per year for members, but groups are free to come up with their own guidelines for sharing. Many smaller cooperatives run very casually, where larger cooperatives tend to be more organized, with some hiring an employee or purchasing land to store the equipment.

Equipment sharing cooperatives are far less common in the United States—but they don’t have to be! Aspects of the model could be readily replicated in different communities. Read more about CUMAs in the resources dropdown below.

More Resources for Sharing Equipment