The ability to manage machinery is an important skill that must be mastered by farmers and ranchers who want to compete in our complex worldwide commodity marketplace. With the basic information in this book you can build a solid foundation of knowledge that can be used to make the most efficient machinery management decisions and help keep your business competitive. There is no substitute for personally solving a machinery management problem. You should not rely on the short cut methods of others when you make decisions that affect your business. The data and formulas in this text are based on the latest information available at the accuracy of your machinery management decisions. The book is divided into three sections. The first section covers the topic of how to become more efficient by matching machines and power units to different situations. Section Two gives information that can be used to estimate and analyze costs so better machinery management choices can be made. The final section gives several examples of the application of information contained in the first two sections to illustrate the value of making decisions on a sound, economical basis. Throughout this book, emphasis is placed on solving practical problems with either a computer or hand calculator. These problems are flagged in the book with a computer or calculator symbol. Whether you use a computer or a hand calculator, you will be pleasantly surprised at the wide variety of management decision that you can make, once you master these example problems.