TurfOps Weekly #37 | When the Numbers Change

Welcome to TurfOps Weekly

Budget season is always full of assumptions. Fuel costs. Labor costs. Equipment replacement schedules. Repair expenses. Capital availability. This year, one of those assumptions may deserve another look.

Higher fuel prices have already increased the cost of operating conventional equipment. But the more interesting question may be what happens next.

For facilities considering new equipment, the comparison between diesel and electric was already becoming more complicated. Add autonomy and the calculation changes again. An electric mower potentially reduces fuel and some maintenance costs. An autonomous electric mower introduces another variable by potentially changing how labor is allocated and when equipment can operate.

That doesn’t automatically make either one the “better” investment.

Electric equipment can bring higher acquisition costs, charging requirements and electrical infrastructure not readily available. Autonomy adds its own questions around property suitability, support, reliability and how the machine fits the operation. Meanwhile, higher fuel costs themselves consume money that might otherwise have been available for capital purchases.

That’s what makes the current budget season interesting.

The question isn’t simply whether diesel has become expensive enough to justify electric equipment. It’s whether enough of the assumptions surrounding equipment ownership have changed that the old calculation deserves to be run again.

For a lot of operations, the answer may still favor conventional equipment. For others, rising fuel costs could become one more factor that moves electrification or autonomy from a future conversation into the next equipment budget.

Have something to share?

Some of the best perspectives in this industry come from the people doing the work every day. Not all of them consider themselves writers.

I want to open TurfOps Weekly to more of those voices.

If there’s something happening in your operation, a lesson you’ve learned, a technical subject you know well, or an industry issue you’ve been thinking about, I’d be interested in hearing from you. You don’t need a journalism degree and a completely finished article. An idea and a willingness to work through it is enough.

Sure, not every submission or idea will become a TurfOps story, and anything published will remain subject to editorial review. But if you’ve ever thought about writing for the turf industry and weren’t sure where to start, this could be your place to try it out.

Reach out here and let’s discuss your next story.

Shop Talk

When equipment costs change, the shop usually sees the consequences before anyone else.

Fuel is easy to measure because every fill-up produces a number. The harder costs are scattered across oil changes, filters, hydraulic components, belts, downtime, technician hours and the growing challenge of keeping aging equipment productive.

Electric equipment doesn’t eliminate maintenance, and batteries, motors and electronic systems introduce different service considerations. But it changes what the equipment manager maintains.

That makes this budget season a good time to look beyond purchase price. What does a machine actually require over the years you expect to own it?

The answer may be increasingly important as diesel, labor and replacement equipment all compete for the same dollars.

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In Case You Missed It

Diesel over $6 a gallon gets your attention, but the impact on turf operations goes well beyond the fuel tank. Rising diesel costs can work their way into freight, supplies, parts and outside services, creating a two-layer squeeze on maintenance budgets. I look at where those costs are showing up.
Plus, a bonus question for those running reel mowers: could relief grinding and proper cutting-unit setup help reduce fuel consumption?

Read the full story ➡️ When Diesel Impacts the Maintenance Budget

This week’s TurfOps is presented by Boundless Mind Media

Through Boundless Mind Media, I’ve written a small collection of books spanning into golf, side hustles, landscaping, how our brains are wired, and even a Minnesota vs. Wisconsin cookbook. They’re short and easy reads built around curiosity, practical ideas and a little bit of fun.
These titles and others are available on Amazon.

Behind the Business

For manufacturers and distributors, higher fuel prices could change more than the equipment being considered. They could change the questions customers ask leading up to making purchasing decisions.

Electric and autonomous equipment is often introduced through conversations about technology, sustainability or labor. Operating cost may now carry more weight.

That puts greater responsibility on suppliers to provide useful numbers. What electrical service is required? What does charging cost? What maintenance changes? How long should batteries last? What happens when they eventually need replacement? And with autonomous equipment, is the touted redirected labor realistic?

Customers entering budget season don’t need another promise about the future. They need enough information to compare alternatives against the equipment they already know and understand.

The companies who have prepared and can provide those answers will likely have a much easier conversation.

📷 From the Driver’s Seat

One fall morning in Woodbury, Minnesota after the fog lifted on #18.

Do you have a sharable pic from the driver’s seat? Reply with submissions.

Opinion

Fuel prices may be what gets the conversation started, but they shouldn’t make the decision.

The bigger question is whether the economics of operating turf equipment are changing enough to reconsider assumptions that made sense three, five or 10 years ago. Diesel prices are one variable. Electricity cost is another. So are labor, maintenance, infrastructure, equipment life, productivity and capital cost.

Sustainability desires add another layer. Many facilities would like to reduce fuel consumption, emissions and their overall environmental footprint. But those goals exist alongside rising operating costs, limited capital and equipment that still needs to perform every day. The most sustainable choice on paper isn’t necessarily the most practical choice for every operation right now.

And none of these decisions are part of a short game. A mower purchased during this budget cycle could remain in the fleet for many years to come. Electrical service upgrades made today will support equipment that hasn’t even reached the market yet. The same is true for investments in charging infrastructure, batteries and autonomy.

The answer won’t be the same for every operation. What matters is recognizing when enough of the variables have changed that yesterday’s assumptions may no longer hold true today (or tomorrow).

- Kurt

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