Farm machinery finance is a way of paying for agricultural equipment over time instead of in a single lump sum. The agreement is secured on the machine itself, you make regular payments over an agreed term, and on hire purchase you own the asset once the final payment and any option-to-purchase fee are made.
It covers most of what a farm runs on: tractors, combines and foragers, balers, ploughs, drills and sprayers, telehandlers and loaders, trailers, feeders, milking and dairy equipment, grain handling and drying kit, and hedge cutters and post knockers. If the item has a serial number and a resale market, there is usually a lender willing to consider it.
The main structures are hire purchase, where you own the machine at the end; finance lease, where you rent it and share in the sale proceeds at the end; and operating lease or contract hire, where you hand it back. Which suits you depends on how long you keep machinery, how you want it treated in your accounts and what your accountant advises on capital allowances. Tax treatment depends on your circumstances and can change — take advice from your own accountant.
The benefit is that you keep cash in the business and match the cost of the machine to the years it earns. The cost is that you pay more in total than an outright purchase, and you are tied in for the term. Nothing is guaranteed; every application depends on the lender’s assessment.