Purpose: This research suggests a method of establishing criteria for working area and operating cost for a long-term lease of agricultural machinery. Methods: Eight crops were selected-three food crops and five open-field vegetables-and agricultural machines used for sowing, transplanting, and cultivation in dry-field farming were analyzed. Results: The break-even acreage for agricultural machinery under a long-term lease was found to differ by agricultural machine, ranging from 1.0 to 5.8 ha. In terms of arable land area, the break-even acreages for harvesting machinery and transplanters were 15.6 to 26.1 ha and 6.1 to 8.6 ha, respectively. The working area lessees should secure was divided into two cases: (1) 2.0 to 11.6 ha when leasing individual agricultural machines (sowing and transplanting) for a long-term period, and (2) more than 10 ha when farmers who cultivate beans, potatoes, garlic, onions, and so on lease sowing and transplanting machines as a set. When agricultural machinery was leased for a long term, the operating cost and working time were reduced by 27.6 to 74.4% and 2.5 to 21.6%, respectively, indicating considerable effect. Conclusions: A long-term lease project needs to be promoted to overcome the limitation of short-term leases of agricultural machinery. The local government should lead this project and facilitate the mechanization of dry-field farming. The department in charge of agricultural machinery lease projects needs to set the working area to cover the rate and maintenance cost for farmers who lease agricultural machinery for the long term.

Purpose: This study was conducted to serve as a basis for strengthening policy support and R&D to improve the domestic and international competitiveness of domestic agricultural machinery. Levels of satisfaction among farmers and service engineers were analyzed regarding the current quality of agricultural machinery and the primary consumers' propensity for replacement purchases. Methods: A survey was carried out targeting farmers in over 150 townships and 300 villages in South Korea who collectively used 711 tractors, 286 rice transplanters, and 221 combine harvesters. Furthermore, agricultural machinery service engineers from 20 different after-services were surveyed regarding the quality of main components in domestic agricultural machinery versus those in imported agricultural machinery. Results: The farmers' overall quality satisfaction ratings for tractors, rice transplanters, and combine harvesters ranged from 57.1% to 62.6% in consideration of operating performance, failure rate, and durability. Compared with imports, satisfaction ratings for domestic agricultural machinery were 19.1%p to 38.1%p lower for quality. Regarding engines, transmissions, hydraulics, planters, reapers, threshers, and electrical components, only 5.3% to 25.0% of service engineers indicated that domestic agricultural machinery was higher in quality compared with imports. By contrast, 33.3% to 78.9% of those surveyed indicated that domestic components were lower in quality compared with imports. Intent to purchase replacement agricultural machinery at the end of their respective products' lifecycles was indicated that they planned to purchase imported tractors, rice transplanters, and combine harvesters comprised 25.2%, 46.9%, and 43.9%, respectively. This clearly shows that a very high percentage of farmers were satisfied, particularly for transplanters and combine harvesters. Conclusions: The level of desire for purchasing imported agricultural machinery was very high among those who expressed intent to purchase replacement machinery. Therefore, strong policy support and R&D for domestic agricultural machinery is critical for improving competitiveness on the domestic and foreign markets.