The use of modern agricultural machinery on farms is an indicator of progress in agriculture; the use of the latest technology determines competitiveness of agriculture in Poland. High price of agricultural machinery and its continuous increase makes the renewal of machinerypark affordable only for commercially strong farms. The research paper presents the changes in prices of selected Polish agricultural machinery over the last five years.
The paper presents an analysis of technical and operating parameters of a front-end loader of domestic production being compared with loaders of the Western manufacturers. The analysis was based on technical data provided by manufacturers and on own research results. The analysis being performed have revealed that parameters of the front-end loader of Polish manufacturer does not differ from the standards provided by the Western competitors, and frequently, it surpasses them with its parameters. According to the research study, the price for the front-end loader of Polish manufacturer is an average of 30% lower than prices of Western loaders.