Real machines. Real numbers.

Every issue answers one question: what does it cost to keep hiring this job done, and at what point does owning the machine beat it. Farm, ranch, shop and dock.

All issues

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  2026-08-24 · Field Report Wood-Mizer's LX30 Portable Sawmill — and Its 22-Inch Ceiling

  A custom sawyer charges about $0.55 a board foot. Wood-Mizer's LX30 costs $2,995: break-even at 5,445 board feet, before blades, fuel and your own hours.

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  2026-08-22 · Field Report The Garden Ripens All at Once. Harvest Right's $1,695 Freeze Dryer.

  Harvest Right sells a $1,695 freeze dryer and claims up to 1,800 pounds of food a year. That is 225 batches and roughly 5,400 hours of run time.

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  2026-08-21 · Field Report Virtual Fencing for Cattle: Nofence's $309 GPS Collar

  Four-wire fence runs $15,000 a mile — the price of 48 Nofence GPS collars. On a 360-head ranch, virtual fencing runs $89.80 per cow per year against $188 for wire.

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  2026-08-20 · Field Report QYSEA's FIFISH V6 Expert ROV Checks Hulls Without a Diver

  A commercial diver charges $250 per hull inspection with video. A 4K ROV rated to 100 meters costs $2,999. Break-even: 12 inspections, or five haul-outs.

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  2026-08-17 · Field Report Langmuir CrossFire PRO: A Plasma Table for One-Off Steel Parts

  A steel bracket costs $29 as a one-off from an online cutting service, $3 each in tens. A CrossFire PRO stack costs $5,133. Break-even: 184 one-off parts.

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  2026-08-16 · Field Report A Balcony Solar Kit You Plug Into a Wall — and Its 1,200-Watt Ceiling

  Plug-in solar costs $1.99 per panel watt — $2.28 per delivered watt — against $2.60 for a contractor install, and needs no permit in Utah.

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  2026-08-13 · Field Report Nobody Answers the Phone. ElevenLabs' AI Receptionist Does.

  ElevenLabs Reception answers a small business's phone for $22-$99 a month. A human answering service starts at $250, for fewer minutes.

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  2026-08-12 · Field Report EGO Nexus 1400 Turns Mower Batteries Into a Backup Power Station

  EGO's Nexus 1400W power station runs on the same 56V batteries as its mowers, costs $599-$799, and beats gas 5-to-1 on running cost. The catch is capacity.

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  2026-08-08 · Field Report Crop Spraying Without a Plane: DJI's Agras T100 Spray Drone

  DJI's 100-liter Agras T100 is in stock in the US. University of Missouri per-acre math vs. crop dusters, the licensing gauntlet, and what breaks in the field.

• 2026-08-03 · Note Why Wild Tech exists

  A newsletter about technology you can actually buy, doing work you can actually measure. Here's the deal.

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  2026-08-03 · Field Report Segway Navimow X450: A $2,999 Robot Mower for 40° Slopes

  Segway's AWD Navimow X450 claims 84% (40°) grades on 1.5 acres. We verify the specs, pull the measured failure record, and run ROI against $99–$264 crew visits.