An International Harvester 856 diesel tractor, a Peterbilt 389 Glider kit day cab semi and a collection of John Deere 55 series tractors are just a few pieces of equipment that have caught Machinery Pete's eye lately.
For example, at Lawrence Crom’s retirement auction, his like-new 2021 Case IH Maxxum 150 tractor sold for $133,000, plus a $1,250 online buyer fee. That’s a new record-high auction price on that model.
Times are different, which means trying to predict how used farm equipment values will behave coming out of a strong up cycle into a slower, tighter period in the ag economy is dangerous.
Three recent farm auctions in Kentucky, Missouri and Iowa provide perfect examples of how supply is rising yet prices are still strong for used tractors, particularly pre-DEF, pre-Tier IV models in good condition.
Despite increased inventory on dealer lots, auction prices have remained high on good condition loader tractors in the 150-hp range through the big four-wheel-drive and large track units.
In 2000, the highest auction price paid for any tillage tool that year was $28,500. Today, that number tops $140,000 and easily ranges from $80,000 to $120,000.
Auction prices on good used self-propelled sprayers have shot skyward the past two years. In fact, the 11 highest auction prices ever on sprayers have all occurred in the past 28 months.
While the drought of 2023 is straining crop conditions, there hasn’t been any drought concerns when it comes to auction prices on used farm equipment, including most types of harvest equipment.
Auction prices have been amazing in the last year — especially in the last six months. Check out the equipment category record-high auction prices just since November 2022.
People want to attribute the skyrocketing used equipment values solely to inflation, but that hasn’t been the engine driving prices higher. Nope. Here's the real issue.
Used four-wheel-drive tractor values and auction pricing have been on fire the past 18 to 20 months. Premiums are being paid for slightly older pre-DEF, pre-Tier IV four-wheel-drive models in nice condition.
Can you buy a new planter now? Nope. And you can’t find many used models on dealer lots either. So, when the right used planter like this Kinze 4705 shows up at auction, we see tears of joy for the seller.
If you follow my reporting, you know predictions don’t tend to be in my stoic Norwegian data guy DNA. But New Year’s resolutions are about pushing our personal boundaries. I’m game, so here it goes.
In the past year, 85 grain trailers have sold for more than $40,000 at auction. In 2018, only six sold that high. Why would buyers pay such high prices? They want machinery — now.
I’ve seen the same trend for the past 10 months with used mid- to high-horsepower tractors, combines and planters. Now, the trend is in self-propelled sprayers.
Inflation+. No, that is not a sad new streaming service to rival Disney+, but it could well have been the name of my Machinery Pete blog in the past 15 months.
After we saw so many new records set for machinery prices in 2021, I began to sense a collective response across the ag space as the calendar slid into 2022.
