A tractor Machinery Pete grew up around sold big in Iowa — and earned his “Pick of the Week” honors.
On Sept. 25, a 1979 John Deere 4440 with 3,651 hours sold for $53,000 at Dennis and Myrna Johnson’s farm retirement auction in Akron hosted by Zomer Company Realty & Auction. The sale featured several other notable green machines:
- 1974 John Deere 4030 with 6,375 hours sold for $18,000.
- John Deere 630 with a mounted 237 picker sold for $8,100.
- John Deere 630 sold for $7,500.
- John Deere 530 sold for $5,900.
- John Deere 70 sold for $4,300.
- John Deere 6620 sidehill combine sold for $1,505.
This sale adds to an ongoing trend of red-hot pricing for John Deere 4440s. During his 37-year career tracking auction data, Machinery Pete has seen more than 3,500 of these tractors sell. The seven highest ever have all been since November 2022, while the 15 highest have sold since August 2020.
The strong bidding wasn’t limited to the Midwest. On Sept. 26 in Carthage, Miss., the Cooley farm estate auction by Circle E Auction LLC had a couple of sales that caught Machinery Pete’s eye:
- 2019 New Holland T5.120 with loader and 558 hours sold for $75,000, tied for the second highest auction price ever for this model.
- 2020 John Deere 6120M with a loader and 454 hours sold for $119,000, the fifth highest auction price on this model with a loader.
“Nothing against the big, huge monsters, the 700-plus horsepower ones, but these 120 to 125 hp are just more versatile,” Machinery Pete says.
Upcoming Sale: Chalker’s October Consignment Auction
Looking ahead to Oct. 3, in Southington, Ohio, Chalker’s Auction & Equipment will be hosting their monthly consignment suction. Machinery Pete will be on-site tracking the hammer prices for several intriguing, low-hour machines, including:
- 2011 John Deere 6430 Premium with only 413 hours.
- 1991 John Deere 8760 with fewer than 200 hours on a rebuilt engine.
- 2002 Zetor 6341 with loader with only 422 hours.
- 2011 Kubota M5-091 with rear tracks, loader and 2,516 hours.
Moving Iron Summit: The Late-Model Supply Squeeze
At last week’s Moving Iron Summit, equipment dealers voiced concerns over the supply crunch in late-model used equipment..
“They told me ‘Pete, I can’t believe I’m saying this, but I wish we had more good used equipment to sell,’” Machinery Pete shares.
While auction volume overall is climbing — Machinery Pete reports a 28.8% increase in total machinery auctions through mid-September — the inventory for one- to two-year-old equipment is down 84% compared to two years ago. Combine inventory is down 75%.
“When we see a nice one- or two-year-old tractor or combine hit the auction market, they’ve been selling a little stronger than people thought because there’s a supply issue,” Machinery Pete explains.
