“Top-end” farm machinery is hard to find, driving auction prices up over the years. Case in point: The average auction price for a John Deere 8R340 (mentioned in Pete’s Pick) has gone up 12.5% in the first quarter of 2026 compared with the same time frame in 2025, according to Machinery Pete.
“The thinning at the top-end of the used equipment market in terms of volume-based paired with the lack of new sales the past couple of years is really starting to show up in the auction market,” he says.
High Auction Prices Highlight Growing Demand for Quality Used Units
Testament to the trend for high-quality, well-kept equipment, on April 14, a 2009 Stinger 6500 bale wagon with 53,000 miles sold for $140,000. This is the highest auction price on a pre-10 model Stinger 6500 in 15 years.
For reference, the price tag for a newer 2024 Stinger is more than $300,000. Machinery Pete explains that farmers will tend to go with the less expensive option, as long as it is well-maintained.
“At $140,000, if a new one is $340,000, it’s just such a more palatable option than that new number,” says Machinery Pete.
This trend continues with this week’s Machinery Pete’s Pick. On April 25, in Albertson, N.C., a 30-year-old John Deere 6500 three-wheel sprayer with 2,486 hours sold for a record of $65,000 at an auction hosted by Jason Aycock Auctioneering. That price tops the previous record by $15,000.
That same day in Scottsville, Ky., a 2011 Kubota M9540 2WD tractor with a loader and 4,524 hours sold for $45,650 at an auction hosted by Mills Real Estate and Auction Company. That’s the second-highest auction price ever on that model.
An auction in Union, West Virgina, by David Atkins Farm Equipment also featured two record-high sales showing farmers would rather buy pre-owned, well-kept equipment:
- Massey Ferguson 4707 tractor with a loader and 900 hours sold for $54,500, a record-high auction price on that model.
- 1994 John Deere 7600 MFWD tractor with 8,309 hours sold for $69,000, the highest auction price ever on a John Deere 7600 with more than 4,000 hours.
Meanwhile, in Berger, Mo., Schneider Auctioneers LLC had a couple hot-ticket tractors of their own:
- 2004 John Deere 7320 2WD with only 195 hours and one owner sold for a record-high $106,900.
- 2008 John Deere 7730 MFWD tractor with 257 hours and one owner sold for $162,700. This is the second-highest auction price ever on a 7730.
Securing High-Quality Equipment Before Inventory Thins
The best time to buy equipment is, arguably, between the planting and harvesting seasons, says Casey Seymour.
“Look how much has been picked over already and where we’re sitting today, I think your best opportunity for good quality equipment is going to be between planting season and harvest,” says Seymour.
Procrastinating until the last quarter of the year to buy equipment risks the quality of equipment for sale. The machinery can also get more expensive as the year goes on. Machinery Pete points to the 12.5% increase in used prices for John Deere 8R340s. This can lead to the “lesser quality” equipment becoming more expensive.
“When the good stuff goes away, it’s all been bought up that the second-tier stuff now becomes the ‘good stuff’,” Machinery Pete says.
Listen to the latest Moving Iron podcast for more from Machinery Pete and Seymour on the continued development of tractor sales.
