Back in the 1970s and 1980s, we were more free-range than today’s kids. Parental advice was much more sparing, and I think those fewer words stuck better.
My father, Jerry, a third-generation farm equipment dealer who is now 88, gave me some sage advice more than 36 years ago when I started out down my path of building the Machinery Pete business.
“Keep your head on a swivel,” he said.
Dad meant: Pay attention to what’s happening directly in front of you and around you – not only in your field but in every direction. He advised I read the daily newspaper’s business section. What tremendous life advice that turned out to be.
The other day I read in the business section about the age of vehicles on American roadways. According to an S&P Global study, the average age of vehicles in the U.S. hit 12.8 years old in 2025. A new record high.
Sound Familiar?
That’s just like the trend I’ve been seeing and documenting in American (and Canadian) farm fields. The average age of farmers’ equipment fleet is rapidly climbing. It makes sense, of course, given farmers, at least on the grain side, have not been ringing the bell in terms of new equipment purchases the past two, going on three, years.
Farmers have pivoted en masse to the used equipment market to find any updates they need for their fleets. From my seat, I think this is why I saw auction pricing spike higher in November and December 2025, even carrying over into early 2026.
Here are a pair of good examples from Dec. 30, 2025 on John Deere 8260R tractors sold in Ohio and Iowa auctions:
- A 2011 model 8260R with 1,743 hours sold for $176,000 in Sardinia, Ohio – the highest auction price all of 2025 on an 8260R.
- That same day on an online farm auction in Osage, Iowa, a 2013 John Deere 8260R with 3,031 hours sold for $137,500. That was the highest auction price in all of 2025 on an 8260R with more than 3,000 hours.
As I covered auctions late in 2025 and early 2026, the chatter has been fascinating. A growing chorus of farmers suggested a collective rethinking of how much late-model equipment their operations have accumulated over the past 10 years or more. “Did dad have this much equipment on the farm at my age?” Most likely, no. The high price of new equipment was also at the center of these musings, along with inputs.
Watch Other Industries, Too
Here’s something else I’ve picked up from the newspaper’s business section. Minnesota company Sleep Number was a high-flying company making high tech, premium mattresses that sell for quite a lot of money. They’ve had 11 consecutive quarters of falling sales. Their solution is to introduce a new “ComfortMode” mattress option this year that still uses their high-quality materials without the tech, data or high price. It will be fascinating to see if the move pays.
Keeping your head on a swivel can work in many ways, including seeing how companies are paying attention to how their customers are feeling and what they’re saying.
Catch the latest Moving Iron podcast with Casey Seymour and Machinery Pete. They break down volatility in late-model high-horsepower tractor pricing, spotlighting recent auction swings on Case IH Steiger 470 Quadtracs. From a record $493,250 sale in early 2024 to a sharp drop just months later, dealer oversupply sent prices tumbling. But by mid-2025, the market began to stabilize — and recent auction results show signs of recovery.
