The tears kept coming. On Dec. 4, 2022, Dwayne Sunberg reflected on his 62-year farming career on the eve of his retirement auction. I was there to film the auction for our “Machinery Pete” TV show.
Sunberg reflected on the ups and downs of the decades — all the happy, sad and bittersweet moments — but through the tears, there was something else: pride.
From my small-town upbringing and through my 33 years of covering auction prices, I know it is not in farmers’ DNA to brag about their operations. But I know another truth. When I get farmers talking about their machinery, eyes brighten, smiles appear and the words flow.
A COMPLETE LINE
Believe me, Dwayne Sunberg had reason to be proud. He and his wife, Pat, had a truly beautiful line of equipment. They had the only complete line of John Deere 20 Series tractors (8120, 8220, 8320, 8420, 8520) I’ve seen. All lined up in a row — the prettiest sight you’ve ever seen.
How’d they sell? Extremely well.
The 8220 with 2,675 hours went for $182,000 — a whopping $42,000 over the previous record from 10 years ago.
A John Deere 8320 with 2,820 hours sold for $180,000, which was $21,000 over the prior record price.
Perhaps even more eye-opening was the 8520. With higher hours (6,784) it still tied the highest auction price of $165,000 — a record that was set 14 years ago.
“GIVE ME $300,000”
But folks, here’s the thing about covering auctions for all these years. You never know what piece of equipment you’ll be thinking about as you point your pickup home. For Sunberg’s auction, it wasn’t the line of John Deere tractors. Nope. It was the planter.
It was a like-new 2021 Kinze 4705 36R-20 with hydraulic downforce. As auctioneer Tom Pauley opened the bidding saying, “OK, come on folks, give me $300,000.”
We all know this classic auctioneer strategy, as they tell us what they think the item is worth. The Kinze 4705 sold for $326,000.
That’s the second-highest auction price ever on a planter. Why so high? 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.
