The signs show up weekly, like clockwork, from around the country. Values on used planting equipment in good condition have been rising throughout 2021.
The proof comes in the form of hot auction sale prices on a wide variety of planting equipment — planters, drills, tenders and more. Here are two recent examples:
- Case International 900 12R-30: $4,400, Aug. 26 farm auction in Lincoln, Ill.
- Case International 900 12R-30: $6,159, Aug. 25 online auction from Findlay, Ill.
These are the first Case IH 900s I’ve seen crack $4,000 at an auction since February 2019.
PLANTERS
With new planters in limited supply, farmers are willing to pay top dollar for used machines in good condition. I saw this when we filmed a farm auction on July 24 in northwest Indiana for “Machinery Pete TV”:
- 2017 Kinze 3600 12/24: $107,000
- 2012 White 8800 16R-30: $60,000
Until December 2020, I’d only seen 20 planters sell for more than $200,000 at auction. The first time was in December 2014.
But from December 2020 to this August, I’ve seen nine planters sell for north of $200,000. Here are details for three of the nine big-ticket items:
- 2018 John Deere 1775NT 24R-30: 7,800 acres, $218,000, July 27 online farm auction from Mitchell, Ind.
- 2016 John Deere 1775NT 24R-30: 11,968 acres, $215,000, July 13 online dealer auction from Anna, Ohio.
- 2018 John Deere DB60 24R-30: 4,354 acres, $255,000, March 9 online farm auction from Iroquois, S.D. This is the highest auction price ever on a planter.
NO-TILL DRILLS
A pair of John Deere 1590 drills sold at auction for the highest prices since December 2016:
- John Deere 1590: 770 acres, $43,500, Feb. 13 farm auction in Hillsboro, Ohio.
- 2015 John Deere 1590: 15', 400 acres, $42,350, July 27 online farm auction from Mitchell, Ind.
SEED TENDERS
Yes, even seed tenders are seeing an increase in prices. Here is the highest auction price ever on a Meridian 240RT:
- Meridian 240RT: $25,750, Aug. 25 online auction from Page, Neb. The previous record for this model was $21,000.
Note in the examples above how often the auction dates were in late July through August. These are all used planting equipment that sold out of season.
Just wait until November and December, when more buyers will be thinking about the 2022 planting season and ways to use the IRS Section 179 tax write-off to minimize their 2021 tax bite. Yep, I think used planting equipment values will go higher yet.
