Harvesting Equipment

Auction Heat: Pete’s Picks Put Case IH Tractors in the Spotlight

Wed, 04 Mar 2026 16:45:52 GMT

The weather might have been typical for winter in Ridgetown, Ontario, Canada, on Feb. 18, but a trio of Case IH tractors sold for atypical prices. Pete’s Pick of the Week comes from an auction hosted by Shackelton Auctions :

2012 Case IH Steiger 400 HD 4WD with 2,588 hours sold for $214,284, the second-highest auction price ever for that model.
2020 Case IH Magnum 220 CVT with 1,119 hours sold for $155,511, again the second-highest auction price ever for that model.
1974 IHC 1066 front-wheel assist with 4,200 hours sold for $37,782, the eighth-highest auction price.

On Feb. 24, Adam Marshall Land and Auction in Litchfield, Neb., sold a 2023 model Cornhusker 48’ grain trailer. Bidding stopped at $58,250, which Machinery Pete says is the third-highest auction price on any Cornhusker grain trailer. That same auction also sold a 2022 model Westfield MKX 1394 auger for $35,750. That price tag is the highest hard cash auction price Machinery Pete has ever seen on that auger.

Meanwhile, in Elora, Tenn., a Feb. 24 farm retirement auction featured:

John Deere 4455 MFWD with only 2,404 hours sold for $80,000, breaking into the top 20 all-time highest auction prices for the model. The auctioneer referred to the tractor as a “nice baby doll.”
John Deere 8R 410 with 1,454 hours sold for $320,000.
John Deere 8RX 370 with just over 1,200 hours brought $302,500.
John Deere 7760 cotton picker with 1,602 fan hours sold for $197,500.

The pressure in cotton country is evident at auction. About a year and a half ago, a pair of John Deere CP770 cotton pickers sold in Tunica, Miss., for around $700,000 each. On Feb. 5, in Jonestown, Miss., those same models sold for $597,000 and $598,000.

Nothing says used quite like finding an old dozer abandoned in the woods. That’s right, a group of friends found a 1957 Caterpillar D9 dozer in western New York that had sat for 24 years. Milton CAT got to work and the team was able to get it up and running again.

Now Could Be A ‘Powerful Time’ to Buy Late-Model Used Machinery

Tue, 03 Mar 2026 20:03:32 GMT

For many farmers, the current machinery market feels anything but stable. Yet according to Cory Nordhausen, vice president of sales for the western U.S. with AgDirect, this moment could actually provide a good opportunity for thoughtful buyers.

“I kind of feel like maybe we’ve reached a reset or a moment of stability in the equipment market,” he says.

Nordhausen isn’t suggesting that prices are low or that buying decisions are easy. Instead, he believes that the relationship between new and used equipment values, combined with evolving inventory levels, has created a window where strategic, well‑planned purchases could make sense.

From Shortage to the “Great Reset”

To understand where we are, Nordhausen says you have to look back at the challenges that started in 2020. It was an era defined by choked supply chains and empty dealer lots.

“Equipment was flying off the shelves. Dealership inventories became depleted, and just the lack of supply was there… you were still waiting on farm equipment for six, 12, 18 months in 2022,” he recalls.

As demand began to cool through 2023 and 2024, inventory began to build. However, Nordhausen believes the market has hit an equilibrium, particularly in the used segment. While it might feel like there is a surplus, the data tells a more nuanced story about high-quality, late-model iron.

“Stability is probably looking at just the value of used farm equipment in relationship to the price of new farm equipment,” Nordhausen explains. “What’s happened is a lot of that good one-to-three-year-old equipment that’s been in the auction space for the last couple of years, that’s come down significantly. I suppose you can look at planters, combines, tractors, and sprayers and say that there’s probably 40% less of that stuff in the auction space today.”

Are Prices Reaching A Bottom?

If the auction blocks are seeing 40% less late-model inventory, it suggests the “oversupply” phase is tightening. For farmers who have been waiting for used prices to bottom out, Nordhausen suggests that is in the process of happening now.

“We probably won’t see, unless something crazy happens, the price of used equipment going down much more,” he says. “Some of that good late-model, one-to-three-year-old equipment is starting to bring a little bit more money than it has. That’s simply due to supply and demand.”

Looking further down the road, the lack of new equipment sales in 2024 and 2025 has potentially created a “pipeline problem” for the future. If fewer new machines are sold today, he believes there could be a shortage of high-quality used machines two or three years from now.

Consider Labor Needs And Repair Costs

In this tight-margin environment, Nordhausen’s advice to farmers is to be thoughtful and strategic, as they focus on the big four items: tractors, combines, planters and sprayers. In the process of weighing whether now is the time to upgrade, he also encourages farmers to evaluate their labor needs and the cost of repairs.

“You have to look at, what piece of equipment are you going to buy that is going to bring the most efficiency to your farm? What’s going to save you the most time? What’s going to help you when you can’t get as much labor on your farm to run that equipment?” he asks.

Furthermore, he believes the “run it until it breaks” philosophy has some downsides.

“Repair bills are not going down. The price of parts is up. Shop rates in dealerships continue to increase year over year,” Nordhausen says. “One really has to find that balance of ‘how much money am I going to stick into that used piece of equipment on my farm’ versus when’s the time right to trade it.”

Financing as a Strategic Purchasing Lever

When margins are compressed, liquidity is king. It’s why Nordhausen says he views financing not just as a way to pay for a machine, but as a way to protect a farm’s balance sheet.

“You can amortize those payments out… and save some of that liquidity off your balance sheet so you can go use that in other places,” he says.

While the standard industry structure remains a five-year term with 20% down, Nordhausen would also encourage farmers to evaluate leasing.

“On the lease you have a large balloon on the end—we refer to it as a residual—and that lowers each annual payment... really allowing you to get that cost per hour, cost per acre down,” he says.

He acknowledges there is a trade-off, however: “There is a little bit of a penalty to pay, because you pay a little more interest because you’re carrying more principal. But if you’re purely looking at cash flow, that’s a very strategic way to get the payments lower.”

Weigh The Various Options With A Sharp Pencil

Nordhausen encourages farmers evaluate buying opportunities carefully, specifically when it comes to low-interest or 0% incentives.

“I think you’ve got to do the math, right? Just because you see 0% interest, that doesn’t necessarily mean you’re getting the best deal,” he cautions. “There’s probably a cost to you on the other side of it baked into the price.”

To counter this, he suggests farmers use tools like the AgDirect mobile app to calculate the “true cost” of buying down a rate. Armed with the math, he believes a farmer can have more negotiating power at the dealership.

“If you’re more interested in just a low cash price, you can offset that, saying, ‘I don’t need 0% interest. What’s your best cash money deal?’”

Another consideration – as dealerships become more cautious about taking in trades to manage their own inventories, more of the action is moving to auction platforms and private-party sales. Nordhausen notes that AgDirect has seen “huge momentum” in these channels over the last decade.

Looking Ahead: Plan Now for Tomorrow’s Needs

Nordhausen believes farmers should be thinking two to three years out about their equipment needs.

With fewer new units being sold now and late‑model used inventories tightening, he sees a real possibility of higher used prices if commodity markets would strengthen. “With the lack of used inventory that we built in ‘23, ‘24 and ‘25, there might be a higher demand. And what happens with demand—prices go up.”

His central message to farmers: use this “reset” period to upgrade strategically, align purchases with both efficiency gains and cash‑flow realities, and above all, he adds, do the math before you sign.

Unlocking More With Less Through Precision Agriculture

Fri, 20 Feb 2026 19:07:38 GMT

Increasing productivity while also using less fuel, water, inputs and time may sound like a dream at today’s farmgate, but a new report called “The Benefits of Precision Ag in the United States” says that very dream is very much a reality for many farms and fields across the U.S.

The report, published collaboratively by Association of Equipment Manufacturers (AEM), American Farm Bureau Federation, American Soybean Association, CropLife America and National Corn Growers Association, is a follow-up to the landmark 2020 study that first analyzed the potential of precision agriculture technologies to allow farmers and ranchers to do more with less.

It studies precision ag technologies like auto-guidance, machine section control, variable rate application, fleet analytics and telematics and precision irrigation in U.S. production of crops including corn, soybeans, cotton, peanuts, wheat, sorghum, potatoes, sugar beets, hay and alfalfa.

Quantifying the Impact: Inputs, Resources and Yield

Compared to the study five years ago, the trend of precision agriculture adoption is upward, with farmers reaping the benefits in quantifiable ways, according to Austin Gellings, senior director of agricultural services, AEM.

“The industry continues to see an improvement in input efficiency as a result of precision agriculture,” Gellings says. “Compared to five years ago, we have continued to see productivity increase while the comparative amount of herbicide, fertilizer, fuel and water used on a per unit basis continues to decline.”

The report details its findings of the current savings of critical inputs through precision agriculture, as well as what is possible through increased adoption, including:

An estimated 4 billion pounds of fertilizer application was avoided due to precision agriculture technologies, with an estimated 7 billion pounds of additional fertilizer that could be avoided with broader adoption
An estimated 54 million pounds of herbicide was avoided due to precision agriculture with an estimated 66 million pounds that could be avoided with broader adoption

The report didn’t stop with analysis of inputs, though. The research found similar savings in terms of fuel and water use as well, including:

147 million gallons of fuel saved, the equivalent of 283,000 cars off the road annually or 26,000 fewer flights
Water use has decreased an estimated 5% as a result of precision agriculture, or the equivalent of an estimated 824,000 Olympic-sized swimming pools worth of water saved

The savings are helping to unlock an increase in overall productivity fueled by two decades of growth in U.S. corn and soybean yields, the report states.

Critically, the report not only highlights the strides made by adoption of precision agriculture, but what is possible with continued increases.

“The study references savings that could be achieved as a result of precision agricultural technologies if we were to reach full adoption, which we defined as 90-95% adoption,” says Gellings. “These numbers are not necessarily targeted goals, but rather a guiding light for the potential that remains within our industry.”

Quantifying the Impact: On-Farm Pain Points

Gellings encourages farmers to examine their operations for adoption opportunity.

“It is about identifying what the needs of your specific operation are and then identifying the proper technologies that can help you,” he says. “What are the biggest pain points that your operation faces? Once you pinpoint that, it is then about identifying what technologies address those needs while also fitting into the workflow of one’s operation.”

The report shares anonymous grower insights into how that analysis has paid off for their operation through precision agriculture technologies.

In the report, a Kansas farmer growing wheat, soybeans and alfalfa on their operation said, “We’re spraying less chemical, [targeted spray application technology] is saving us money, and it’s better for the environment.”

“We ran through our herbicide costs we were going to have and dropped them by two-thirds. That is going to make our sprayer payment.”

Similarly, a Minnesota corn and soybean farmer had this to say:

“We looked at what we were spending on postemergence weed control and felt we could justify [targeted spray application technology] if we sprayed only 50% of our acres post. In the end, we only sprayed 11% of our corn acres with postemergence herbicide and averaged only spraying 20% of our soybeans with both applications.”

Quantifying the Impact: Agriculture’s Solution Through Precision

The organizations behind the report are hoping that it will serve as a catalyst into conversations with policymakers and consumers around stewardship within the agriculture industry.

“When it comes to all of the conversations that are happening, whether it be healthy food, the environment, or a number of other issues, the solution at the end of the day tends to already exist and that solution is farmers,” says Gellings. “Farmers have, for generations, done what they believe is best for the land and the communities that they live within and serve.”

“Precision agriculture and all of the technologies that come with that term are nothing more than a tool to help them accomplish that goal at the end of the day,” he says. “None of these will be the silver bullet to solve any and all issues, but when chosen based on the needs and capabilities of a farm and then paired with the other proper practices and inputs, they can help farmers get ahead.”

The report is available for free download through AEM.

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Barn Find Bonanza: Low-Hour John Deere 7810 Smashes Record

Mon, 27 Oct 2025 18:39:14 GMT

If you kick around the used farm equipment world long enough, every now and again you’ll come across the Holy Grail of auction finds: low-hour, premium condition (i.e. like new) pre-DEF machines.

Greg “Machinery Pete” Peterson likes to call them “barn finds.”

This week’s Pete’s Pick of the Week is a pristine barn find that brought home a big return for its 89-year-old owner:

Last Wednesday at an online farm equipment auction in Viroqua, Wisc., a 2002 John Deere 7810 2WD row crop tractor with only 915 engine hours (shown top of page) sold for $158,392, which absolutely destroyed the previous record high for a 2WD 7810 by over $45,000.

(Machinery Pete Facebook)

Another notable transaction from last week was a 1990 Case IH 7120 FWD tractor with over 4,000 engine hours (shown above) that sold for $61,000 at BigIron.com’s Rodney Patterson Farm Retirement online auction in Stratford, Iowa. It represents the second-highest all-time auction result for a 7120 with over 4,000 hours.

And this dealer-owned skid steer set a record for a used Case IH 435:

“You don’t see them very often, but they’re out there, more often than people think,” Pete says of the barn find John Deere 7810 and Case skid steer. “The guy probably retired decades ago and kept it to move some snow or something and it hardly had any hours on it. These pre-DEF, low-hour, barn finds always, always attract big money.”

(Machinery Pete Facebook)

And another notable auction result from the Rodney Patterson sale was a 1988 Case IH 1660 combine with 3,801 hours (shown above) that sold for $15,250.

Auction Market Insights

Pete shared a couple observations on the used farm equipment auction circuit during his appearance on AgriTalk this week:

His data shows that farm equipment auctions are up 14.5% through the end of September, year over year. And Pete anticipates an uptick in “whole farm fleet liquidations” in the months ahead and into 2026 due to the ongoing farm economy depression and many farmers aging out of active farming.

“[Right now] we’re just on the front end of this; the end of the year is going to be very busy as far as the number of auctions,” Pete says. “[There’s] all these different stressors and uncertainties out there, and combined with the fact the average age of the American farmer is older than me — and I’ll be 60 in a few weeks … yeah, there’s going to be a lot of auctions.”

Upcoming Auction to Watch

On Nov. 4, McGrew Equipment (Seven Valleys, Pa.) will host an auction featuring 150 skid steers (including an ASV PT100 with 141 hours) and several nice used tractors, like the Deutz-Fahr 5110G in the video above with only 33 hours. You can find more details at mcgrew-equipment.com.

Used Farm Equipment Heating Up: Experts Predict Buying and Selling Explosion Ahead

Thu, 23 Oct 2025 18:01:58 GMT

Casey Seymour and Greg “Machinery Pete” Peterson are encouraged by what they are seeing from farmers-buyers and dealers in the used farm equipment market.

On the farmer side of the coin, Pete says they are using auction price data to understand market dynamics and find good deals for the equipment they need to run their operations. Once commodity prices rebound, he sees momentum building for an explosion of farmer buying activity on dealer lots and at auctions.

“It’s a powder keg sitting there waiting to go off, and that’s where if you’re able to through the rest of the year into ’26, be aggressive and call your dealer about any used equipment on lots you’re looking at updating,” Pete says. “It’s still a good time to do that.”

And on the dealer side of things, Seymour and Pete think increased dealer consolidation has imparted greater efficiency and bounce back upside into the network. There are currently 203 farm equipment dealers with five or more retail stores in North America, so these larger, professional dealer organizations can respond to market forces faster and more effectively today.

“A decade ago, when there were more owners with two, three, four stores, they kind of had to hold on and hope for better days, but it’s just so much more efficient right now,” says Pete.

Seymour and Pete also agree hay tools and livestock equipment — like utility loader tractors — are trending up. That’s because cattle ranchers have enjoyed a solid year profitwise, while row crop farmers are still stuck in a down cycle. And the gap between auction and dealer lot prices has tightened up, leading more farmers to explore both options before pulling the trigger on a buy.

“It’s the tale of two tapes there, but when I’m looking at how things are moving along, that space in between $50,000 to $150,000 and maybe up to $200,000, is really, really attractive [to buyers],” says Seymour. “And a lot of that has to do with, we’re at the bottom of the marketplace.”

Commodities Market Update

Rich Posson, host of the Critical Point podcast, joined Seymour to talk about the general state of the economy and Wall Street as “stagflation” continues to curtail growth in the economy.

“My model is willing to lean on the side of a growing GDP into 2027, but at the same time it’s suggesting this inflation has turned a corner — you can’t see it that way that much yet — but it looks like it’s ready to recover going into next year,” Posson says, adding he’s concerned inflation will actually get worse in 2026 before it goes down in 2027.

What’s Happening on the High Plains?

Dealer sales of new and used hay tools — like balers, windrowers and rakes — were a mixed bag this year, according to Aaron Fintel, used equipment specialist, 21st Century Equipment.

“We had a pretty good flow with new windrowers, and that second [year] never hit the lot and the third was sold right away,” Fintel says. “Balers have not been what I thought they would be this year — there’s been used 3x4s that we get in; those have sold pretty good. And new round balers were quiet this year.”

Fintel adds that forage choppers, typically a machinery segment he jokes an equipment salesman “runs away from” at the dealer level, were a pleasant surprise and sold strong all year long.

Head on over to YouTube to watch the full episode . Go ahead and give it a “Thumbs Up” and hit the “Subscribe” button to get each new episode as soon as it drops.

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Winter Is Coming: Farm Equipment Prep Pointers From an Oil and Fuels Expert

Tue, 21 Oct 2025 17:49:56 GMT

Every winter, after fall harvest and tillage are wrapped up, farmers begin prepping farm equipment for the long slumber ahead until spring planting arrives. Or, if you plan on using that tractor or UTV to move snow or for other tasks around the farm, you need to prep your machinery for that as well.

There are several essential steps farmers need to consider for winter farm machinery use and storage, says Jonathan Woetzel. Woetzel has enjoyed a long career with Minnesota-based cooperative CHS, where he focuses on quality assurance for the Cenex brand, which is CHS’ in-house label for its fuels, lubricants and propane.

How to handle fuel

Cenex fuel at Shumaker Ringnecks Pheasant Farm

(Adam Hester )

His first piece of winter farm equipment preparation advice for farmers and fleet managers is make sure you have the right diesel fuel on hand.

“The wax that naturally occurs in diesel fuel, especially No. 2 diesel fuel, when it gets too cold, the wax crystallizes and becomes a solid form that doesn’t pass through filters very well,” Woetzel explains. “There are fuels available, like our Cenex Winter Master premium diesel fuel, that include additives to prevent gelling.”

That unwanted fuel thickening, or gelling as Woetzel calls it, is mitigated specifically by cold flow improver (CFI) additives in the fuel.

For any gasoline-fueled equipment you’re not planning on running this winter, Woetzel recommends adding a fuel stabilizer to the tank if you’re not able to empty it out prior to storage. Although, oftentimes a premium winter diesel fuel blend will already contain fuel stabilizers, so check with your fuel supplier before investing in aftermarket stabilizers.

Oil and lubricants

Oil_Analysis_Cenex_rev

Changing the oil in any equipment you store for winter is a good idea, he adds.

“I say that because used oil, if it’s been in there for quite some time, has lost some of its ability to prevent rust and corrosion,” Woetzel says. “So, get the old oil out and put in fresh oil and a new filter, and then fire it up and run it for 10 minutes or so to circulate the oil. Now all the internal engine parts are coated with oil to prevent rust and corrosion.”

The quiet winter period is also a great time to send off any used oil samples for lab analysis, which helps detect internal equipment issues (e.g., contaminants like coolant leaks or unusual engine wear), and then you can address maintenance needs before spring planting season. Most oil testing services turn samples around in 48 hours and will email a PDF of the results.

Another consideration is oil type. You want engine oil that will flow quickly as the machine starts up. Woetzel says you want to use high-quality synthetic oil.

“A full synthetic gives better cold starting capabilities and lubrication,” he adds. “And you want to make sure you have the right viscosity grade, like a 5W-40. That 5W means it’s going to flow very well right away at cold startup and work well in cold temperatures.”

Coolant and antifreeze

dan anderson coolant

Because coolants and antifreeze are formulated for a wide range of temperatures, there’s not much to worry about in that regard. Woetzel does recommend checking your owner’s manual for the manufacturer’s recommended coolant change intervals, and if you’re due for a coolant swap, get that done (and a coolant flush) before winter hits.

If you’ve purchased a used machine that’s already full of antifreeze, but you’re not sure what type or if it’s the right formulation for your climate, there are handheld testers that you can purchase to verify the fluid’s actual freeze point.

Finally: hit those grease points

types of grease

(Dan Anderson)

Take a second and think about when you last greased up all the grease points on your tractor, combine, planter or tillage tool, Woetzel says. If you’re putting the machine into storage and won’t need it until it warms up, a standard No. 2 grease is good for spring, summer and fall. If you’re going to keep using it during the winter, he recommends using a No. 1 grease.

“We tell them to switch to a No. 1 grease, which is softer and easier to pump, and it flows better,” Woetzel explains.

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Farm Equipment Auction Increase Coming Soon, Farmers Must Capitalize Before Prices Jump

Thu, 16 Oct 2025 15:17:56 GMT

In the used farm equipment auction world, 2024 saw an absolute avalanche of late-model equipment hit bidding sheets around the country. Today, supply of 1-to-3-year-old machines has pulled back dramatically.

“Huge drop offs this year on late-model used,” Machinery Pete says. “That’s why, in part, we’re seeing this huge firming up [in the market]. Of course, not much new is being sold. Dealers are working through inventory, of course they’d like those to be lower, but collectively, it’s night-and-day better than where it was.”

Pete and Casey Seymour are anticipating a very busy November and December on the auction circuit. The number of auctions to date is up 15% compared to last year already, but with late-model supplies relatively low, prices solidifying and demand from farmers still trending up, bidding is still very competitive.

“This is one of those years where everyone is waiting until the last possible minute to get things purchased and push things through,” Seymour says. “We’re still seeing combines being sold at this time of the year — that doesn’t make a whole lot of sense, right? It’s a last-minute thing.

Last-minute buying by farmers is not necessarily a negative development for equipment dealers. Pete thinks the wave of dealer consolidation over the past couple years has imparted more efficiency into the dealer network, so dealers are setup to handle an increase in volume.

“To me, the used farm equipment space is moving towards the used automotive space and becoming faster,” he adds. “Again, as a farmer I understand if you don’t like that, you lose one of your local dealers because they consolidate, but you have to be aware of these things because this short period to get to solidifying used values just hasn’t happened before like this.”

Pete says the lag in used equipment values that normally follows a market downturn — putting farmer-buyers in position to capitalize on lower-priced equipment — won’t be here for as long as when dad and grandpa were running the show. You should consider buying this winter versus waiting until late 2026 or 2027.

Commodities Update

Shawn Hackett, president and CEO, Hackett Financial Advisors, believes USDA overestimates to yield forecasts signal a corn price jump in January or February, but many farmers won’t be able to sell at the higher price if they didn’t have room to store harvested grain or erroneous yield projections led them to believe it was better to sell early.

“If we have a $4.80 or $5 corn price, but I already sold at $4 or $3.80 or whatever, now I’ve just locked myself into a financial bind,” he says, adding the current government downturn will levy yet another devastating blow to farmers’ bottom lines.

High Plains Update

Aaron Fintel, used equipment specialist, 21^st Century Equipment, joins Seymour for an in-depth breakdown of the latest Association of Equipment Manufacturers (AEM) U.S. tractor and combine sales report. You can view the latest data here as you follow along with the discussion.

Head on over to YouTube to watch the full episode. Go ahead and give it a “Thumbs Up” and hit the “Subscribe” button to get each new episodes as soon as it drops.

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No More Waiting: Operator-Free Grain Cart System Improves Harvest Efficiency

Wed, 15 Oct 2025 15:48:39 GMT

At first blush, the benefits promised by new autonomous retrofit grain cart system, OutRun, seemed too good to be true to Ken Ferrie and his agronomic team.

The system, now commercially available, promises to help farmers increase harvest efficiencies while reducing labor needs in the process.

Ferrie and team’s skepticism quickly turned to appreciation as they put the system to work harvesting large-scale Farm Journal Test Plots in central Illinois.

“Once it’s in the field, it’s kind of like a dog with a shock collar,” says Ferrie, Farm Journal Field Agronomist. “It can’t leave the field, meaning that there’s a GPS fence around that field that keeps it from leaving that defined area.”

OutRun, developed by PTx Trimble (formed by AGCO and Trimble), enables a tractor and auger cart to team up and move autonomously to catch a combine on the go.

The system uses Starlink connectivity and PTx Trimble location technology, while the combine’s guidance and steering system remains unchanged. Field boundaries loaded into the OutRun system keep the cart/tractor team where it needs to be.

Less Manpower Potentially Required
Nebraska farmer Geoffrey Ruth says he is pumped about the practicality and ease-of-use of driverless grain cart automation. The opportunity to reduce manpower needs or redeploy a worker is especially appealing.

“We’re usually pretty short on labor at harvest time, so we’re looking to purchase one outright and take that operator and throw them in a semi to haul grain,” Ruth says in this recent article by Farm Journal’s Matthew Grassi: Smart Harvest: How One Farmer Is Hitting Harvest Windows, Helping Others With Grain Cart Tech

As Ruth and Ferrie quickly learned, the grain cart can be staged or called for unloading without the need for another driver.

Once full, the combine operator can then send the grain cart to a predefined truck unload zone for unloading. An operator is still needed, however, to unload the cart into a truck.

“Once you get a full tank, you call for the cart, and the cart will pull up beside the combine and unload on the go for you, or you could stage it at the end, so it’s waiting for you when you get there,” says Ferrie, whose agronomic team at Crop-Tech Consulting are running the system.

The truck driver can then disengage the cart, fill the truck and then reengage the cart so the combine operator can take control of the system again.

“Your combine operator can put the cart anywhere he wants it to go,” Ferrie says. “If you’ve got tile holes, terraces, or other places in the field you don’t want that cart to go, the combine operator can draw those areas on the screen and tell it, ‘these are no-go areas,’ so it doesn’t get itself into trouble.”

Ruth adds that the system also knows where the farmer already cut corn and will use that area as a path instead of mowing over crops that haven’t been harvested yet. It’s similar to how a drone already knows the safe path home when the pilot hits return to home on the controller.

OutRun is currently available for model year 2014 or newer John Deere 8R tractors with Infinitely Variable Transmission (IVT) and will be commercially available on Fendt models in 2026.

You can learn more about PTx Trimble’s OutRun system at www.OutRunAg.com

Pete's Pick: 21-Year-Old John Deere Tractor Almost Hits $150,000

Mon, 13 Oct 2025 17:40:07 GMT

This week’s Pete’s “Pick of the Week” is a 20-plus-year-old tractor that came in just south of $150,000, but you can argue the buyer actually secured a nice bargain when you put it in the context of how much a new high-horsepower row crop tractor will run you.

At a farm auction in Asbury, Mo., a 2004 John Deere 8420 tractor with only 1,053 hours on it sold for $146,250. Pete says it’s the 16^th highest auction price of all time on an 8420, and nine of the past 10 high auction prices have all been recorded within the past four years. It’s a trend line that continues to show farmer preference for older, good conditioned, pre-DEF used tractors.

“It was one owner, so it checked all [the boxes],” Pete says. “And to push $150k, 21 years old … it was interesting when I posted this across social media, you get a lot of discussion and people were saying ‘Yeah, it’s a big check, but again for the horsepower and given it’s good condition [used] with a little age on it … the belts are tightening, and it’s sort of indicative of … the gap between a brand new and a good used one, those price increases on the new have gotten so high the past three to four years, you’ve opened this chasm.”

Pete also notes a “beautiful 1980s tractor” from Nebraska that sold last Tuesday in a DPA Auctions online sale.

A 1986 Versatile 1150 with what Pete calls that “beautiful orange and yellow color combo” sold for an even $50,000. It had 8,117 hours on it.

One of the more noteworthy transactions from last week, according to Pete, was a 2025 John Deere 616R sprayer with 127 hours selling for $309,000 in the DPA online sale. This sprayer was noted as “severely damaged – driven into a creek.”

(DPA Auctions)

“Driven into a creek and hard cash, it still goes over $300,000,” Pete says. “For comparison, our good friends at the Steffes Group sold a ‘24 model 616R sprayer with 464 hours in June and that went for $450K. The one that sold Tuesday, if it had not been driven into a creek, it’s going north of $450K. So, if you wonder what does that cost, driving into a creek? Well, you’re talking $150K to $160K. So, now you know.”

As far as rare, unique machinery selling over the past week on the auction circuit, Pete highlights a couple pieces of iron there as well.

A New Holland 1283 self-propelled baler — Pete says you just don’t see many of them around anymore — sold for $6,200, which is the highest auction price Pete can recall on that particular machine.

And in the same Big Iron online auction, an Allis-Chalmers 60 pull type combine with a two row corn head sold for $4,510.

(Big Iron Auctions)

Your Next Read: Machinery Pete’s 5 Pointers For Equipment Auctions

Don't End Up In The Ditch! Update Your GPS Guidance Lines For 2026

Fri, 10 Oct 2025 16:53:33 GMT

Farmers who use a local RTK network or state-run Real Time Network (RTN) — Iowa and Ohio both offer these signals — for auto steer and GPS guidance systems will need to recapture new GPS coordinates for field boundaries and A-B lines before spring planting.

That’s because The National Geodetic Survey (NGS) will soon replace two outdated reference frames, NAD 83 and NAVD 88, with a new corrections datum. The shift could knock your current A-B lines and GPS field boundaries off by anywhere from 1 to 4 meters, according to a pair of Iowa State University Extension precision ag specialists.

The Ohio State University Extension and FABE professor Dr. John Fulton issued a similar warning last fall at the Ohio Farm Science Review.

Iowa State University precision ag engineer Luke Fuhrer and digital Extension specialist Doug Houser say farmers using a major commercial satellite RTK network, such as those offered by John Deere and Trimble, should be OK for 2026.

Farmers who need to make quick updates to field boundaries or A-B lines, or check on the potential impact to existing telematics data this winter, are being told to use the free NGS Coordinate Conversion and Transformation Tool (NCAT) to shift their GPS coordinates from NAD 83/NAVD 88 to NATRF2022.

Fuhrer and Houser also want you to consider:

Physically recollecting GPS coordinates for field boundaries, control points or benchmarks using a system aligned to the new datum.
Recalculating your historical data using updated reference points or transformation software.

Example Scenario

(John Deere/Mel Koltai)

The Iowa State researchers share the following scenario as an example of a farmer who will need to make updates before spring planting:

“A farmer in eastern Iowa has been using a local RTK base station tied to NAD 83 to map field boundaries with sub-inch accuracy to avoid a neighbor’s fence line.

“After 2026, the new NATRF2022 datum will shift those GPS-defined boundaries by several feet. While the fence hasn’t moved, the guidance lines will now show up partially in the neighbor’s field. Without correction, auto-steer will drift across actual property lines.”

Before spring 2026, Fuhrer and Houser want this farmer to:

Back up all current GPS files and data.
Talk to his/her equipment dealer about firmware updates or new coordinate system support.
Use NCAT or dealer-provided tools to test a few key points and see how much they move.
Consider a quick resurvey for high-value areas.

For more info, check out the NGS “Get Prepared” resource here .

Farm Equipment Auctions Soaring Despite Stagnant Economy: Unpacking What's Next

Thu, 09 Oct 2025 16:42:58 GMT

Casey Seymour and Greg “Machinery Pete” Peterson see a used equipment market that has flipped from last year, when dealers pushed out a glut of late model, used equipment to auction.

Today, the number of 1–to-3-year-old high-horsepower tractors (300 hp and up) on the market is down 60% from last year, and late model combine listings are down 54%, according to Pete. Yet surprisingly, auction activity is up 14% from last year, too.

So, retail sales and the farm equipment market are in a prolonged slump, but auctions are still booming. It’s an odd juxtaposition, and dealers have to figure out how to navigate the uncertainty in the middle of the busy auction season.

“If I’m a dealer, and 2024 was painful and we’re having these huge losses, but we keep talking about [having] this footing – that’s why you’re not having a huge sale – but maybe [you’re] streaming out five tractors on this auction or two on that one,” Pete says. “That’s what I’m seeing. Whereas last year it was just, the spigot was open, and dealer items were everywhere.”

Seymour expected more dealer liquidation auctions in Q4, but dealer reps tell him they are not planning a big push of equipment to auction this year.

“[We] have this stagnant marketplace, where it’s not getting any better, and it’s not getting any worse,” he says. “You’re just kind of stuck in the middle. But to still see the auction activity that we’re seeing and the prices we’re seeing, it feels like we’re at the bottom.”

Pete agrees with that take, pointing to a growing trend of multi-dealer auctions, like the Rich & Rich Red Power Auction this weekend in North Carolina, as another sign the market is down. He is also seeing an increase in farm retirement auctions as farmers try to avoid losing equity.

Pete wonders if the rumored farmer aid package from the Trump administration will spark a dead-cat bounce on used machinery values and farmer buying activity?

“I don’t see that making its way to the equipment side. They’re going to shore up [debts] first, build back up and then probably [buy] inputs, but I guess it depends on if it’s taxable or not,” Seymour says.

Pete and Seymour tried to stick to farm equipment trends and what’s happening in the auction world, but the guys could not ignore the giant elephant in the room. They share thoughts on the impact of social media on political tensions in rural America, and why they think politicians should come down to an in-person auction and have some real conversations with real Americans.

The Rest of The Episode

Commodities analyst Shawn Hackett joins Seymour to break down the impact of the U.S. government shutdown on crop prices, and used equipment specialist Aaron Fintel closes out the episode with a chat about how livestock payments are driving more buying activity on loader tractors out west in his neck of the woods.

Head over to YouTube to watch the full episode. Please be sure to hit the “Thumbs Up” button to “Like” the video and click on the “Subscribe” button to get a notification when a new episode drops.

Your Next Read: Machinery Pete’s 5 Pointers For Equipment Auctions

Four Strategies for Residue Management

Wed, 01 Oct 2025 13:00:00 GMT

How you manage corn residue now can lead to better performance next spring, says Doug Houser, digital ag Extension specialist at Iowa State University.

“Residue management isn’t just a combine setting — it’s a yield decision,” he says. “If residue isn’t managed [at harvest], the problems multiply. By the time you see uneven stands in June, it’s too late to fix what was set in motion the previous October.”

In an online article, Houser describes a common chain reaction with heavy residue that he encourages corn growers to keep in mind — and minimize to the degree possible:

Heavy residue in the fall traps moisture and keeps soils cooler.
In spring, those zones are either too wet to work or create large clods if you till.
In no-till, residue causes hair-pinning and poor seed-to-soil contact.
Planter ride quality suffers, causing uneven seed depth.
Uneven depth causes uneven emergence.
Uneven emergence eventually becomes uneven plant growth and development.
The result: lost yield potential.

Strategies To Help
Houser says he checks frequently behind the combine to make sure plant material coming through is separating and landing the way he wants.

“The thing I’m worried about is this mass of [plant material] coming through the combine will want to stick together. It can be like cotton balls and not separate like it should,” he says.

The goal is for the residue to land and form a wider spread on the ground.

“Wider-spread patterns thin out residue cover, giving you more consistent soil temperatures and better planting conditions [the following spring],” Houser says.

Champion corn grower David Hula offers four strategies he uses that other farmers might consider:

Apply a biodigester. Two examples currently available on the market are Residue and Excavator.
Put out some nitrogen, sulfur and sugar to stimulate biological activity.
Take advantage of warm days to help break down residue and accelerate the decomposition.
Consider applying a light layer of dirt if using vertical tillage.

One other factor Hula encourages farmers to consider is what their disease pressure looked like this season, and whether any is going to overwinter in the residue.

“The one positive about southern rust is that disease does not overwinter in residue,” he says.

That’s not the case for tar spot spores, which have up to 25% viability after overwintering in Midwestern fields, according to Crop Protection Network.

In cornfields where tar spot was a problem, Purdue Extension says deep tillage can “effectively bury infested corn residue and reduce fungal spore movement.” Purdue also recommends switching to soybeans next year if your rotation allows.

Used Farm Equipment Buyer’s Market: Be Ready For Good Deals on Late-Model Machines

Fri, 26 Sep 2025 13:20:16 GMT

Stephen Spohn hawks used equipment all over the Midwest for Heritage Tractor, a 40-outlet John Deere dealer with retail stores in Arkansas, Illinois, Kansas and Missouri.

He says now is as good a time as any to be a buyer in the used farm equipment market. Prices have pretty much hit their bottom and will most likely only go up from here, but for now, he’s pretty confident another jump in prices won’t hit until 2027, unless something changes drastically.

“There will be opportunities for guys that maybe have [always] purchased new, but now they can buy some lightly used equipment at a good discount compared to new prices,” he says. “And there’s just a lot of good equipment [out there], and it’s probably [already setup] the way they want it, so just lots of opportunities right now.”

Big Iron’s Kurt Campbell, national account manager – dealer partnerships, agrees with that take. On the auction side, he shares that Big Iron has listed more late-model machines on its online auction platform in the past 24 months than it has in many, many years.

“If you’re thinking about updating and you find the piece of equipment that you’re looking for, I would encourage you to take advantage and buy it,” he advises.

Trending machinery segments

Spohn says Heritage Tractor is one of the most active sellers of used hay tools and baling machinery in the lower 48. And just as Machinery Pete and Casey Seymour have said for months now on the “Moving Iron Podcast,” he agrees the price of a new hay rake or big square baler is driving buying activity on the used side.

“[The] cattle market is strong like we’ve never seen it before, and it doesn’t show any signs of letting up; it just keeps getting stronger and stronger. So [used] hay equipment is at a premium , and we do have a lot of equipment ready to sell, ready to go to the field right now,” Spohn says, adding that demand is also strong for mid-sized utility tractors and windrowers.

“As long as we get the rain, we need to put the hay or the alfalfa out there for the guy to get it pulled in, and then we’re good to go,” he adds. “But yeah, that market is just incredible.”

Both Spohn and Campbell, who we spoke with at the Moving Iron Summit this week in Austin, Texas, are seeing a supply gap come into play across one machinery category: new high horsepower combines.

“I think most dealers of all makes, [John] Deere included, and the red and the yellow combines, too, there’s limited production and limited orders on new machines right now,” Spohn says. “I think everybody’s cutting that back, but there’s plenty of lightly used combines that can fill in that gap. To me that’s going to be a really good opportunity for the farmer to maybe get that price break on that lightly used combine compared to the new.”

“In ‘20, ‘21, ‘22, and into ‘23, the supply [of used machinery] was very limited, which obviously created demand,” Campbell adds. “We’re in a position now, we’re trying to get that back under control. The decrease in production from the OEMs is helping. So, to our dealer partner’s point, if you’re looking, there’s a good selection to look. And of course, when you’re shopping online or you’re using an auction company such as Big Iron, there’s always good inventory.”

Spohn says there’s enough good machinery in both the retail and auction worlds for everybody to eat this winter. Again, a win-win for buyers.

“I think the retail market is priced right,” he says. “Yeah, there’ll be some [nice deals] at auction, too, but I think the retail opportunity is there to get a good price on a combine. And then of course the benefit to the farmer is if they buy from the retail side, then you get dealer support.”

Your next read - Farm Equipment Buyer Hacks: 3 Insights From Fellow Farmers

Farm Equipment Buyer Hacks: 3 Insights From Fellow Farmers

Thu, 25 Sep 2025 14:07:44 GMT

Farmers are getting creative with their fleet management strategies and equipment purchasing behaviors in a world of tight farm economics. In addition, rising new and used equipment costs, the growing role of smart farming technology in purchase decisions and the dealer-farmer relationship come into play.

Here are three talking points to help keep your equipment fleet up to date in a down market from the farmers on stage at this year’s Moving Iron Summit , an annual Farm Journal event for used farm equipment dealers and auction companies.

Adopt a Second Buyer Approach
One effective strategy is shifting from a buy-new-at-all-costs mindset to a second buyer approach. Most combine harvesters remain operational for 15 to 18 years and have up to eight owners.

Illinois farmer Steve Pitstick and Iowa farmer Ben Riensche have found being the second buyer is the sweet spot for getting a good deal in the used market and still having a machine with modern precision ag technology. Riensche explains the mindset at play: When corn was trading at $6 a bushel, he says, it took 80,000 bu. to generate enough revenue to buy a nice used row crop tractor. Today, with $4 corn, that number has exploded to 140,000 bu. of corn to pay for the same used tractor.

“All those buyers are critical to that whole machine life,” Pitstick says. “I’ve chosen to be the second buyer. I come in at 300 hours, 400 hours and run it for a year. We flip machines every year with a 2-year-old or 1-year-old machine. Oftentimes it’s like a new machine to me because the first guy for some reason left the plastic on the seat.”

Keep a Backup for the Backup
The panel also agrees it pays to have a backup tractor or combine stashed in the machinery shed during spring planting and fall harvest, in case the tractor running the planter or the combine breaks down.

“We’ll keep our best old, used [machine] back in the back of the shed,” Riensche says. “If it gets used on that bluebird day when you really cut a lot of soybeans and it gets pulled out, or the day the front line combine goes down, we’ll pull it out because it obviously isn’t worth much on trade.”

Planter and Sprayer Tech Pays Off
When it comes to technology, Texas farmers Dale Allen and Todd Kimbrell, who both maintain relatively new equipment fleets, are seeing a return-on-investment when they take the time to figure out what works for their operations.

“First and foremost, for us it’s planters,” Kimbrell says. “Planter [tech] makes money in my part of the world, flat out. I can show you [data] all day long. It’s planter tech for us. Once we fixed our planters, our yields started going up. I’ll be honest, I don’t think we really knew how to plant until we put the technology on there.”

Allen is finding a lot of value in having his sprayers equipped with John Deere’s ExactApply application management system, which is available new from the factory and as an aftermarket retrofit kit on older machines. But John Deere’s hottest technology, it’s See & Spray smart spraying system, just doesn’t pencil out for his farm.

“There’s cost savings in being able to apply chemistry the way we need [it] applied,” Allen says. “What I’m trying to say is, not every technology fits on every farm. We got one shot to get it right, and we need to be sure.”

Your Next Read: Why Your Corn Crop Could Be Drying Slowly This Fall

Drought Conditions Intensify Threat Of Field And Combine Fires

Mon, 22 Sep 2025 19:56:58 GMT

High temperatures and low humidity across the eastern and western Corn Belt this past week have increased the risks for field and combine fires as harvest ramps up across the country.

With the dry conditions, Ken Ferrie encourages everyone to have plans A and B in place, ready to implement if fire occurs.

“If your plan A is to call the fire department, remember, in rural America, most of our great volunteer firemen are running their own combines, so response time is a challenge,” he says.

While Ferrie believes you – or someone on your team – needs to call the fire department or 911 to get help, he says to consider making containment your Plan A.

In the case of a field fire, keep a tillage tool or spray tender nearby. “Have it in the field with you ready to go,” he advises.

Crops that are extremely dry coupled with even a bit of wind can set up a fast-moving scenario you need to snuff out quickly. Time is of the essence, as a fire can double in size within a mere minute or two.

“That situation won’t wait for you to go home, find a tractor, dig out a tillage tool or stick a hose in your spray tender and get to your field,” Ferrie says. “You won’t have the time to do that.”

A fully engulfed corn crib fire spread to nearby fields in Foosland this Friday.
📸: Mackenzie Wichtnerhttps://t.co/XkFERxHVf6 pic.twitter.com/1sG1uVVlMW
— WICS ABC 20 (@wics_abc20) September 19, 2025

In case of a combine fire, turn off the engine, get away from the machine, and phone for help.

Then, attack with fire extinguishers if it is safe to do so, advises Joshua Michel, Iowa State University field agronomist, in an online article .

“Try to fight from the ‘black,’ the area already burned,” Michel says. “Attacking a fire from areas with combustibles (e.g. dry corn stalks) is much riskier. Always stay upwind of a fire to minimize the risk of exposure from smoke, heat and possible flames.”

Keeping a shovel on the combine to throw dirt on a fire can also help.

Five Practical Steps To Be Ready For A Fire

Here are five additional things you can do to address a fire or prevent one from occurring this harvest:

1. As you combine fields, Ferrie says to keep in mind the wind direction. “Combine downwind, if possible, on windy days so if we have a combine fire it burns away from the crop,” he advises.

2. Have a daily maintenance plan for your equipment, including blowing off chaff and debris, properly lubricating chains/bearings, and cleaning up spills, advises Ohio State University Extension (OSU).

“The majority of harvester fires start in the engine compartment. Contributing factors for heat sources include faulty wiring, over-heated bearings, leaking fuel or hydraulic oil,” report Wayne Dellinger and Dee Jepsen at OSU, in this online article .

3. Have two ABC-rated fire extinguishers on hand. Keep a smaller 10-pound unit in the cab and a larger 20-pound extinguisher at ground level on the combine. Keeping an extra fire extinguisher on other pieces of machinery or trucks that are out in the field is also a good idea.

4. Invert the fire extinguisher once or twice during the season to ensure that machine vibrations don’t compact the powder inside.

5. Review your fire emergency plan with family and employees. As part of that, create a list with the 911 addresses for each of your field locations prior to harvest and have them easily accessible to family members and farm employees, Michel encourages. When a fire is called in with a 911 address, dispatch can more readily identify the incident location and relay this information to the fire department. This can save precious time as some fields may be in remote locations.

Your next read: 5 Critical Insights From The Southern Rust Rampage In Midwest Corn

A Dive Deep Into Used Equipment Market Forces and Tips to DIY Your Next Sale

Thu, 18 Sep 2025 18:23:55 GMT

Farmers are feeling the squeeze of low commodity prices and uncertainty in the market — and that’s especially true for soybean growers right now — yet good condition, pre-DEF used farm equipment is still in strong demand.

Whether you’re selling a row crop tractor down at the local auction, parking the old combine out by the road with a “For Sale” sign on it, or throwing up a listing on Facebook Marketplace, Casey Seymour and Greg “Machinery Pete” Peterson say there are best practices sellers need to use to present their machines in the best possible light.

Focus on taking a high quantity of clear images from a variety of angles, and show any defects with the machine. Make sure to wash and clean the machine as best as possible.

A detailed written description of the machine that includes its operating hours, how it was used on your farm and any maintenance history you can share is also recommended.

Use video (cell phone camera is fine) to give the online buyer a virtual “walk around” of the machine. Another tactic is recording a selfie video. Have the owner stand in front of the machine and speak directly to buyers about various upgrades and features on the machine and why they should consider buying it.

“You can throw a fishing lure, but if you don’t put any bait on the fricking hook, you’re not going to catch a fish,” says Pete.

Once pictures and videos are ready (that’s the bait on the hook), it’s time to cast the line into the water by setting a fair and realistic price. Use MachineryPete.com as well as other online auction platforms like Big Iron and Purple Wave to see how much the same make/models have sold for recently. Try to avoid emotion in your pricing decision, and do not say “Call for Price” in the listing. It sets off red flags that the machine will be overpriced.

“At the end of the day, there’s really three things that matter: how many pictures [and videos] do you have that tell a good story about the machine, what does your description look like and are you priced fairly in the market,” adds Seymour. “That’s it. Boom, boom, boom.”

Economics Update

Rich Posson, business cycles analyst, Critical Point & Ag Financial Strategies, correctly predicted the Federal Reserve lowering interest rates this week, and he thinks rates could bottom out early in 2026 and then rise again in 2027. Find out what he is seeing in the world of macro and microeconomics that will affect machinery sales.

The High Plains Perspective

Aaron Fintel, used equipment specialist, 21st Century Equipment, joined the podcast to unpack the for-sale-by-owner trend and how sellers who choose to go that route can make sure they don’t leave any cash on the table.

Head over to YouTube to watch the full episode . Please be sure to hit the “Thumbs Up” button to “Like” the video and click on the “Subscribe” button to get a notification when a new episode drops.

Your next read: Tips And Tech Tools To Take The Sting Out Of Harvesting A Highly Variable Corn Crop

John Deere Layoffs Continue Amid Sales Downturn, 142 Iowa Employees Notified

Wed, 17 Sep 2025 22:38:28 GMT

Farm equipment giant John Deere has confirmed it is laying off 101 employees at its Waterloo Operations (last day on October 17) and 41 employees at the Des Moines Works (October 31) plant, according to an official statement emailed to Farm Journal.

It is a little over a month since the last round of layoffs , which affected over 200 employees across factories located in the Quad Cities region of western Illinois and eastern Iowa.

Deere says in the statement: “Production schedules at each John Deere factory vary to align with seasonal farming needs. When fewer orders come in, each factory adjusts accordingly.”

Despite the layoffs and an overall tough farm economy that some think will stretch well into 2026, Deere still intends on moving forward with its $20 billion investment strategy here in the U.S., according to the statement.

During John Deere’s earnings call in August, the company issued a warning that tariff costs could total $600 million for fiscal year 2025. The company’s share price dipped 6% immediately following that call. Deere’s net income for Q3 also sank 26%, and its total net sales decreased by 9% compared to Q3 in 2024.

At the beginning of August, John Deere addressed long-standing Right To Repair concerns with a new digital diagnosis and repair product for John Deere machines and Hagie STS high-clearance sprayers. That tool costs $195 per tractor for farmers and $5,995 per year for independent service technicians.

And in May, Deere acquired Minneapolis-based drone and sensor provider Sentera . Financial terms for that deal have not been disclosed.

John Deere also just dropped a new commercial featuring injured San Francisco 49ers quarterback and Iowa State Cyclone Brock Purdy cooking meals for farmers with tractor influencer @JustAJacksonThing. You can check that out below.

Additional Information

Deere shares the following bullet points regarding compensation benefits available to laid off employees:

Affected employees are eligible to be recalled to their home factory for a period equal to their length of service. Those laid off are automatically placed in seniority order for openings they are qualified to perform at the factory.
Weekly supplemental unemployment benefit (SUB pay), dependent on number of years of continuous employment.
Transitional Assistance Benefit (TAB) pay, which may cover up to 50% of their average weekly earnings for up to 52 weeks. 
Profit sharing, calculated based on hours worked, average earnings and the company’s profit margin.

Healthcare benefits employees can receive during a layoff include: 

Employees can keep healthcare coverage for at least six months, or as long as they are eligible for SUB pay.
Weekly Indemnity (WI): Employees who become disabled while on layoff can get WI benefits for the same duration as their SUB pay.
Employee Assistance Program (EAP): Employees and their household members can access EAP services for the duration of their recall rights. EAP provides up to eight sessions of in-person or virtual therapy per year.

Other benefits laid-off employees may receive include: 

Life insurance
Legal assistance
Tuition reimbursement and job-placement assistance.

Your next read: Why a Farmer on the Brink of Suicide Chose to Keep Going

Tips And Tech Tools To Take The Sting Out Of Harvesting A Highly Variable Corn Crop

Wed, 17 Sep 2025 18:19:16 GMT

Are you harvesting high-moisture corn this fall, and did that same corn experience significant foliar disease pressure? If the variable conditions crop scouts noted on Farm Journal’s Pro Farmer Crop Tour hold true for most of the Corn Belt , then the answer to both of those questions is likely “yes” — and that means you will need to adjust your harvest workflow.

Here are some tips and technologies to help get this crop off as efficiently and stress-free as possible, and then keep it in good condition until you’re ready to sell it:

Plan For Success
The first shift you need to consider is the sequence in which you harvest your fields. If you have a field that was inundated with higher disease pressure than others, and the crop is still standing, you want to prioritize that one over fields where the visual symptoms of disease pressure are not as widespread.

Related: Maximize Soybean Yields — Harvesting This Week Could Be Key

“It’s just [a matter of] expediting the process and getting that infected field harvested quicker than what you had anticipated, which a lot of times comes with higher moisture corn,” says Tyler Kilfoil, digital bin manager, AGI.

Calibrate Yield Monitors

Yield monitor by Darrell Smith

(Darrell Smith)

Farm Journal Field Agronomist Ken Ferrie is worried some farmers might “get into depressed mode” and skip over yield monitor calibrations this fall. Even if yields appear to be below your expectations, Ferrie says these yield maps will be valuable in the years to come. So, get that yield monitor calibrated.

“Even if the yield [data] is depressing, get a good spatial calibration on that yield monitor for both beans and corn,” Ferrie says. “So, when we sit back and the combine is in the shed, we can go through all this data, and it’ll help us make some decisions.”

This year’s data could be particularly useful because it has been such a difficult year, agronomically speaking.

“There’ll be things that show up [in the data] that you don’t see every year, and those yield maps are going to be key,” he says. “That’s the data we need. [It’s] going to help you make decisions not only next year, but for years after.”

Combine Automation Can Help

Two men with a tablet in front of a John Deere vehicle.

(Premier Crop Systems)

Once you have a game plan for attacking your fall harvest and your yield monitor is set, there are new tools within some combines that can help manage variability from field to field.

If you’re running a new John Deere combine (model year 2025 and up), consider using Predictive Ground Speed Automation (PGSA) and Harvest Settings Automation this fall, says John Deere combine specialist Tim Ford.

Related: 5 Yield-Saving Combine Adjustments For Touch-And-Go Fall Harvest

PGSA is a sensing technology that serves as another set of eyes for the combine operator, scanning the crop continuously 28' ahead of the corn head. It reads crop height, biomass and can even detect downed crops. It will speed up where it sees lighter biomass and slow down and take its time in higher biomass.

Harvest Settings Automation works in a similar fashion. The operator sets acceptable levels of grain loss in the combine controller, and then sensors within the machine will read the crop ahead and adjust things like header height and speed to make sure the combine harvests within your set parameters.

“These two systems act as a teammate. We’re not taking the operator out of the cab. We’re using sensors, data and technology to take a heavy burden off the operator and put it on the automation,” Ford says.

Bin Ready? Set It And Forget It

Grain Bin By Lori Hays

(File Photo )

Once the crop is off, AGI’s Kilfoil says the next decision is figuring out what to do with it.

“If it was high moisture when you picked it, that involves getting it down to a proper storage [moisture] level, maybe even running it through an eco-dryer to pull the moisture out of the corn,” he says. “From there, the final landing place is in the bin.”

Once you have this highly variable crop dried down and nestled in the bin, you need visibility into how the grain itself takes to storage conditions, all while keeping a close eye on weather conditions outside the bin, too. That’s where a grain bin monitoring system with automation can pay off — freeing up your time and attention while the system does the checking for you. And it’s just safer than manually checking bins.

“Grain bin monitoring technology is your eyes inside your bank account,” Kilfoil says. “For guys who aren’t typically used to shelling higher moisture corn and storing higher moisture corn, a product like AGI’s Bin Manager lets you sleep in peace at night. It gives you eyes inside the bin, and it’s going to fully automate your system and help with that [storage] process and decision making.”

Your next read: How Pro Farmer 2025 Crop Estimates Compare and Contrast With USDA Expectations

Clicking On Used? Navigate Online Farm Equipment Auctions Like A Pro

Tue, 16 Sep 2025 18:05:14 GMT

Whether you’re ready to sell some used farm equipment for positive or negative reasons , there are several things to be aware of before diving into the auction market at its absolute peak , which is normally from November to March.

Big Iron Auctions/Sullivan Auctioneers co-founder Mark Stock , who has been in the business for 41 years, says the first thing sellers need to do is to get in touch with your preferred auction platform. Giving advance notice is one of the many keys to a good experience selling at auction.

“If the seller can contact us by the middle of September, that’s great,” Stock says. “My advice for buyers is make sure you look at all the photos [in the auction listing], and then call the owner [before you bid]. We always publish the owner’s name and phone number, which is something most auction sites don’t do. So, call those sellers and ask questions.”

The latest auction update from Machinery Pete Facebook:

Stock also emphasizes going through those images with a fine-tooth comb. He wants new-to-the-market buyers to understand transparency is not some pie-in-the-sky, unrealistic expectation to have. There are plenty of auction companies that prioritize a truly open-ended process.

“We do a good job of showing everything that’s good and also everything that’s bad about that piece of machinery. That’s how we try to earn the buyer’s respect,” he says. “And the sellers, they don’t want to have someone mad after the end of the sale because they didn’t let the buyer know about something.”

The explosion of online equipment auctions, a space where Big Iron is currently one of the biggest players, has proven to be a bit of a double-edged sword in more ways than one. While it’s true today a farmer in Arkansas can jump on their phone and buy a used, $300,000 combine from the seat of the dentist’s chair, some bad actors have tried to weasel into the fray. Selecting a reputable auction company you’ve researched and feel good about working with can help ease any anxiety about getting wrapped up in something nefarious .

“It’s just one example, but we UCC (Uniform Commercial Code) search everything because we want the transaction to be seamless,” Stock says. “And then if there is a loan [attached to] payoff, we work with that creditor to make sure that loan gets paid off before the buyer takes possession. We handle all that stuff so there’s no surprises.”

Kinze Manufacturing founder Jon Kinzenbaw’s antique tractor collection in Williamsburg, Iowa.

(Big Iron Auctions)

When asked what’s coming up from Big Iron, Stock says the digital auction platform has a “really big fall catalog” coming out soon and to check out BigIron.com for more info. On November 4, there is a notable sale for precision ag and farm machinery history buffs. Bidding for that sale opens October 19.

“John Kinzenbaw, the founder of Kinze Manufacturing, has a huge tractor collection, and he’s going to sell off over 100 of those tractors to the highest bidder here in November,” Stock says.

Greg “Machinery Pete” Peterson will be in attendance, too.

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Navigate The Used Farm Equipment Market With 5 Smart Buyer Hacks

Thu, 11 Sep 2025 16:40:38 GMT

If you’re looking to acquire a used machine in the next few months, this episode of the “Moving Iron” podcast is for you.

Greg “Machinery Pete” Peterson and Casey Seymour have over 50 years of combined experience in the farm equipment industry. Over the decades, they’ve witnessed plenty of good and bad from buyers in the auction and secondary markets.

Here are a handful of tips they recommend buyers heed as they hit auctions and dealer lots this fall and winter:

Keep a close eye on interest rates. In the recent past when interest rates were sub-3%, watching rate fluctuations wasn’t as critical as it is today with 7% and 8% interest rates. Those high rates add a lot of dollars to the final price tag you’ll end up paying out over the years when you finance a tractor or combine.
Have cash on hand? Consider a higher down payment. High interest rates have a depreciating effect on equity in any high-value asset. One way to combat that is to increase your down payment. While 20% is normally the standard, you might consider going higher to 30% to 35% of the total cost of the machine.
Use data from MachineryPete.com and trusted sources. Its fine to be emotional about your favorite college football program or your trusty old farm dog, but emotion in the buying process should be kept to a minimum. Use auction data on the specific model you’re targeting to avoid emotional overpays and stay within current market value.
Get a handle on current machinery supply levels. How many used machines are sitting on dealer lots can have an effect on auction pricing. It’s basic supply and demand economics: if there are a lot of used machines of a particular make and model available on the secondary market, you can probably find a good deal on the auction circuit, and vice versa. You can even do your own unofficial research and take a spin past your local equipment dealer to see what’s on the lot.
Know the trends. Q4 and Q1 of the new year are two time periods when you’re likely to find used equipment bargains because, other than in 2015 and last year, used machinery values often drop once fall harvest wraps up. It remains to be seen, however, if that trend continues.

“I think we’re going to start seeing the numbers fall off, which will push things forward a little bit, [just] supply and demand stuff,” Seymour says. “But between now and probably the first quarter of ’26, that’s going to be your best opportunity to buy a machine at a good value. I don’t think you’re going to be able to buy it any cheaper than right now.”

Commodities and Market Updates

Shawn Hackett, president and CEO of Hackett Financial Advisors, gave an update on recent movement within USDA’s corn and soybean yield projections and how that will affect crop futures. He sees an upper $4 corn market and upper $11 soybean market as appropriate projections moving forward.

And used equipment specialist Aaron Fintel, 21st Century Equipment, says he focuses on how much equity he will be able to realize and how marketable the used machine will be six months from now when making a purchase decision.

You can head on over to YouTube to watch the full episode . Please be sure to hit the “Thumbs Up” button to “Like” the video and click on the “Subscribe” button to get a notification when a new episode drops.

Classic Tractor Shines: 1989 John Deere 4455 Hits $80,750 at Iowa Auction

Mon, 08 Sep 2025 18:11:34 GMT

Machinery Pete’s Pick of the Week didn’t shatter any auction records, but it’s worth noting considering this week’s machine of honor is almost 40 years old.

At a Nate’s Tractor consignment auction on Thursday, Sept. 4, in Riceville, Iowa, a 1989 John Deere 4455 tractor with 3,066 original hours sold for $80,750. It’s the 17^th highest price Pete has recorded for what he says is a classic tractor with an average auction price of $44,751.

“Five years ago [the average auction price] was just under $37,850, and 25 years ago it was at $37,765, so we’ve jumped [up] here in the last five years,” Pete says. “There’s a lot of love for those 4455s out there.”

The all-time record for a used John Deere 4455 was set last year at an auction in Berlin, Wis. That was a 1992 model with 2,260 original hours, and it sold for $160,000. The previous record high for a 4455 was set in 2023 and it sold for $97,850.

You can take a look at all the historical sales data for used John Deere 4455 tractors over at Machinery Pete by clicking this link.

Fall auction season heats up this week

Machinery Pete says the number of used farm equipment auctions is starting to increase. He believes that is partly due to two factors: high used machine inventories on equipment dealer lots, and more farmers hitting retirement age and deciding to call it quits and sell off the fleet.

Pete says the next seven days represent “a market testing week” and there’s a handful of sales he wants interested buyers to be aware of:

Merit Auctions is hosting its large dealer auction online and in-person on its inventory yard in Ft. Madison, Iowa, on Tuesday at 10 a.m. CT. Pete says that sale has a lot of late-model equipment and a wide variety of equipment makes to choose from. It features 31 used tractors, five combines, five skid steers and five sprayers.
Richie Brothers is hosting an online only, timed auction on Tuesday featuring a collection of classic machinery from noted John Deere collector Norman Balzer up in Duke, Alberta, in Canada. There is a 1953 John Deere Model D Wide Front “Streeter” antique tractor that drew Pete’s eye in that sale.
Hoenig Auctions is hosting its online Sievers Equipment Inventory Reduction auction currently , and the bidding closes at 1 p.m. CT on Tuesday. Sievers is a Case-IH dealer, and Pete says there is a pair of 2012 Steiger 450 4WD tractors and a 2008 Case IH 2588 combine among many good quality machines in that sale.
TractorTuesday.com is auctioning off a 1978 John Deere 4840 Powershift tractor out of Ohio among the 394 active listings on its website. TractorTuesday offers zero sellers fees on listings, Pete says.
DPA Auctions has an online-only auction that starts Tuesday at 10 a.m. CT. There’s a nice 2023 John Deere low-hour 8RX 410 tractor in that sale that could be a winner for someone looking for a bargain on a late-model machine. There are also some classic Alice Chalmer and Farmall tractors available.

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5 Yield-Saving Combine Adjustments For Touch-And-Go Fall Harvest

Thu, 04 Sep 2025 18:15:53 GMT

As if 2025 hasn’t thrown farmers enough curveballs for one growing season, corn harvest in the Midwest is setting up to be a tricky affair as well.

Iowa State Extension digital agriculture specialist Doug Houser says it’s been “a long time” since he’s witnessed a corn crop set farmers up for such a difficult harvest season.

The reason for Houser’s concern heading into fall harvest is the remarkable levels of disease pressure that scouts and farmers have noted in corn fields across the country.

He says farmers need to get out and scout fields with a drone (if they have a Part 107 pilot’s certification) so they can get a full picture of just how much disease has taken hold, and then prioritize the fields where they need to get the crop off to avoid fallen plants or additional yield loss.

Moisture variability within fields is also something Houser is worried could trip up some harvester crews this fall.

“I see a lot of fields that have corn and it’s dry, and then in other parts of the field it’s wet,” he says. “It might be a situation where we have to go one way and pick again. I’m not trying to throw the scare tactics out there, but we just have to get prepared for this harvest.”

Houser has five combine settings adjustments he advises farmers to dial in each time they start harvesting a new field:

Rotor/Cylinder Speed: Many fields will require a reduction in combine rotor speed to minimize harvest losses , he says. The moisture swings within individual fields will mean varying kernel test weights, and higher-moisture kernels that are soft will be prone to cracking.
Concave Settings: Houser thinks it might be prudent this year to set your concaves a little wider than you normally would, because soft, high-moisture kernels will often crack more easily with narrow concave spacings.
Fan Settings: Houser says to be very diligent here making your adjustments, because the lighter test weight kernels will want to float backward. You might have to visually inspect the rear of the combine to ensure you’re not throwing kernels out the back end with your residue spreader.
Sieve and Chafer: Start with a wider sieve opening and adjust down from there. The higher moisture, disease-ridden corn leaves have a tendency to gum up and plug up the sieve.
Ground Speed: This is a recommendation a lot of farmers won’t be too happy to heed, but harvesting at slower speeds this fall can help reduce losses. Southern rust and other foliar corn diseases often lead to weak stalks, which increases your risk of lodging.

“I keep saying it, but it’s so important to prioritize those fields [with high disease pressure]. Get those off as soon as you can,” Houser says. “The fields where we’re seeing stalk deterioration, we want to make sure we get those off in a timely manner. I know a lot of producers will say ‘Well, yeah, but Doug, [what about] the drying costs?’ My answer there would be if we don’t get it into the bin in the first place, that’s not going to help either.”

Auction Experts: Buy Used Farm Equipment Now Before Prices Jump, Machinery Specs Matter More Than Ever

Thu, 04 Sep 2025 16:53:14 GMT

With fall auction (and college football) season fully upon us, Moving Iron hosts Casey Seymour and Greg “Machinery Pete” Peterson are paying close attention to how the used equipment resale market shakes out over the next few months.

According to Pete, last year was just the second fall auction season in the past 22 years that saw an overall drop in used machine values, but there are signs this fall will reverse that trend. That would be a positive development for dealers and private sellers looking to get good value for their used equipment at auction.

“I mean, if we get a little positivity in the market, if that continues, it might point toward maybe a stronger end of the year,” Pete says.

Pete also thinks interested buyers need to be aggressive now, because we might have hit the bottom of the market this summer and prices are only going up from this point forward.

Two used machines sold at a Big Iron Auctions sale in Illinois this week; the results show there are still good deals floating around in the auction market, but it is anyone’s guess how long that lasts.

A 2014 John Deere S680 combine with 3,340 operating hours sold for $69,000. Last year, the average auction price for that same model/year combine was $80,185, and the year prior it was right at $99,000.

And a 2017 John Deere 8370R tractor with 4,499 engine hours on it sold for $127,850, which is well below the average auction price of $182,500.

Seymour and Pete are also keeping close tabs on the upcoming Sept. 12 USDA corn production report. A rise in corn futures following the release of that report could increase used equipment buying activity significantly.

“I think if we start to see more people coming to the table to buy stuff, then we’ll see some organic growth in prices,” Seymour says. “But it feels like there could be some volume at the end of the year that gets gobbled up because of this, and that could bleed over to that first quarter [of 2026].”

Commodities Analysis

Chip Nellinger, co-owner, Blue Reef Agri-Marketing, says fall harvest is now underway south of I-70, but a lack of moisture in the Eastern Corn Belt and increased crop disease pressure throughout the Midwest have corn and soybeans on separate paths.

“In the case of corn, you have yields coming down, but demand is phenomenal, arguably in some segments the best it’s ever been, you combine that with shrinking yields, and it can become somewhat explosive,” Nellinger says. “[It’s] kind of the opposite in beans; yields are probably coming down, but we’ve yet to see any movement on a Chinese trade deal.”

High Plains Update

Aaron Fintel, used equipment specialist, 21^st Century Equipment, joined Seymour to break down how machinery specs and different features drive resale values both regionally and nationally. Fintel says smart buyers must have a conversation with their dealer during the purchasing process so they know which machine specs used equipment buyers are looking for.

For example, combines with four-wheel drive and “Tri-Power” (power fold, power cast and power rear) are critical specs for high resale value. In the tractor segment, PTO shafts and high flow hydraulics are the current must-haves.

“With that third and fourth buyer paying more attention [to machine specs] it’s as vital as ever to get the right specs,” Fintel says. “Even if the guy has ordered the same thing for 30 years, there needs to be a discussion [with the dealer] all the time, because with how technology drives so much in ag right now, things change weekly.”

Head over to YouTube to watch the full episode. Hit the “Thumbs Up” button to “Like” the video and click on the “Subscribe” button to get a notification when a new episode drops.

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What Farm Equipment Manufacturers Are Saying About 50% Steel and Aluminum Tariffs

Thu, 04 Sep 2025 12:00:17 GMT

Farm equipment manufacturers have spent the past nine months dealing with tariff fallout and implications. It’s an effort borne out of sheer necessity — that’s because the various tariff levels and targets have changed faster than a Kansas prairie headwind during spring planting.

It’s why we talked with executives from a handful of farm equipment manufacturers to learn more about how they are managing the situation. John Deere, for example, recently went as far as attaching a hard number to the tariff pain: a projected $600 million in balance sheet impact for 2025 is the figure shared by John Beal, director of investor relations, during Deere’s 2025 Q3 earnings call.

On Aug. 18, a 50% tariff on all foreign steel and aluminum imports into the U.S. went into effect. That alone has had a huge impact on the companies building farm machines here in the U.S. and abroad, and it’s even restricting the movement of used farm equipment across the border.

Almost All American Made

Case IH’s Kurt Coffey, who serves as the companies’ vice president of its North America division, says the executive team he is on meets daily to unpack global trade developments. Case IH is in a good position overall, he says, with 80% to 90% of its machines produced in one of four U.S. production facilities, and 95% of its machinery base material (i.e. steel) sourced domestically.

Related - From the Factory to Your Fields: Where Farm Equipment Is Made

(Case IH)

“What we’re trying to do is scale across our business to where there are impacts in the short term, in the transitory period, and make sure that we continue to flow product so we’re a reliable partner for our customers,” Coffey says. “But it is anybody’s guess where this is going. So, we’re maintaining focus on the customer and our supply flows.”

That supply flow is worth the extra effort in Racine, according to Coffey, due to this fact: Anywhere from 60% to 90% of Case IH machinery is presold, so a new tariff today means a big, unexpected extra cost tacked on the back end.

“We’re executing on product that was sold three, five or even eight months ago,” he adds. “So, no comment on [financial] impacts, but we’ve continued to focus on how we make sure our customers have what they need as they’re going to harvest.”

Coffey doesn’t come right out and say it, but reading between the lines, it seems clear that Case IH has had to flex its creative muscles and figure out how to manage, for example, a new 50% tariff bill on a brand-new AF-11 combine that was sold six months ago. That extra 50% wasn’t part of the equation when the deal was signed, so who pays for it?

More EU Than U.S.

While Case IH has a large manufacturing base in the U.S., German-based manufacturer Claas is a different story. While the company builds its Lexion combines and self-propelled corn detassler machine at a 250,000-sq.-ft. facility in Omaha, Neb., four-fifths (80%) of its row crop machinery portfolio is built over in Europe and shipped to dealer lots in the U.S.

In a Trump Tariff world, that means significantly higher production costs for Claas, and potentially, the farmers that buy their tractors and combines. That’s because tariffs are taxes, and most companies will pass that extra cost down the line to consumers in the form of higher retail prices.

Eric Raby, senior vice president of the Americas region, Claas, says his outfit is actually taking on some of those extra costs.

(Claas)

“From an EU [European Union] perspective, and in Canada and some other major countries, we’re pretty even keel right now on where the tariffs are, and I think the industry as a whole has pretty much absorbed [a lot of] those,” he says. “We’ve absorbed a lot, as well. We’re not passing all of it to the customer.”

The new-ish 50% tariff on steel and aluminum is a different story, however.

“We’re still working [on that] right now and trying to figure out the implications, because that really is going to affect our industry much more broadly than just the tariffs on a country of origin for a specific machine,” Raby says. “We’re always looking for local [material] suppliers as well, because our time to market gets shortened considerably. So, it’s much more efficient for us as well.”

One way to manage those costs is to onshore more of its material sourcing network here into the U.S. We visited Claas’ Omaha factory this summer, and efforts were already underway to find more suppliers in Nebraska and the Midwest.

“We’re always looking at broadening our supplier base,” Raby says. “If we go back to COVID, I think the whole industry suffered from a lack of versatility within the supply chain. So we’re always looking for different suppliers. And then obviously, with the tariffs now, we’re looking even more intently on sourcing locally.”

Nearly 50/50

New Holland is largely viewed as a Euro-brand in farm equipment circles, but it’s closer to an even split. The company manufactures about 50% of it’s row-crop machinery in the EU and 40% in North America, with the remaining 10% built in the Asia-Pacific region.

JEAN-MARC GIUBOUX PHOTOGRAPHY

(New Holland)

New Holland’s vice president of North America, Ryan Schaefer, has been in the leadership role for the brand’s domestic operations for about a year now. He says CNH Industrial has eight manufacturing plants in the U.S. as well as a significant presence in western Canada, but managing the tariff situation has been anything but easy, he says.

“We produce tractors and combines all over the world, as well, so we truly have a global footprint,” he says. “So really, I wouldn’t go so far as to call the situation difficult, but the challenges are something that many in our industry have never had to deal with firsthand. It’s been a learning experience for all manufacturers, I would say, throughout North America and the globe.”

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Steiger 715 and Gleaner S98 Steals: Machinery Pete’s Latest Used Farm Equipment Auction Deals

Tue, 02 Sep 2025 21:57:47 GMT

The passing of Labor Day Weekend always signifies a special time in the farm community. The long, hot, dog days of summer are finally in the rearview, and the vast potential of another harvest season is on the horizon ahead

In the used farm equipment buying world, post-Labor Day is also a special time. Machinery Pete says it’s “almost always” the best time to be a buyer in the market, and this fall is shaping up that way once again.

“I would say that for ’25, if you’re thinking about updating your used equipment, I think it’s a tremendous time right now to call your local dealer or go be aggressive on the auction market,” Pete declares.

Pete has over 30 years under his well-worn leather belt in the used equipment auction world. He’s confident telling buyers to go out and pound the pavement for deals because he’s crunched the data over at MachineryPete.com . Right now, he says, pricing is starting to solidify on late-model, used equipment, so there are some good deals to be had.

With that in mind, Pete also shared his “Picks of the Week” on Monday’s episode of “AgriTalk.” His highlighted picks turned out to be a 2025 Case IH Steiger 715 Quadtrax tractor and a 2006 Gleaner S98 combine.

First up, the Steiger.

That bad boy came in with only 250 engine hours and it sold for $609,000 at a DPA Auction in Iowa. While that price tag would seem high to most, it’s actually below the average used auction price for a 2025 Steiger 715. And the thing is basically brand new.

(BigIron.com)

And the almost 10-year old Gleaner combine, from Abilene, Kan., with 664 seperation hours on it, sold for $191,251 at a Big Iron online retirement auction.

“Again, for a 9-year-old machine to push $200K like that, it was in beautiful condition, but that’s a pretty strong hard cash price right there,” Pete says.

Upcoming auctions to watch

Looking ahead, Pete is excited to keep tabs on the Sep. 9 Merit Auctions online live “Large Dealer Auction” sale. You can find details on the sale and get registered to bid here.

“It’s a great lineup of equipment,” Pete says. “Five combines, 31 tractors, five sprayers and five skid steers, all late model. To me, it’s a great opportunity because I think if we go another year or year-and-a-half with these tight times, and nobody buys any new [equipment], what will happen is whenever corn and bean prices go up, you’re gonna have everybody at the same time wanting to update. And that’s when prices become unhinged.”

And here is another auction on Sep. 9 Pete is keeping his eye on:

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Harvest Milestone: New Holland's Twin Rotor Technology Celebrates 50 Years of Threshing and Separating Power

Thu, 28 Aug 2025 21:08:03 GMT

Any innovation with a half-century worth of staying power deserves some recognition.

That includes New Holland’s transformative Twin Rotor combine technology (pictured below), which was invented by a team of engineers in Belgium and patented by the manufacturer in 1975 and has left an indelible mark on the harvesting equipment sector: Over 70,000 combines with the once “game changing” innovation have been built and shipped to farms around the world since its debut 50 years ago.

(New Holland)

The story of the twin rotor starts, according to New Holland’s Ryan Schaffer, vice president for North America, just over a decade prior when New Holland acquired Belgian combine manufacturer Leon Clay Co. in 1964.

Clay’s engineers had already started on a twin rotor prototype before the acquisition went through, and New Holland’s engineering team jumped in and finished the job.

The rest, as they say, is history.

“This was at a time when grain quality was becoming more important to farmers, because farming had shifted from producing for local markets to producing grain more as a globally marketed commodity,” Schaefer explains. “The twin rotor design works because it utilizes physics to thresh the grain faster and more gently than other combines of its time.”

Schaefer likens the twin rotor separation process to something most kids from the ’90s will surely remember: the barf-inducing, head spinning Gravitron fair ride.

For those that don’t know, the Gravitron was a UFO-shaped, LED-bedazzled amusement ride that fairgoers pile inside of, where they would position themselves against a vertically moving, slanted wall. The ride would then start to spin in a circle at a very high speed until it generated enough inertia and centrifugal force to push the interior walls against the riders with enough force (along with static electricity) to basically plaster them against the wall like a bug smashed against a window with a fly swatter. Then, the floor would drop and riders would be treated to a several stomach-turning seconds of feeling like they are floating in air and defying gravity

And that’s exactly how the twin rotor works: The two hollowed out rotors spin at high speeds, creating enough inertia and force to toss the heavier material, in this case the harvested grain, into the grain tank and lighter material like chaff and pieces of stalk is blasted out the back of the combine.

New Holland’s CR 11 combine.

( Emmanuel Bourgois)

While that twin rotor setup was initially used in New Holland’s flagship combine of the time, the TR 70, it has lasted throughout the years and today is at the very heart of New Holland’s mammoth, sensor-and-automation-tech-packed CR 11 combine. Case IH also offers a twin-rotor setup in its AF-11 machine.

“When we built the CR 11, we clearly set out to produce a larger machine with a higher (grain tank) capacity, but it also had to help improve the operator’s bottom line,” Schaefer says. “A focus on lowering the total cost of harvesting — which calculates everything from maintenance costs to harvest losses — for our farmers powers every design update we make to our combines.”

Combine History on Display

Jacob and Brittany Loftus and their 1975 New Holland TR 70.

(Matthew J. Grassi)

As part of New Holland’s yearlong celebration of the 50th anniversary, it connected a group of ag media and social media influencers with southern Indiana farmers Jacob and Brittany Loftus.

The Loftuses are the proud owners of a 1975 New Holland TR 70 combine with the original four row corn head. They use the now rust-pocked, unassuming yellow and red classic every year to harvest 10 acres of organic corn. The couple mostly grows a diverse selection of specialty crops, and some corn and soybeans, across 200 acres in the fertile Ohio River Valley just northwest of Louisville, Ky.

“We acquired this in early 2000 when my Dad decided to upgrade combines, and then we ran it for about 15 years as our main combine. Back then we probably did about 400 acres of beans every year, so it’s done a lot of beans in its lifetime,” says Jacob Loftus.

The couple also keep a backup “parts combine” on hand to pull original parts from when something breaks.

“It’s kind of semi-retired these days, and we actually had two of them at one time before we lost one. It burnt up,” Loftus says.

Inside the Loftus’ 1975 TR 70: no AC and no Bluetooth radio. All nostalgia and classic Iron.

(Matthew J. Grassi)

Loftus likens the old harvester to a 1970s muscle car: It just works, and there’s really not much that can break on it, he says. Think the old hand-crank car windows of yesteryear versus today’s automatic power windows.

“You can just set it and forget it, basically. I rarely have to do any adjustments on this machine year to year; it just picks good, clean corn,” he says. “Luckily the main components have never failed, just have to get some bearings, pulleys, chains and belts from the dealer here and there.”

Brittany Loftus gets a kick out of seeing the locals reactions when the unique relic of the past is out kicking up dust and chopping corn. It has to be quite the contrast to today’s modern, shiny steel and tempered glass ensconced futuristic harvesters.

“A lot of the little kids in the neighborhood, he’s like their idol because they’ll stop and watch and go, ‘oh, Jacob’s out in the field, Mom,’ and they are just like mesmerized by big equipment, so that’s really cool,” she says.

Check out this video from YouTube content creators and Wisconsin custom farmers, New Age Custom Harvesting , who were on hand to help celebrate the anniversary and check out the Loftuses’ classic combine:

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Top Tier Story Telling Can Push Your Equipment's Value Higher In A Roller Coaster Market

Thu, 28 Aug 2025 16:21:40 GMT

Volatile is the word that best sums up the current state of the farm equipment auction world.

The market currently sits at a “tipping point” as the busy auction season approaches, according to “Moving Iron” podcast hosts Casey Seymour and Machinery Pete. One of the surest signals of an unsteady market is the fact that used machines with comparable engine hours and specs are selling for significant price differences.

Over the last six months, three used, late-model Case IH Steiger 715 tractors sold at auction experienced a massive $48,000 price difference spread.

Machinery Pete advises dealers trying to stay at the top end of the market to focus on “marketing the living hell” out of machines — and even the auction sale itself. And always hammer home the human faces and origin stories behind each machine.

“You don’t want people leaning backward in their chair. You want them leaning in,” Pete says. “You have to get them on the front of their seat. Back of the seat? That’s when you’re $40K soft.”

And with fall harvest fast approaching — or already on in some areas — the guys note late-model combines like John Deere’s S Series have softened value-wise over the last week. At the same time, well-conditioned, older tractors, combines and sprayers (7 to 10 years old) are still drawing above-average bids.

With the market in such flux, its crucial buyers do a lot of homework before buying and use sites like MachineryPete.com to monitor sales data to know a good deal from a pricey albatross.

“It’s the ‘80s stagflation thing [again] where supply is coming down, but the price isn’t moving,” Seymour says. “You’re seeing $430,000 combines sold with 250 hours that are 12-year-old machines. The (supply) volume goes down. but the price stays the same — it doesn’t go up or down. And that is where the market is. It’s not based on anything other than available capital, interest rates and what commodity prices look like and futures buying.”

Exploring Other Industry Trends

Shawn Hackett, president and CEO of Hackett Financial Advisors, says widespread disease and insect pressure noted last week by Pro Farmer Crop Tour scouts across the Corn Belt will “take some of the top off” USDA yield estimates for corn and soybeans.

“Years like this, what you see from the road is not what you see in the middle of the field,” Hackett says. “My work says Pro Farmer is probably on the right track at 182.7, but anything 185 (bu/ac national average) or less — and the closer we get to under 182 — then we’ll get back into an upper $4 or lower $5 corn futures market.”

Aaron Fintel, used equipment specialist with 21^st Century Equipment, takes viewers on a used corn head market deep dive with Seymour.

He says dealers should know the current “sweet spot” for used corn heads sits somewhere between $50,000 and $100,000, and the most in-demand models are two–to- five-year-old John Deere C Series heads. Anything over $125,000, he adds, is a tough sell.

Head over to YouTube to watch the full episode. Hit the “Thumbs Up” button to “Like” the video and click on the “Subscribe” button to get a notification when a new episode drops.

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Looking Ahead: Plan Now for Tomorrow’s Needs

Unlocking More With Less Through Precision Agriculture

Quantifying the Impact: Inputs, Resources and Yield

Quantifying the Impact: On-Farm Pain Points

Quantifying the Impact: Agriculture’s Solution Through Precision

Barn Find Bonanza: Low-Hour John Deere 7810 Smashes Record

Auction Market Insights

Upcoming Auction to Watch

Used Farm Equipment Heating Up: Experts Predict Buying and Selling Explosion Ahead

Commodities Market Update

What’s Happening on the High Plains?

Winter Is Coming: Farm Equipment Prep Pointers From an Oil and Fuels Expert

Farm Equipment Auction Increase Coming Soon, Farmers Must Capitalize Before Prices Jump

Commodities Update

High Plains Update

No More Waiting: Operator-Free Grain Cart System Improves Harvest Efficiency

Pete's Pick: 21-Year-Old John Deere Tractor Almost Hits $150,000

Don't End Up In The Ditch! Update Your GPS Guidance Lines For 2026

Example Scenario

Farm Equipment Auctions Soaring Despite Stagnant Economy: Unpacking What's Next

The Rest of The Episode

Four Strategies for Residue Management

Used Farm Equipment Buyer’s Market: Be Ready For Good Deals on Late-Model Machines

Farm Equipment Buyer Hacks: 3 Insights From Fellow Farmers

Drought Conditions Intensify Threat Of Field And Combine Fires

A Dive Deep Into Used Equipment Market Forces and Tips to DIY Your Next Sale

Economics Update

The High Plains Perspective

John Deere Layoffs Continue Amid Sales Downturn, 142 Iowa Employees Notified

Additional Information

Tips And Tech Tools To Take The Sting Out Of Harvesting A Highly Variable Corn Crop

More harvest 2025 content:

Clicking On Used? Navigate Online Farm Equipment Auctions Like A Pro

More used farm equipment auction content:

Navigate The Used Farm Equipment Market With 5 Smart Buyer Hacks

Commodities and Market Updates

Classic Tractor Shines: 1989 John Deere 4455 Hits $80,750 at Iowa Auction

Fall auction season heats up this week

5 Yield-Saving Combine Adjustments For Touch-And-Go Fall Harvest

More harvest machinery content:

Auction Experts: Buy Used Farm Equipment Now Before Prices Jump, Machinery Specs Matter More Than Ever

Commodities Analysis

High Plains Update

What Farm Equipment Manufacturers Are Saying About 50% Steel and Aluminum Tariffs

Almost All American Made

More EU Than U.S.

Nearly 50/50

Steiger 715 and Gleaner S98 Steals: Machinery Pete’s Latest Used Farm Equipment Auction Deals

Upcoming auctions to watch

Harvest Milestone: New Holland's Twin Rotor Technology Celebrates 50 Years of Threshing and Separating Power

Combine History on Display

Top Tier Story Telling Can Push Your Equipment's Value Higher In A Roller Coaster Market

Exploring Other Industry Trends