Iowa
Hay and livestock producers are finishing up a solid year and specialized equipment like balers, loader tractors and feed trucks are seeing high dollar bids on the used farm equipment auction circuit.
A cattle-raising family is going all-in on drone application technology, and a side hustle spinoff business is in the works after finding success spraying their own pasture land.
Iowa farmland values remain strong despite lower grain prices and rising financial stress. Tight supply, local farmer demand and low debt keep land prices surprisingly resilient.
In a statement issued to Farm Journal, John Deere says fewer machinery orders from farmers are coming in, so more layoffs are slated to hit factory workers in Des Moines and Waterloo.
The crop took it on the chin this season, with some Iowa farmers reporting huge yield losses as harvest gets underway. A one-time fungicide application helped, but it wasn’t enough to buck severe disease pressure, allowing it to return.
The farm equipment auction busy season is here and Greg “Machinery Pete” Peterson has a pair of machines that sold last week that show used machinery values are strong and farmers are buying pre-DEF, well-maintained equipment.
All states in the Chicago Federal Reserve district, average a 3% percent increase in dollar value of “good” farmland from July 1, 2024 to July 1, 2025.
This week’s Machinery Pete “Pete’s Pick of the Week” is a nearly 40-year-old John Deere tractor beloved by farmers for decades now, and Pete gets you ready for an active week on the used farm equipment auction circuit.
High disease pressure and moisture variability could make for a tricky fall harvest season in the Midwest. Lean on these crucial combine settings adjustments to help you hang onto as many kernels as possible.
An upward price correction could be coming soon and learn which farm equipment specs and features help maintain used machinery resale values.