Midwest (U.S.)

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.

Learn about a rare ex-pat tractor that found its way back home from across the pond, a beloved Farmall that still chugs on in Pennsylvania dairy country, and one of John Deere’s biggest hits from the 1980s.

Farmers are still put off by the high price of new, and the used equipment auction world is where they are heading in droves, whether its to find 10-plus-year-old bargains, good-condition, late-model machines or even rare, classic gems.

This week’s “Pete’s Pick of the Week” selections include a low-hour Massey Ferguson loader tractor and a pair of late-model John Deere machines that all brought strong value on the auction market.

Vintage farm equipment is a big draw on the auction circuit. Read about a pair of notable classic iron deals and an upcoming online auction packed with farm and construction machinery.

Good condition, used loader tractors continue to bring strong dollars on the used farm equipment auction circuit — and one Ohio auction-goer honored his great grandfather over the weekend.

Casey Seymour and Greg “Machinery Pete” Peterson dig deep into what it takes to move equipment in today’s volatile market, plus a candid look at economic headwinds — Fed policy, interest rates, tariffs, and commodities — and how they’re steering buyer decisions and seller strategies.

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.