Just a month earlier, at a June 1 farm auction in Garden Plain, Kan., a 2011 Case IH 7088 with just 872 engine hours sold for $130,000. That’s the highest auction price on that model in five years.
Yes, commodity prices have been elevated since fall 2020. But that’s just one driver of machinery prices. The other is what’s happening on dealer’s lots around North America. Or, more precisely, what hasn’t been happening.
Used combine inventory in 2022 has been the tightest I’ve seen in my 32½ years of tracking the farm equipment market. Just look at the supply-and-demand chart.
The current market traces back to November 2021, when I began to see farm equipment dealers charge hard into the auction market — as buyers. That is why supply bottomed out.
This trend has been magnified 20 times in the used market for large horsepower tractors this year. “Red hot” does not do that equipment category justice.
SALES SPEAK VOLUMES
So, it’s not a surprise to see strong auction prices on combines ping in from all parts of the country, even from the South. For instance, a 2017 John Deere S670 combine with 928 engine hours sold for $265,000 at a Sumter, S.C., farm auction on Jan. 8. Then, a John Deere S770 with 547 engine hours sold for $330,000 on Feb. 11 at a dealer auction in Rayville, La.
Color and/or make of a used combine hasn’t seemed to matter in these price trends. If the machine is in good condition, buyers are waiting.
A 2014 Gleaner S68 with 1,023 engine hours sold for $216,000 on Jan. 24 via an online farm auction in Dundas, Ill. That’s a new record price on a Gleaner S68 by $80,000. Wow.
A 2013 John Deere S550 combine with 911 engine hours sold on June 29 on an online auction in Latham, Ill., for $213,000. That’s the highest auction price on a John Deere S550 in more than eight years and the second highest auction price ever.
Take another minute to study the supply-and-demand chart above. Pay particular attention to how the supply and demand lines ebb and flow.
