Moving Iron

Why Now is the Time To Move Used Construction Iron in the Farm Equipment Auction World

Thu, 10 Jul 2025 13:51:25 GMT

Casey Seymour and Greg “Machinery Pete” Peterson agree now is the time when many farmers spend time shopping for what they call auxiliary machinery — things like wheel loaders, skid steers, track loaders and other compact and heavy utility equipment types.

“Skid steers are one of the first things that pop up when in my mind when I start thinking about that right now,” says Seymour, adding there is almost always a healthy supply of the versatile material movers in the used market.

Machinery Pete recalls skid steer values falling a bit last year due to that high supply, but this year is a different story. Values are trending up on used because, once again, the cost of a brand-new skid steer is high.

(Machinery Pete Facebook)

“Pifer’s Auction had a sale (recently), and I think it was a 2024 Deere 335 P-Tier with 275 hours on it, give or take, and I thought that sold really well at $94,000 hard cash,” Pete says.

Another notable transaction came out of Illinois, Pete recalls. At a Joel Everett Tractors & Auction sale, a 2009 John Deere 325 with under 300 hours sold for $36,000, which was well over the previous auction high of $28,500.

“It was interesting. When they got to the skid steer they paused and said, ‘Hey, folks, this 2009 model is loaded with every single option,’ which is unusual for a 16-year-old model,” Pete adds. “But again, it was palpable how many people wanted that thing, and you know, $36,000 is a big check — but for hardly any hours on it and what you’re going to pay for a new one?”

Pete and Seymour also discuss the firming up they are seeing with used values on some of the large construction equipment seen around the farm, including excavators, wheel loaders and bulldozers.

How Kerr Auctions is Unlocking Export Markets

Alex Kerr of Kerr Auctions joined the guys next to discuss how his auction house is carving out space in the export market.

Kerr says the company has capitalized on growing equipment demand overseas by creating specialized sales that cater to export buyers. These sales often feature equipment that may not have strong domestic buyer interest due to age or condition.

Kerr has established partnerships to help overseas buyers handle logistics and shipping, and the company made the decision to eliminate buyer penalties for high bidders. Both decisions demonstrate a level of transparency and trust that helps put buyer minds at ease, he thinks.

“Specialized sales do well,” Kerr says. “We got to thinking that the export buyers, they hate some of the auction things they deal with. They don’t speak the language; you’ve got to talk to them on WhatsApp, or they have an online only presence.”

Kerr Auction’s next big export-focused Inaugural Farmer/Dealer Consignment Sale is set for Aug. 14. Check out all the details here.

The Rest of the Episode

Shawn Hackett, president and CEO of Hackett Financial, joined the show for an update on where commodity markets sit today and row crop futures prices. Glen Birnbaum, principal with Sikich, came on to talk machine depreciation rates and upcoming changes to tax law.

And Aaron Fintel, used equipment specialist with 21st Century Equipment, gave his view on moving used compact construction equipment out on the western plains.

Head over to YouTube to watch the full episode , and give it a “Thumbs Up” and hit the “Subscribe” button to get every Moving Iron episode as soon as it drops.

Discover Equipment Trends: From Tractors to Hay Tool Innovation

Thu, 01 May 2025 17:00:59 GMT

As May arrives, bringing warmer weather throughout much of the country, two segments in the used equipment auction world are also heating up: lower horsepower utility tractors and unique antique tractors.

Machinery Pete says the utility tractor class (125 hp to 175 hp with a loader) has been fairly strong for the past two years now, and noted a recent sale that shows higher price upside coming into play for those machines.

(Machinery Pete Facebook)

A John Deere 6115M MFWD tractor (962 hours) with a H310 loader with grapple sold for a record $107,500 at an auction last week in Plano, Texas.

Another transaction that caught the eye of Pete and host Casey Seymour took place Tuesday evening at an Almond Vintage Power auction near Nicomas, Ill.

(Machinery Pete Facebook)

A 1911 Imperial 4070 tractor in beautiful condition sold for $955,500. Only three tractors in that year/model are known to exist.

“It’s a very extreme example, but it shows there’s no shortage of money in the market right now, whether it’s the right piece of land or a crazy collector’s item like that,” Pete says.

Seymour, who has over 20 years of experience in the used equipment space, then spent some time with Pete unpacking some of the best practices they’ve picked up over the years for visual marketing up-for-auction equipment.

“The more information you can put out there, the better opportunity you have to spark somebody’s interest,” Seymour says. “And it’s a way to set yourself apart, whether you’re an auction company or a dealership or even selling it privately, to show you’ve got nothing to hide.”

Hay Tool Technology Evolves
Kaylene Ballesteros, go-to market manager – hay and forage products, John Deere, talked about the company’s approach to technology and automation in hay equipment.

She says adding automation to hay tools is no different than the evolution from horses pulling steel plows to diesel tractors working the ground. The idea is the technology has to make hay producers lives easier and also bounce some ROI back into their operations.

Years ago, John Deere launched its baler automation technology, and it recently built onto that ecosystem with Weave Automation. The feature automates “the art of weaving back and forth over the row really carefully” to make sure you get a perfectly square shoulder bale every time.

“Now, the hitch of the baler does the weaving for you, based off bale size and threshold settings it will make sure that bale is a square shoulder bale,” Ballesteros adds. “So, they can sit in that cab with a little less to worry about or go to their kid’s basketball game and put somebody else in the seat. It takes the stress out of that situation, too.”

Is Demand for Used Combines and Utility Vehicles On the Rise?
Aaron Fintel, used equipment specialist, 21^st Century Equipment, says 2025 is still the year of the last-minute equipment purchase. He had a farmer call him just a few days ago, on the cusp of full bore planting season, looking for a used planter. Fintel is also predicting higher demand coming into play on used combines and utility tractors in the 100 hp to 175 hp segment.

“It’s almost like everybody heard how cheap they were and said ‘Well, I suppose we should probably look into one,’” he says of buying behavior in the used utility tractor segment.

Another insight Fintel shares is the current tariff situation and uncertainty in the economy is stifling buying activity among livestock producers. Cattle ranchers, unlike their corn and soy raising counterparts, are riding a wave of strong prices for beef and other proteins.

Watch full episodes of the Moving Iron Podcast and Machinery Pete TV for FREE on our new streaming platform, Farm Journal NOW.

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Why Farmers are Flocking to Auctions for Low-Hour Equipment Deals

Thu, 24 Apr 2025 21:00:42 GMT

The used equipment buying season remains active as spring planting takes off. Farm equipment that is only a few years old with low operating hours continues to draw strong prices at auction.

Machinery Pete noticed that trend last week via a few record-setting transactions. At a Kiko Auctions sale in Diamond, Ohio, a pair of blue tractors and a blue planter raised the bar higher:

(Machinery Pete Facebook)

A 2013 New Holland T7 260 tractor with only 1,226 hours on it brought $152,000, which blasted past the previous record high for that year/model by over $19,000.

(Machinery Pete Facebook )

A 2015 New Holland T5 115 utility tractor with a loader (765 hours) brought in $75,000, beating the previous record high by $7,000.

(Machinery Pete Facebook)

A 2024 Kinze 3505 8/16 row planter with just over 170 acres planted on it sold for $100,000. That set a new record by $17,500.

“There’s a similar pattern here. Whether its blue, green or orange, if it’s got a few years on it with low hours and in nice condition, those prices are very strong right now,” Pete says.

Moving Iron host Casey Seymour, who has over 20 years of experience in the farm equipment dealership space, says there are more farmers hitting auctions than heading to the dealer lot, and that’s typical of a down cycle in the farm economy.

“Things at auction have a higher demand signal than what you see on the lot. When I was working at the dealership, I would see these sales and think, ‘Man, I’ve got five just like that sitting on my lot that I would sell to you for $10,000 less than what you bought that one for.’ But nobody’s coming to the table, and that’s just where we’re at right now,” he says.

Order-Writing Season For New
Aaron Fintel, used equipment specialist with 21st Century Wholesale – a John Deere dealer with 26 storefronts across Colorado, Nebraska and Kansas – joined the podcast to talk about the soon-to-open new machine order-writing period.

Fintel says it’s not something many think about when it comes to buying new, but farmers getting re-approved for financing has “been a process” this year.

“It’s kind of a two-edged sword. If you went and got that new machine at 0% interest at the end of last year because the accountant said to do it, I don’t care that it’s 0% because its also $450,000 sitting on the balance sheet,” he says. “That’s been a huge factor.”

Commodity Markets Update
Chip Nellinger, owner of Blue Reef Agri-Marketing, joined Seymour to wrap up this week’s episode with an update on the commodity markets.

When it comes to corn and soybean futures, Nellinger says there is still “a lot of uncertainty and volatility in the market” but he is seeing some potential upside with President Trump softening on the tariffs against China.

“The stock market seems to be signaling something has changed, and the bean market has been pretty resilient here over the last couple of days,” he says. “There has been a fair amount of activity in planting, and I think that’s why corn has relaxed. We’re ahead of average planting pace at 12% and that’s probably delayed a little bit. So, we should see a lot more progress in next week’s report.”

Nellinger says to keep an eye on the South, where higher-than-average moisture levels have delayed corn planting, and farmers might flip acres to beans or cotton – or even take prevent plant insurance.

Want more Moving Iron? Click this link to watch the episode in full here.

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Top Prices for Used Hay Tools and Tractors Among Farm Equipment Auction Trends to Watch

Thu, 17 Apr 2025 19:43:29 GMT

Used hay tools – whether it’s a pull-behind hay steamer, large round baler or silage chopper – are drawing strong prices on the auction circuit. Right there with them are mid-class combines and row crop tractors.

“It’s a pretty good time of year to be selling a baler, if you have one,” Machinery Pete says on the latest episode of the Moving Iron podcast .

Pete also shared tractor auction transactions that have caught his attention:

(Machinery Pete Facebook)

On April 13 at a consignment sale in Edinburgh, Ill., a 1996 Case IH 7220 2WD with 713 original hours (pictured above) brought $73,815 — the second highest price recorded for that year and model at auction.

(Machinery Pete Facebook)

On April 12 in Uniontown, Ala., a customized “Steiger Green” Case IH STX 440 4WD machine with 1,786 hours (shown above) brought $70,000.

“It’s like that ‘county orange’ paint job you see on these lawn tractors when they come through – you don’t know if it’s a Kubota or a Deere until you get up close to it,” jokes Casey Seymour, who brings over 20 years of used equipment auction experience to the table.

Used Equipment Market Update
During the episode, Aaron Fintel, who is a used equipment specialist with 21st Century Wholesale, gave an update on used equipment trends from the dealer’s perspective.

With planting season upon us , Fintel is surprised by the number of customers who waited until the last minute to buy a planter.

“In my 25 years, I don’t recall any last-minute stuff like this,” he says. “If you know what the ‘hurry-up-I-need-a-combine-now’ season is like, that’s what it’s been this spring.”

Seymour adds that often a last-minute buying push will come from farmers who have been “just getting by” with older equipment and suddenly they realize they won’t have time to fix a machine and don’t want to risk being down for repairs during planting season.

Another trend Fintel and Seymour are watching is price strength in used, mid-class combines. Seymour says these higher-hour harvesters normally go for $180,000, but right now they are consistently fetching $225,000 to $250,000 — even sometimes going as high as $280,000.

“That combine in my area is an ’18 to ’20 S7 Series, and it’s because it’s technology upgradeable. That’s what’s pushing them from 180K back over 200K,” Fintel says. “You can upgrade that ’18 combine close to what a new, off-the-line combine is (technology wise).”

The crew agrees used row crop tractors at auction are seeing a slow climb in price, and right now Fintel says he’s seeing a “steady, light flow” as far as sales go.

“Auction values are (like) an elevator: it free falls down and it really slowly climbs back up. You can beat it by taking the stairs,” Fintel adds.

Farm Economy Update
Ag Financial analyst Rich Posson also gave an update on how the farm economy is faring. He says consumer sentiment has almost hit rock-bottom, and consumers appear to think inflation is headed even higher in the near term.

“The consumer is clearly worried about inflation and assuming they’re going to have to pay,” he says, warning we could be heading toward a recession as tariffs accelerate the issue.

Posson’s predictive model on grain price futures is showing strength, but there’s also a harbinger of rough seas ahead in mid-May.

“I’d be cautious as we look toward May, but if we didn’t have all the political and tariff stuff, it looks like it could be higher into the summer,” he says, noting the market could turn bullish if the weather wipes out some acres.

Your Next Read: Iowa Farmers Report Breakneck Planting Pace, Some Even Say They’ll Finish Planting Corn This Week

Want more Machinery Pete and feel like taking a deeper dive into used hay tools on the auction market? Check out his recent AgDay segment below.

A Perfect Storm Is Driving Up New and Used Tractor Prices

Thu, 27 Feb 2025 15:22:55 GMT

If you’re thinking about buying a new or used tractor soon, you might want to move up your timeline. That’s because prices are expected to rise in the high horsepower segment over the next few months.

Currently, the tractor segment in North America is a bit of a mixed bag: High horsepower tractors are seeing decent demand from farmers while sales of lower horsepower models are in decline. Major manufacturers have responded accordingly to overall lower demand for new machines by pulling back on production. This has led to new machine delivery delays and an uptick in farmer interest in the used market.

Speaking of the used market, the auction circuit is also seeing increases in tractor prices, as farmers are bullish on commodity prices and the country’s midsection is thawing out from a long, cold winter, which was an ice-covered albatross holding back equipment sales.

“I think we’re seeing a little shaking loose of the purse strings,” says Machinery Pete on the latest Moving Iron podcast. “I’ve been talking about it for a few months now, but you must be careful of assuming the slow playout like we’ve seen in other downturns in terms of used equipment supply because dealers were so aggressive over the last 18 months pushing stuff out to auction. Given the stronger prices now, I wonder if that will jar dealers to be more (price) aggressive this spring and into the summer?”

Seymour agrees, adding right now the used tractor market “feels a lot like 2008, 2009.”

“Back then manufacturers were slow to ramp back up after the Great Recession, and we’re seeing that now, expect now both (manufacturers and dealers) are a hesitant,” he says. “The dealers are hesitant to get a whole lot full of brand new stuff, because they have a whole lot full of stuff already. And the manufacturers have pulled back so far that it’s going to take a while for them to ramp back up.”

Those factors could push the used equipment market into a position that Seymour calls “a little more healthy, little more strong” and that means used tractor prices moving higher for the near term.

Machinery Pete shared a couple examples from recent auctions that show used equipment prices edging higher:

At a recent retirement auction in Monroe City, Ind., a 2017 John Deere 8370R (383 hours) tractor sold for $291,250. That’s the highest auction price for the model since December of 2023.
A well-maintained 2007 John Deere 9620 tractor with 1,860 hours on it went for $185,250 at the same Indiana auction. That is the highest auction price for that model since January 2023.
It’s not just the tractor segment: a 2023 New Holland CR 1090 combine with only 490 engine hours went for a record haul of $372,250. Machinery Pete says that is the highest price he’s recorded on a used New Holland combine, ever.

“I think as we watch 2025 progress those price points are going to start to come together with the supply and demand curves,” Seymour adds. “Like we were talking about earlier you’re going to see (used equipment values) get a lot more stable, a lot more strong. And as those things progress into 2026 again, I think you’re going to see some flow in demand as far as ordering new goes.”

Where Are Row Crop Tractor Prices Headed?
Kyle Schneider with Stoltz Equipment, a 25-outlet John Deere spread out across the western U.S., and used equipment specialist Aaron Fintel with 21st Century Equipment (another John Deere dealer) joined the podcast to dive further into row crop tractor (175+ hp) sales trends.

Schneider admits he is seeing some plateauing, or flattening, take hold. But there is also some up-and-down roller coaster action at play, he adds. In his experience, buyers in the late winter to early spring market seem to track alongside the weather: On warm days dealership phone lines are blowing up, then when it gets cold again for a spell, the phones are pretty quiet.

“We’ve gone through some ebbs and flows of what’s going to move and what’s not in terms of horsepower range,” he says. “The lower horsepower range is dropping off, and the higher horsepower range is steady and bringing in what you want.”

Fintel agrees with that assessment.

“I would say maybe that first weekend of February was a little quiet and then the last two weeks has really opened things up,” he adds.

The trio found common ground around the prediction that prices for used tractors will increase over the next few months as dealers work to hit that sweet spot between churning through inventory while getting proper value for the machines on their lots.

Commodity Outlook: Strong
Analyst Sean Hackett with Hackett Financial joined the podcast to give a quick update on what’s happening in the world of row crop commodities.

He predicts a coming cycle of atmospheric instability could lead to a warm March and then a rush of cold air coming down from the North Pole, leading to a wet and cold spring planting season as the calendar turns to April.

“That should create an unfavorable planting season, either in delayed planting or planting that gets done and then it gets frozen over and now we’re replanting winter wheat,” Hackett says.

It wasn’t all pessimism from Hackett, though. He did offer a glimpse of hope for the months ahead.

“It’s not going to be that bad of a year,” he says. “There’s going to be a tremendous cash selling opportunity not only for the old crop but maybe even for the new crop. We’ll have to watch that very closely and see what the markets do. But the thought process that the North American ag economy is dead for 2025 seems to have been over embellished.”

Hackett wraps up with a review of global commodity market conditions in Asia and South America. He also thinks this year’s U.S. corn crop could be one of the largest of all time at 96 million or more acres planted, but he, like the rest of us, is waiting for the first USDA planting intentions report for 2025 to confirm that belief.

WATCH THE FULL EPISODE OF MOVING IRON

Casey Seymour and Machinery Pete Join Forces on the Moving Iron Podcast

Fri, 07 Feb 2025 14:09:04 GMT

With farmers tightening their budgetary belts during a challenging economic time, the equipment market is going through significant changes. Those changes trigger plenty of questions. Is now a good time to buy? Is it better to wait and see how the market evolves in the coming year? Are prices even on used equipment going to continue to climb?

Who better to answer these questions than Casey Seymour and Greg “Machinery Pete” Peterson, two of the industry’s most trusted experts? And you can now hear them together. Seymour’s popular weekly Moving Iron podcast has moved to the Farm Journal podcast network and Peterson has joined as co-host.

“I’m excited about joining the Farm Journal podcast network and even more excited that I get to share this time with the one and only Greg ‘Machinery Pete’ Peterson,” Seymour says on the debut episode. Peterson shares that feeling, congratulating his new partner on building a large and loyal audience for both the podcast and the annual Moving Iron Summit event. “You’ve done great work and I’m excited to be part of it,” Peterson says.

Growers, dealers and anyone interested in the ag equipment marketplace will be just as excited. Each week the dynamic duo will explore and analyze news and trends in the business of ag equipment and the auction market. Episodes also will feature a dealer spotlight and a segment on technology. On their debut episode, Seymour and Peterson are joined by Shawn Hackett, climate and commodities expert, and Aaron Fintel, a used equipment specialist.

The discussion in the first episode ranges far and wide, as they dive into the boom-and-bust cycles in agriculture as well as in sales of ag equipment. Last year saw dealers taking an unprecedented volume of late-model equipment to the auction market, and the hosts don’t see that trend continuing into the new year. While they foresee the market’s recovery taking time, farmers and dealers could notice changes by the fourth quarter of 2025, even late in the third quarter.

As far as when to buy, Peterson says, “Don’t sit back too long because things are starting to firm up.” He adds that dealers he’s spoken to have been pleasantly surprised by an uptick in sales in December and January. Seymour attributes his optimism to a number of factors, such as decreasing interest rates, a slowing auction market, rising commodity prices and pent-up buying demand. He says, “There’s going to be a little more money out there by the end of the year.”

Watch the full episode of Moving Iron.

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