Machinery Pete - Equipment Auction News

Machinery Pete: 2 Trends Shaping the Used Sprayer Market

Tue, 01 Apr 2025 19:01:11 GMT

I’m trying hard not to be the grumpy, old guy, but I’m growing weary of our constant shouting at each other and everyone thinking their way is the only way. Opinions are free, but today everyone has a 24/7 megaphone at their disposal. Social media’s twisted algorithms amplify the harsh, argumentative posts, and it’s become so tiring. One of the cornerstone truths we were taught as kids in rural America: “If you don’t have anything nice to say, don’t say anything at all.”

The problem is people think things should be simple, with the right answer in black and white, but the truth often lies in shades of gray. Take the current used self-propelled sprayer market for example. There isn’t one short sound byte statement that can synopsize this market.

There are two trends that have been happening at the same time you should be aware of:

Increasing price pressure on very late model, used sprayers with softening auction prices
Strong buyer demand for good condition sprayers over 10 years old

Softening Late Model Values

Proof of the first trend came last December at a farm auction in Bible Grove, Ill., as we filmed our “Machinery Pete” TV show. A 2022 Hagie STS12 sprayer with 182 hours sold for $428,000. It’s true — that is the second highest auction price ever on an STS12, but it’s also true that nine months prior, on a March 2024 online auction in Hamilton, Ill., another 2022 model STS12 sold with triple the hours (549) for $480,500.

Strong Buyer Demand For Good Condition Units Over 10 Years Old

Seven weeks later, I was in Seven Springs, N.C., filming another farm auction for the TV show. The hottest item there was a 2013 John Deere 4730 sprayer with 3,334 hours. It was very sharp and sold for $104,000. That’s the third highest auction price ever on a 4730 that had more than 3,000 hours (the highest price was just $1,000 more).

Another example was the 2014 Miller Nitro 5240 with 825 hours that sold for $270,000 at a Dec. 30, 2024 farm auction in Mendon, Mich., — the highest ever auction price on a Miller Nitro.

Your Next Read: Here’s Why 2025 Is The Time To Buy High-Horsepower Tractors, Auction Pricing Is Staying Strong

Used Sprayers in 2025: Buyer’s Paradise or Just The Beginning?

Fri, 21 Feb 2025 19:34:26 GMT

The used sprayer market is shaping up to be a buyer’s market. That’s due to an oversupply in the market, and dealers are hauling a lot of late-model machines down to auctions to free up lot space.

On the flip side, strong buyer demand for older sprayers (10+ years) in good condition and a shortage of brand-new machines is holding those decade old machines rock solid on price, or even driving prices above what some would consider market value.

“2025 is looking like a pretty good time to look for that three-, four-, or five-year-old sprayer, to try and get ahead of the market before it flips and everyone wants to buy a new one (in 2026),” Greg “Machinery Pete” Peterson said. “You don’t want to buy when everyone else is buying. When any market becomes about availability, pricing goes right out the window.”

Moving Iron host Casey Seymour, who has almost 20 years of experience in the ag equipment industry, specifically tracking used equipment trends at the dealership level, agreed.

“The only thing that’s going to be out there to buy right now is going to be that late-model, low hour machine and I think we’re going to see a great opportunity for a big run on used equipment here in the last quarter of the year and going into 2026,” Seymour said.

Sprayer Segment Activity and Retrofit Options
Matt Raasch, AgriVision Equipment, says December was an average month for used equipment buying and selling activity, and January saw more action than normal. February did start out slowly, but he chalks that up to some of the poor weather across the Midwest.

“As I talk to other dealers, I’d say sprayers is probably the one category that comes up the most as far as level of concern, just with the number of units out there, and that inventory just continues to grow,” Raasch says. “The other thing I’m watching is the model mix, that used to be where we were pretty scattered as far as models and size of booms, and now everyone has the 120’ booms.”

In the retrofit segment, technologies such as John Deere’s See & Spray are moving the needle and seeing good uptake from farmers and custom applicators alike. That’s because farmers in general are more open to sprayer technology upgrades.

“They’re received better than planter, (upgrades),” says used equipment specialist Aaron Fintel. “On a planter you have virtually an entire new machine, and on a sprayer, you’re doing the, to use a bad term, the fancy stuff, the precision (ag) – it’s that next page for your farm.”

Commodities Update
Knowing the commodity market influences machinery movement, Rich Posson with Ag Financial joined the podcast to talk about where commodity prices are headed.

Posson says the markets started off slowly, but things are starting to wake up heading into spring planting.

“If you have strong prices from fall harvest into the next year’s growing season, and then you get a crop problem, that’s your larger, better bull market,” Posson says. “If you looked at it last year it was down, but this year it’s trending higher, it’s working. All that tells us is there’s even more upside (in the markets) if we do get that crop problem. The market has a good demand situation going for it.”

Posson is comfortable predicting corn, soybeans and wheat will see price increases later this summer. The trade situation with China isn’t something to worry about with corn and wheat exports because strong demand from South America and other export markets such as England and Japan can close that gap. China pulling back its purchases does have potential to negatively influence the soybean markets, he adds.

“I’m going to go a bit optimistic on China, they’re going to be OK,” Posson says. “But the rest boils down to, as far as our exports, the trade wars.”

WATCH THE FULL EPISODE OF MOVING IRON

Machinery Pete Sees a Surprising Opportunity in the Current Ag Equipment Market

Fri, 02 Aug 2024 20:32:54 GMT

As news of large layoffs at ag equipment manufacturers make headlines and auction prices continue to soar, producers are hesitant to invest in new machinery. But is the current situation actually a good time to buy? On the latest Unscripted podcast, host Tyne Morgan brings in Greg Peterson (AKA Machinery Pete) to help unravel what’s happening.

He says that manufacturers aren’t the only ones downsizing their inventory. Farmers are also looking at their equipment with an eye toward reducing their fleet. The situation is complicated by low commodity prices. Data shows that in 2023 and 2024 we’ve seen the largest decline in farm income in history. Peterson advises producers to keep things in perspective. “We need to remember that ’21 and ’22 were the highest years ever,” he says, adding that the drop is “nowhere near what we saw in 2013 and ’14.”

Related Story: The Ugly Truth: 2023 and 2024 Will Go Down As the Two Largest Declines in Net Farm Income Ever

Still, he understands the “silent stress” and “knots in the stomach” that many farmers — and equipment dealers — are feeling. At a recent auction in Missouri , he saw the most late-model equipment for sale than he’d ever seen before.

“The big underlying issue is the cost of new right now,” he explains on the podcast. “They’re all tremendous products, but we might have found the end of the rainbow as far as price.” Morgan and Peterson agree that at this year’s Commodity Classic in early March, the mood was upbeat as manufacturers displayed the latest models. “There was so much excitement,” Morgan recalls. “There was no angst. That’s changed.”

Peterson concurs, adding that he noticed a shift in tone — and pricing — in early June. While prices for corn and soybeans have continued to decline and producers watch their margins tighten, the cost of new equipment seems more and more prohibitive, even as dealers take pains (and make reductions) to move inventory. Peterson sees an opportunity for producers brave enough to buck the trend.

“When things get challenging, there are opportunities,” he explains on the podcast. “While others are pulling back, I’d go pedal to the metal. That’s what I recommended in 2015. Everyone was pulling back. That signals that you should be aggressive.”

Listen to the full interview on Unscripted.

Machinery Pete: The Records Keep Rolling In

Mon, 21 Nov 2022 16:24:35 GMT

OK, it is time to vote. Which sale price below from the Nov. 6 farm retirement auction in Keymar, Md., do you find the most surprising?

Can you believe, five of the six machines set record auction prices?

Let’s look at that John Deere 7810, which sold for $170,000. The previous high price on a 7810 was $137,600, which was set during a March 13 farm auction in Essex, Ontario. (The $137,600 was in U.S. dollars.)

But is that result more amazing than the 1990 Ford 4610 selling for $36,500? That was a staggering $22,500 above the prior record, which was set 20 years ago during a Dec. 29, 1999, farm auction in Hagerstown, Md. I guess it’s clear if you have a nice Ford 4610 you’re looking to sell, find buyers in Maryland.

Let’s not forget that 2000 Case 1845C skid steer that sold for $41,000. The previous high price on an 1845C was $30,500, which was set on Aug. 27, 2011, at an auction in Weldon, Iowa.

HIGH HOURS, HIGH PRICE

My vote is for the one non-record price in our list: the 1996 John Deere 8300 tractor that sold for $82,500. The highest price for an 8300 was $117,000, which was set on Aug. 18 at a farm sale in Monroe Center, Ill. (1995 model, 875 hours). The one that sold in Maryland was the highest price on that model with 4,800+ hours — and it had almost 7,200 hours.

After the Maryland auction, I covered a farm retirement sale in New Hartford, Iowa. I saw more record-high prices on a John Deere 7230R tractor ($179,000) and on a 2013 John Deere 6125R with a loader ($124,000). The previous high price on a 6125R with a loader was $106,000 and set six years ago.

Watch “Machinery Pete TV,” which features results from the Keymar, Md., auction.

THE PERFECT EQUATION

How did we get here? Supply chain issues. Year-end tax buyers. Strike at John Deere. Tight dealer inventories.

We now have the hottest used farm equipment market I’ve ever seen, and that Nov. 6 auction in Maryland is the hottest auction I’ve seen in my 32 years of tracking prices.

Machinery Pete is the most trusted name in farm equipment. Visit MachineryPete.com for Pete’s latest analysis, as well as equipment for sale and FREE auction sale price data.

Machinery Pete: Demand Tops Supply in Sprayers

Fri, 18 Nov 2022 19:39:03 GMT

I’ve seen the same trend for the past 10 months with used mid- to high-horsepower tractors, combines and planters. Now, the trend is in self-propelled sprayers.

What trend? Aggressive farmer buying behavior. Farmers are buying nice used options as a hedge against potential:

Downtime
Parts issues
Scarcity

The entire scarcity issue has also pushed farm equipment dealers to smash into the used market as aggressive buyers. They are short on used sprayer inventory and back-up machines for key customers.
In this ultra-heated farm equipment market, farmers have adroitly adapted on the fly to this new and needed aggressive mindset.

When any market becomes focused on availability, price becomes secondary. Only twice in my 32 years of covering the used equipment sector have market forces aligned this way, prompting me to advise farmers of the “Find it. Buy it. Now.” mindset.

The first time was November 2007 as ethanol ramped up. That buying push was short lived, from late 2007 into early 2008.

The second time was February 2021, and we haven’t seen the market cool. Used farm equipment values have gone up and up.

SPRAYER SURGE

Let’s get back to sprayers . Six of the seven highest auction sale prices ever on sprayers have come in the past nine months.

At the top of the list is the first sprayer at auction to crack the $400,000 barrier. A 2021 John Deere R4044 with 463 hours sold for $402,750 on May 4 in Arkansas.

In addition, a 2019 John Deere R4038 sprayer with 1,420 hours sold for $257,000 on March 2 at an auction in Finger, Tenn.

Why does this matter? Whenever record prices start pouring in from the southern U.S., it’s a telltale sign of a heated market.

Check out the chart below. Note how many sold last December. Obviously, the year-end buyers motivated by tax avoidance came out in force in late 2021.

There’s little doubt they will be in the market once again this year. Stay tuned.

Tap into the latest from Machinery Pete , the most trusted name in farm equipment.

Machinery Pete: The Hottest Market I’ve Ever Seen

Fri, 09 Apr 2021 15:34:02 GMT

I don’t say this lightly. But early 2021 is the hottest used equipment market I’ve witnessed. Please understand my deep Scandinavian roots and distaste for hyperbole when I say this. But, truth is truth; the numbers don’t lie.

The only comparable period I’ve seen was November 2007 into early 2008. Back then, high-commodity prices fueled by the rise of ethanol caused exploding values and sales for new and used equipment. The same trend hap-pened in 1973 when buyers literally had to take a number to buy equipment.

Then and now, availability became the driving market factor. When any market becomes focused on availability, pricing is secondary. And prices rise — quickly.

Here are a few of the truths and forces at play in the equipment market:

Manufacturers smartly reigned in production forecasts a year ago, once the pandemic settled over us.
A commodity price surge last fall and into 2021 spurred buyer demand.
The price of steel rose rapidly in late 2020 into this year.
Worldwide transportation and shipping issues mounted late last year and into early 2021.
The used inventory at farm equipment dealers dropped to low levels.
Dealers’ pool of “off-lease” machines has dried up significantly.
The rise of online auctions has been huge the last 12 months, allowing motivated buyers from a bigger geographic footprint to click again and again.

This latest rise in used equipment values is, frankly, breathtaking. I saw a 2007 John Deere 9620 4WD tractor with one owner and 1,255 hours sell for $270,000 on March 21 in northwest Iowa.

How high is that? The previous high price on a 9620 was $195,000 more than12 years ago. It was a 2006 model with only 683 hours.

See the table below for more:

If you happened to be in the market for used precision ag equipment early this year — yikes. The rising values have been eye-opening.