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 17:00:58 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.

Your Next Read: Big Bud Tractor Roars to Life After Farmer’s Awesome Restoration

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

Thu, 24 Apr 2025 21:00:00 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.

Your Next Read: Farm Bankruptcies Are on the Rise

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.

Your Next Read: Machinery Pete Explains Why 2025 Could Be a Great Year to Buy Equipment