I'm guessing $40,000.

What am I guessing about you say? What the 1980 model John Deere 4440 tractor, with only 1,156 hours on it, will sell for this Saturday (August 29, 2006) at a farm auction in Howells, Nebraska. My friends at Stock Auction are holding this sale. Check out their Web site for a sale bill at www.stockauctionco.com.

So what am I basing my $40K guess on? On the facts of course.

Click here to download a PDF with expanded auction price data on John Deere 4440 tractors.

Forty thousand dollars is a lot of dough for a tractor over 25 years old, but the key on this 4440 are the hours. . . just 1,156. I had to go all the way back to May 2002 to find a 4440 with lower hours. That one was a 1981 model with 1,055 hours, which sold in south-central Kansas.

In the last couple years, we have seen a few 4440 bring $40,000 or more. Here's the breakdown.

$40,400: 1981 model, 4,100 hours, excellent, sold 1/05, southwest WI

$40,200: 1980 model, 3,931 hours, excellent, sold 3/04, southeast IA

$41,400: 1982 model, 1,735 hours, excellent, sold 3/04, north-central NY

So what do you think this 4440 will sell for Saturday? Check out our Web site, www.machinerypete.com, after the sale to see what the tractor went for.

I'm guessing $40,000.