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Used tractors hot, garden tractors not

GREG PETERSON 09/09/2011 @ 1:11pm Greg Peterson writes "Machinery Pete" column for Successful Farming magazine and appears on the Machinery Show on RFD-TV, talking about trends in the used equipment market

Check, check and check.

(3) trends in the used equipment market were confirmed by sale prices from a small September 2nd farm sale in north-central Missouri. The first trend was continued strong sale prices on very nice condition older working tractors. Here are the pair sold on this auction:

1978 JD 4040 with only 1,368 hours, 1 owner, all new batteries, like new paint, always shedded
1967 JD 3020 diesel with 4,580 hours, 1 owner, brand new front rubber, all new batteries, good paint, always shedded

The 4040 sold for $33,000. That is the second highest auction sale price I've ever seen on a JD 4040. The only higher price came on a February 18, 2009 farm auction in south-central Minnesota, where a 1980 4040 with 1,458 hours sold for $37,000.

Pete's auction prices on JD 4040 Tractors

The 1967 3020 diesel sold for $10,250 on the Missouri auction September 2nd. That is the 17th 3020 I've seen sold for $10K or more at auction so far in 2011. See how this has changed over the past decade. Eye opening stuff:

The third trend affirmed on the sale last week in north-central Missouri, near Chillicothe, was the continued softness in used Garden Tractor values. A very nice "1 owner" JD LA130 model with only 188 hours, 48-inch deck, hydrostat and 21 HP V-twin engine sold for $1,300. Nothing new here, values on used Garden Tractors have been soft for quite some time with the severe sluggishness in the non-farm real estate sector.

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