Attendees look at a Deere & Co. X9 1100 combine harvester at the Farm Progress Show. Photographer: Michael Hirtzer/Bloomberg
CHICAGO: Fancy new technology usually is the star at trade shows.
But at the Farm Progress Show, the largest outdoor agriculture event in the United States, used tractors are the big attraction.
Farmers at the Boone, Iowa, strolled among pre-owned John Deere machines and other equipment lined up under a clear blue sky, looking for bargains.
BigIron Auctions, a provider of used farm machinery and one of the exhibitors, had its biggest-ever offering, about four times the normal amount of machines.
We’re seeing “tremendous interest,” said Mark Stock, BigIron chief executive officer.
A farmer from Quebec purchased a crop sprayer while other shoppers travelled from Argentina, Brazil and Israel, he said.
American farmers are turning more thrifty as ample crop supplies and weak demand have pushed grain prices to the lowest levels in four years.
That’s weighing on growers’ incomes, forcing them to cut back on everything from fertiliser to equipment.
AGCO Corp, whose brands include Fendt and Massey Ferguson, last month cut its full-year sales outlook by US$1bil because farmers are buying fewer tractors.
Combine harvesters, which can cost US$1mil new with a full package of features to collect crops, have been under acute pressure. — Bloomberg
