For tech-weary US farmers, 40-year-old tractors now a hot commodity

A John Deere 4440 tractor and swather cutting wheat in North Dakota. The tractor model, which was manufactured between 1977 and 1982, has become highly sought after by US farmers. — Dreamstime/TNS

Kris Folland grows corn, wheat and soybeans and raises cattle on 2,000 acres near Halma in the northwest corner of Minnesota, so his operation is far from small. But when he last bought a new tractor, he opted for an old one – a 1979 John Deere 4440.

He retrofitted it with automatic steering guided by satellite, and he and his kids can use the tractor to feed cows, plant fields and run a grain auger. The best thing? The tractor cost US$18,000 (RM73,665), compared to upward of US$150,000 (RM613,875) for a new tractor. And Folland doesn't need a computer to repair it.