Used Planters: Falling Supply + Rising Demand

In late January, I was asked on Twitter: “Machinery Pete, are there any soft spots in the used market now?” For the first time in my more than 30 years of tracking machinery prices, my answer is no.

After we saw so many new records set for machinery prices in 2021, I began to sense a collective response across the ag space as the calendar slid into 2022.

That response was acceptance — and pivoting into action.

Visual proof of this action can be seen in planter supply and demand (see chart below). Look how vertical the orange demand line shot up in 2022. There are tons more folks beginning to look for used planters for sale.

Meanwhile, what is the blue supply line doing? Tanking lower. Do you also hear that crunching sound? That would be used planter inventories on farm equipment dealer lots tightening. 

Guess what happens when demand skyrockets as supply falls? Used values rise — quickly and sharply.

PROOF IN PRICES

On the auction market I saw sales like the 2020 John Deere 1775NT 24R-30 planter with 11,033 acres on it (600 acres on new openers), sell for $260,000 on Jan. 29 at a consignment auction in northeast Missouri. That is the second-highest price I’ve ever seen on a planter. 

Check out the data table. Three of the four highest planter prices were from Dec. 9, 2021, to Jan. 29. Wow.

But it makes complete sense really. Why? Because new planters were all presold out long ago. There used to be an ample (overly ample) supply of large late-model, used planters stuck sitting on dealer lots all over — not now.

Three days after that 2020 John Deere 1775NT sold for $260,000, a 2020 John Deere 1775NT Exacta Merge High Speed 16R-30 sold for $225,000 at a Feb. 2 online farm auction in Kewanee, Ill. That’s a record. 

My advice continues to be: Buy it now. Values will likely continue to rise. The orange and blue lines don’t lie. 

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