New report shows decline in combine and tractor sales

Aug 18, 2016

AEM released July 2016 report

By Diego Flammini
Assistant Editor, North American Content
Farms.com

A new report by the Association of Equipment Manufacturers (AEM) shows a decline in combine and tractor sales.

According to the report, 1,194 4WD tractors were sold in July 2016, compared to 1,797 in July 2015. That represents a 33 per cent decline.

AEM Report July 2016

Sales of 2WD tractors in the 100+ horsepower range fell by 24 per cent between July 2015 and July 2016.

The report also shows a decline in self-prop combines.

In July 2016, 2,212 combines were sold, compared to 2,837 last July. Those numbers represent a 22 per cent drop.

Those within the machinery industry say the trend is linked to crop prices.

“Well a lot of it has to do with commodity prices,” HARDI North America CEO Wayne Buchberger told Iowa’s KWQC. They have shifted substantially over the last couple years. Corn and soy bean primarily, and wheat have taken notable shifts in market pricing. That ties directly then to disposable income on the farm and what they’re able to capitalize for expenditures each year.”

Glen Keppy, a fifth-generation farmer from Davenport, told KWQC at the end of the day, the weather helps decide how producers spend their money.

“You’re at the mercy of Mother Nature,” he said. “(If) the price of corn goes down, people can’t pay as much rent, we can’t spend as much money on new equipment.”

Buchberger said the trend will turn around. It’s just a matter of when.

Video: Evolution of Beef Cattle Farming

The Clear Conversations podcast took to the road for a special episode recorded in Nashville during CattleCon, bringing listeners straight into the heart of the cattle industry. Host Tracy Sellers welcomed rancher Steve Wooten of Beatty Canyon Ranch in Colorado for a wide-ranging discussion that blended family history and sustainability, particularly as it relates to the future of beef production.

Sustainability emerged as a central theme of the conversation, a word that Wooten acknowledges can mean very different things depending on who you ask. For him, sustainability starts with the soil. Healthy soil produces healthy grass, which supports efficient cattle capable of producing year after year with minimal external inputs. It’s an approach that equally considers vegetation, animal efficiency, and long-term profitability.

That philosophy aligned naturally with Wooten’s involvement in the U.S. Roundtable for Sustainable Beef, where he served as a representative for the Colorado Cattlemen’s Association. The roundtable brings together the entire beef supply chain—from producers to retailers—along with universities, NGOs, and allied industries. Its goal is not regulation, Wooten emphasized, but collaboration, shared learning, and continuous improvement.