In this episode of On the Record, brought to you by Associated Equipment Distributors, we come to you from the floor of the National Farm Machinery Show in Louisville, Ky. Buhler Industries announced plans to take the company private, and president Zafer Ozbalaban shares some of the details on the company’s plans. In the Technology Corner, Noah Newman takes a look at Ag Leader’s introductions at the show. Also in this episode: an update on the used planter and sprayer market and Deere’s 1Q earnings.
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TRANSCRIPT
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- Bühler Announces Going Private Agreement
- Dealers on the Move
- Ag Leader Introduces RightPath at National Farm Machinery Show
- Tracking Crop Prices
- Used Equipment Update — Sprayers & Planters
- Deere’s Large Ag 1Q Sales Drop 37%
- DataPoint: Inventory-to-Sales Down for Combines
Bühler Announces Going Private Agreement
Bühler Industries, the manufacturer of the Versatile and Farm King brands of equipment, announced this week an amalgamation agreement with ASKO, the majority share owner of the Bühler, and a wholly-owned subsidiary of ASKO, Newco, to take the Canadian company private.
I caught up with the president of Bühler here at the show to find out how the move will benefit the company.
"So, the decision is taken because we need to, let's say, make prompt decision in order to make heavier investment into our factory to modernize our production technologies, together with the vehicle we're developing. And this will help us and give more freedom to take decision in that direction. And that, let's say, moving back from the stock exchange will give us a lot of advantages. And there will be no changes in our, let's say, sales and marketing strategy. So, we will keep our dealer network as is, and give it more stronger support out of our investment into the company."
"So, we are, let's say, planning to make that investment in production activities in North America as much as possible. That's the reason why we are investing our Winnipeg factory for Versatile, and also in modern factory for Farm King. So, both factories are invested with the new production tooling like laser cutting machines, welding robots, press, etc, and it will give larger and bigger production capability to us, capacity to us, together with the input quality of the product."
"And this is the one investment area that we are doing at the moment. And the other is we are developing new product which is planned to be launched very soon with the new Versatile faces."
Dealers on the Move
This week’s Dealers on the Move include MidSouth Tractor Co., Florida Coast Equipment and Crystal Tractor & Equipment.
Kubota dealer MidSouth Tractor Co. acquired Patrick-Miller Tractor Company in Many and Natchitoches, Louisiana.
Kubota dealers Florida Coast Equipment and Crystal Tractor & Equipment announced a strategic agreement to exchange dealership locations in Lecanto and Sebring, Florida. This transition, effective Feb. 3, 2025, strengthens both companies’ ability to serve their respective customer bases and enhance operational efficiency.
Ag Leader Introduces RightPath at National Farm Machinery Show
Precision Farming Dealer technology editor Noah Newman catches up with Logan Handsaker for a first-look at Ag Leader's new RightPath system at the 2025 National Farm Machinery Show.
"Now, RightPath is a passive implement steering solution, which means that what we're doing is installing a GPS receiver on the implement itself and using the tractor's steering system to direct that implement onto the right path, onto that guidance line, keeping it consistently on that guidance line where it needs to be."
"So, we all know some of the issues that implement drift causes. Implement is as you're traveling... Implement drift is, as you're traveling through the field, that implement is moving left and right of that guidance line as you're navigating various terrain, or curves as well. That implement's not driving where it needs to go. And oftentimes where the implement's at is even more critical or more important than where the tractor is at itself."
"We can support both of our steering solutions, our integrated hydraulic solution, which is SteerCommand Z2, or our SteadySteer solution, which is our solution that mounts on the steering wheel and uses a motor to turn that steering wheel. So, RightPath is a product that can be supported on multiple different brands of equipment, multiple different age ranges of equipment. So, it's a really flexible solution that should be able to be very easily retrofittable on a variety of farms that are out there. It's a very simple install. It's a GPS receiver that gets mounted on the planter or the implement itself."
Tracking Crop Prices
As of February 12, corn prices were $4.90, soybeans closed at $10.27 and wheat closed at $5.74.
Compared to 2 weeks ago, corn was down 7 cents, soybeans were down 33 cents and wheat was up 12 cents.
Used Equipment Update — Sprayers & Planters
The latest Trade Values & Trend data from Tractor House shows that in the U.S. used sprayer inventory levels fell 4.04% month-over-month in January, but increased 10.8% year-over-year.
Asking values were down 2.68% month-over-month and 5.86% year-over-year and are continuing a downward trend.
Auction values also decreased, down 0.78% month-over-month and 8.52% year-over-year, and are maintaining a downward trend.
The Sandhills Equipment Value Index spread in this market fell two points from December to 43% in January, slightly under the peak values seen in 20 15.
U.S. used planting equipment inventory is trending downward. Inventory levels decreased 5.03% month-over-month and 5.64% year-over-year in January. Asking values were up 4.51% for the month but down 4.95% year-over-year and are trending down. Following a similar pattern, auction values were up 6.99% vs. the previous month but down 3.22% year-over-year in January.
The EVI spread in this market dropped 10 points from December to 51% in January, significantly lower than the peak values observed in 2015.
Deere’s Large Ag 1Q Sales Drop 37%
Deere announced its first quarter 2025 earnings on February 13.
Deere reported net income of $869 million for the first quarter ended January 26, 2025. Worldwide net sales and revenues decreased 30%, to $8.5 billion, in the most recent quarter. Net sales were $6.8 billion for the quarter, compared with $10.5 billion in 2024.
Net sales for the production and precision ag division were down 37% year-ove-year for the first quarter.
Net income attributable to Deere & Company for fiscal 2025 is forecasted to remain in a range of $5.0 billion to $5.5 billion.
Ahead of the release, JP Morgan’s Tami Zakaria said, “The company’s outlook will depend on the continued success of agricultural aid programs, as well as any regulatory changes regarding crop subsidies and tariffs”.
DataPoint: Inventory-to-Sales Down for Combines
This week’s DataPoint is brought to you by the Dealership Minds Summit. Register and learn more at DealershipMindsSummit.com.
According to the latest numbers from the Assn. of Equipment Manufacturers and analysis from JP Morgan, Inventory-to sales for combines decreased year-over-year to 1.6 months. North American combine inventories were down 40% year-over-year to 974 units (vs. down 12% year-over-year in December), with the U.S. down 44% year-over-year and Canada down 26% year-over-year.
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