A Farm Equipment Special Report: What Will Agriculture Look Like in 2021?

For new equipment, bigger is better, but what does one do with a used 48-row planter or an 80-foot tedder?

“There isn’t a market for these products with the mid-sized producer, yet the large farm isn’t going to want to keep a machine if it’s starting to break down,” says Joe Michaels, director of forage solutions for Vermeer.

The same goes for some of the advanced technology. Experts offered up two potential solutions for the future.

“We may see a trend toward equipment that can be rebuilt or reconditioned to provide reliable service for an additional time period,” Michaels says.

Marketing used equipment internationally is another option.

“The appetite for new equipment has been beyond what we could have predicted, and if that trend continues, thanks to a good grain harvest, the industry could end up with a disproportionately large inventory of used equipment,” says Gerald Salzman, senior director of Case IH Global Product Marketing Management-Harvesting.

In the future, he says, the used equipment market will continue to go global at an increasing rate. “There is a responsibility to support that equipment with parts and service, so it has to be an organized process,” Salzman says. “As an industry, we will be taking an active role in ensuring the global equipment flow can be properly supported by dealer outlets not only in other states, but other parts of the world. If that support isn’t there, the demand will quickly die for that brand.”

Back to September 2011 Issue Homepage