Run Details

State

Completed

Started At

October 09, 2026 at 05:17 PM

Completed At

October 09, 2026 at 05:18 PM

Duration

2 minutes

Headline

Moving Iron: Diesel Prices Surge as Farm Equipment Sales Slide

Data Preview

{
  "title": "Moving Iron: Diesel Prices Surge as Farm Equipment Sales Slide",
  "filter": {
    "keywords": [],
    "match_mode": "any",
    "match_fields": [
      "title",
      "description"
    ],
    "semantic_filter": true
  },
  "source": "youtube",
  "channel": {
    "url": "https://www.youtube.com/@FarmJournal",
    "title": "Farm Journal",
    "handle": "farmjournal",
    "channel_id": "UCqTizkFSbhBojVtIkjMEoZQ"
  },
  "matched": true,
  "insights": {
    "risks": [
      "Hurricane impact on fuel and equipment prices.",
      "Running refinery capacity at near 100% can lead to safety issues.",
      "Making hasty equipment purchase decisions based on emotion rather than a well-thought-out plan.",
      "Prices for equipment, once increased, rarely go back down.",
      "Technician shortages can lead to costly downtime during critical seasons."
    ],
    "topics": [
      "Agricultural equipment sales",
      "Diesel prices",
      "Harvest challenges",
      "Refinery capacity",
      "Government regulation (FTC, USDA)",
      "Market power",
      "Equipment technology",
      "Used equipment market",
      "Financing options",
      "Farm safety",
      "Supply chain issues",
      "Labor shortages (technicians)",
      "Commodity prices"
    ],
    "summary": "This video discusses the current state of the agricultural equipment market, highlighting challenges such as wet harvest conditions, high diesel prices, and a general softening of equipment sales. Speakers emphasize that while short-term measures like tax relief on diesel may offer some reprieve, the long-term solution for fuel prices lies in increasing refinery capacity. They also advise farmers to be strategic and patient with equipment purchases, focusing on actual needs and taking advantage of financing options, while also noting the importance of preventative maintenance and farm safety during busy seasons.",
    "entities": [
      {
        "name": "Kasey Seymour",
        "type": "person",
        "context": "Co-host of Moving Iron Podcast"
      },
      {
        "name": "Clinton Griffiths",
        "type": "person",
        "context": "Co-host of Moving Iron Podcast"
      },
      {
        "name": "Curt Blades",
        "type": "person",
        "context": "Association of Equipment Manufacturers (AEM)"
      },
      {
        "name": "Machinery Pete",
        "type": "person",
        "context": "Greg Peterson, machinery expert"
      },
      {
        "name": "Soybeans",
        "type": "commodity",
        "context": "Harvested wet, turning to mush in machines"
      },
      {
        "name": "Diesel",
        "type": "commodity",
        "context": "High prices, emergency tax relief, red diesel"
      },
      {
        "name": "Refinery capacity",
        "type": "concept",
        "context": "Long-term fix for diesel prices, currently at 98-99%"
      },
      {
        "name": "FTC",
        "type": "organization",
        "context": "Federal Trade Commission, investigating equipment manufacturers"
      },
      {
        "name": "USDA",
        "type": "organization",
        "context": "United States Department of Agriculture, investigating equipment manufacturers"
      },
      {
        "name": "Ag equipment",
        "type": "concept",
        "context": "Sales are soft, prices got crazy during COVID"
      },
      {
        "name": "COVID",
        "type": "concept",
        "context": "Caused equipment prices to rise dramatically"
      },
      {
        "name": "Technology",
        "type": "concept",
        "context": "Farmers should assess actual needs for technology levels in equipment"
      },
      {
        "name": "John Deere",
        "type": "organization",
        "context": "Mentioned in advertisement for planter upgrades"
      },
      {
        "name": "Rebel Auction Company",
        "type": "organization",
        "context": "Conducted a strong heavy equipment auction in Georgia"
      },
      {
        "name": "Georgia",
        "type": "region",
        "context": "Location of Rebel Auction Company and upcoming farm auction"
      },
      {
        "name": "Minnesota",
        "type": "region",
        "context": "Machinery Pete's home state"
      },
      {
        "name": "Midwest",
        "type": "region",
        "context": "General region for agricultural discussion"
      },
      {
        "name": "Southeast",
        "type": "region",
        "context": "Region where Machinery Pete is observing auction trends"
      },
      {
        "name": "Case IH",
        "type": "organization",
        "context": "Combines and Magnum tractors mentioned in auction highlights"
      },
      {
        "name": "Caterpillar",
        "type": "organization",
        "context": "Dozers and scrapers mentioned in auction highlights"
      },
      {
        "name": "Strait of Hormuz",
        "type": "region",
        "context": "Movement of goods loosening up"
      }
    ],
    "sentiment": "mixed",
    "confidence": 0.9,
    "key_points": [
      {
        "point": "Harvest is currently busy, with concerns about crop quality due to rain, leading to mushy soybeans in machines.",
        "timestamp": "00:28",
        "importance": "high"
      },
      {
        "point": "An executive order was issued for emergency tax relief on diesel fuel and easing restrictions on red diesel for on-road vehicles.",
        "timestamp": "01:53",
        "importance": "medium"
      },
      {
        "point": "The long-term solution for high diesel prices is increasing refinery capacity, which takes a decade to build, rather than short-term measures like red diesel allowances.",
        "timestamp": "02:20",
        "importance": "high"
      },
      {
        "point": "Refinery capacity is currently at 98-99%, almost 100%, which can lead to safety issues.",
        "timestamp": "03:28",
        "importance": "medium"
      },
      {
        "point": "The FTC and USDA are investigating whether equipment manufacturers and distributors are using market power to unfairly squeeze farmers, though similar investigations in the past have not led to action.",
        "timestamp": "05:00",
        "importance": "medium"
      },
      {
        "point": "The price of equipment, like many other goods, increased dramatically during COVID and prices rarely go back down once they rise.",
        "timestamp": "07:30",
        "importance": "high"
      },
      {
        "point": "Farmers should carefully assess their actual needs for technology levels in equipment, as 'dumb tractors' or less feature-rich options might be more suitable for certain tasks.",
        "timestamp": "08:00",
        "importance": "high"
      },
      {
        "point": "There are seasonal buying opportunities for used equipment, such as after the new order period closes for planters (June-July) or during harvest for combines, and generally during slower selling cycles like March-April or September-October.",
        "timestamp": "08:50",
        "importance": "high"
      },
      {
        "point": "Farmers should stick to their purchasing plans, understand their financial position, and not let emotion drive hasty decisions, even when market volatility is high.",
        "timestamp": "09:10",
        "importance": "high"
      },
      {
        "point": "2026 has been a soft year for equipment sales, reflecting a tight overall agricultural economy with squeezed margins.",
        "timestamp": "18:04",
        "importance": "high"
      },
      {
        "point": "Historically, October is a strong sales month for machinery, and there's optimism for positive upticks in equipment purchases towards the end of the year, potentially driven by deferred upgrades.",
        "timestamp": "20:26",
        "importance": "medium"
      },
      {
        "point": "Financing costs and overall farm health are significant factors influencing equipment purchase decisions, with some manufacturers offering attractive interest rates.",
        "timestamp": "21:07",
        "importance": "high"
      },
      {
        "point": "Modern machines, especially those with advanced precision agriculture technology and efficient engines, offer significant efficiency gains, which can quickly offset costs, particularly with high diesel prices.",
        "timestamp": "23:50",
        "importance": "high"
      },
      {
        "point": "There is a well-documented technician shortage at the dealer level, making preventative maintenance crucial to avoid downtime during critical seasons.",
        "timestamp": "25:35",
        "importance": "high"
      },
      {
        "point": "Farm safety is paramount; farmers should slow down and ensure everything is clear on roads and in fields, as no harvest or planting is worth a life.",
        "timestamp": "27:25",
        "importance": "high"
      },
      {
        "point": "Used heavy equipment auction prices have been solid to above expectation, particularly for good condition items, with strong demand from the building sector and data centers.",
        "timestamp": "30:23",
        "importance": "high"
      },
      {
        "point": "Rising diesel prices have pushed farmers towards the used equipment market, either by extending the life of current equipment or buying well-maintained used machinery.",
        "timestamp": "32:45",
        "importance": "high"
      },
      {
        "point": "The supply of low-hour, premium used equipment is down because less new equipment was sold in recent years, making these items highly sought after.",
        "timestamp": "37:35",
        "importance": "high"
      },
      {
        "point": "Auction prices for farm equipment typically rise in November and December every year, and with current trends, it could be a very busy end-of-year auction season.",
        "timestamp": "38:30",
        "importance": "high"
      }
    ],
    "trade_ideas": [],
    "price_levels": [
      {
        "note": "Current price range discussed",
        "value": "$6-$7",
        "instrument": "Diesel fuel",
        "level_type": "other"
      },
      {
        "note": "Sale price at Rebel Auction Company",
        "value": "$425,000",
        "instrument": "Caterpillar D8T High Track Dozer",
        "level_type": "other"
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      {
        "note": "Sale price at Rebel Auction Company",
        "value": "$295,000",
        "instrument": "Caterpillar 627K Scraper",
        "level_type": "other"
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      {
        "note": "Sale price at Rebel Auction Company",
        "value": "$265,000",
        "instrument": "Caterpillar D5 LGP Dozer",
        "level_type": "other"
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    ],
    "time_horizon": "medium_term",
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    "data_references": [
      {
        "value": "98-99%",
        "metric": "Refinery capacity",
        "source": "Speaker's observation"
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      {
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        "period": "Year over year",
        "source": "Speaker's observation"
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      {
        "value": "425,000",
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        "source": "Rebel Auction Company"
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      {
        "value": "265,000",
        "metric": "Caterpillar D5 LGP Dozer sale price",
        "source": "Rebel Auction Company"
      },
      {
        "value": "23 out of 25 years",
        "metric": "Auction pricing increase",
        "period": "Last 25 years",
        "source": "Speaker's data"
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    ],
    "match_reasoning": "The video substantively discusses agricultural equipment sales, diesel prices, market trends, and farmer purchasing decisions, directly aligning with the requested topics."
  },
  "video_id": "jiny9bJ6lKc",
  "video_url": "https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jiny9bJ6lKc",
  "transcript": "Welcome to Moving Iron with KCC Moore and Greg Peterson. The podcast for anyone and everyone involved and interested in the business of Ag equipment. If you want to understand what trends and market forces are impacting the price of your iron, you've come to the right place. Buckle up, it's time to move some iron. Hey, welcome back to the Moving Iron podcast. Clinton Griffison here with KCC Moore. Casey, how are you doing this week? Uh, busy week out there. It is, man. Good to see you, Clint. Hey, man. Doing all right. Doing all right. Uh, you know, folks out there running hard right now, trying to get this crop out. Still hearing tons of chatter about, you know, the quality of the crop and the challenges of the the rain that we've had out there. Yeah. And then you got a hurricane coming on top of that, right? So it's gonna be another monkey wrench in the middle of that. So, yeah, I'm hearing the same thing. You know, you look at what's going on, either you're having a great, perfect harvest and everything's going like it should, no issues, or you're having a the long drawn out quagmire of a mess that uh, that harvest can be sometimes. So it's tail two tales, right? Yeah, absolutely. And of course, you know, it's it's busy. We're pushing the machines hard. We're out servicing those machines, keeping them in the field, keeping them running. I did hear this week that uh, you know, we harvested some soybeans and they were pretty wet. And when it got into the machines, they were they kind of just squished up and turned to mush. And I can't even imagine, Casey, like what what's required to clean that after something like that happens. I mean, I just seems like an absolute nightmare of a mess to to try to overcome some of that stuff. I know how hard it is to clean a combine just in normal conditions. I can't imagine what's any other way like that. It'd be that stuff gets in there, man, and it just it finds every nook and cranny to get into. And it just Yeah, it's it's a tough thing to do anyway. No kidding. Um, you know, we've we if we talk about kind of what's been in the headlines this week, uh, some interesting things. This dyed diesel story, that's been going around. Uh, didn't see like there was an executive order from the President, um, to kind of have some emergency tax relief on diesel fuel and then allowing some some of those easing some of those restrictions on using that red or dyed diesel, uh, for on-road vehicles without penalties. What's your read on this? Do you think this helps solve our our $6, $7 diesel problem? Uh, I mean, no. It's I mean, it's gonna it's gonna alleviate alleviate some pressure in the short term, but I mean, there's only there's only so much red diesel out there, right? So, and they don't there's probably I don't know what the proportionate of red diesel to to to normal on-road diesel is, but it's not like it's parity by any means, right? So, there's gonna be it's gonna alleviate some pressure in there somewhere for a little bit, which you know, every little bit helps, but I as a long-term fix, I mean, the long-term fix is refinery capacity. It's not it's not anything else, man. That's what you had. And unfortunately, it'll take a decade to build a new a new refinery in this country. So, um, that's that's part of the problem there. You want to In my opinion, you want to fix the problem, let's go build some refineries. Right. Well, and and it it is one of those things where like, yes, we're in the middle of this crisis now, but this is and we've been building toward having an issue for years. This isn't just a, you know, just a right now problem. This has been a like you said, a refinery capacity issue for a long time. Yeah. So, I mean, I think if you look at refinery capacity right now, most most places, it's uh, like 98%, 99%, you know, almost 100%, which at some point in time, like you, there comes a safety issue there if you run, you know, too too high capacity, you know, so, I you know, I I just look at this and it it's just capacity. It's it's the problem, you know, and and here we have this hurricane coming through and and through the Gulf Coast area, and there's gonna be some stuff in there that's gonna get impacted. So, we'll see what that does to prices too. So, I mean, it's just this is not it's just not it's a bigger deal than just we're gonna throw some red diesel in there and help it works. Yeah. Well, you know, and I I do uh, have seen some stories that, you know, they're they're starting to have a little more movement through the Strait of Hormuz now. Uh, you know, that's starting to to loosen up a little bit. But, you know, I I think it, you know, it is interesting. Sure, we can we can ask questions. We want to make sure that people aren't getting taken advantage of. I don't I'm all for that. I I think that's fine. Uh, on the other side of it is, you know, there's a like you said, there's a lot of other things that factor into some of these prices from the cost of raw materials. Um, do we have we do we have enough capacity here for that? Uh, what is the the cost of labor? What is the the technology expense? Like you mentioned, like, do we need all of the technology that we have? I think we find that true in in our vehicles. We find that true in a lot of different aspects of our lives. Um, you know, just because it's possible doesn't mean we necessarily need it. And I think you're right in making the point of like using the right equipment, uh, with the right packages for the right tasks that we're use, you know, that they're meant for. Um, and right sizing that. As you look at, uh, you know, kind of what we're seeing out there, the equipment market right now, making some of those purchasing decisions. What's going through your mind right now? What are you what are you thinking about? What's got your attention? Well, I think on the used for instance, look what's on the lot now with a lot of these folks. You're gonna see good opportunity to buy stuff at a at a different. Probably we talked about this before, but I just look at pricing today and where I think pricing is gonna be 60 days from now. And I think you're gonna have a better opportunity to get a better deal today than you would have been able to get in in uh, 60 to 90 days from now. And I think the reason for that is there's still, you know, there's there's plenty of used equipment out there. You hear some dealers talking about how they're out buying some stuff and then those kind of things, but they're buying specific things for for specific holes inside their inventory. And they still have plenty of other stuff laying around out there. So, I think I just take a hard look at what your dealership has, what they have to offer, uh, when what are your needs and and start running down that that avenue with them about what do I need and what I don't need and and where are where are the deals at for me, you know? And and take a hard look at that. Shop around a little bit and make sure you're seeing, you know, eyes wide open when you go in to make that deal because there's there's plenty of opportunity out there to see, um, some low-rate financing options out there. I've seen a lot of 24-month waivers. I've seen a lot of, you know, 3.9% stuff, you know, out there and those kind of things. So, look for those kind of things and and see what kind of advantage you can take of them when you're looking at those. You know, Casey, we we talk a lot about, uh, you know, the certain times of year. And and always the end of the year seems like a a really big time for equipment. When people are making decisions about, you know, what do they need? What are the tax implications and on and on and on. Um, are are there other times of the year that maybe there's a good buying opportunities, you know, like, you know, hey, TVs right before the Super Bowl. We know that that's a great buying opportunity. You know, are there other times of year when you ever, uh, you should be thinking about different types of equipment at different times? Well, yeah, see the seasonality of equipment, you know, the push. One of the best times to buy a used planter is right after the new order item period closes, right? That's typically a good time to buy a buy a used planter if you're looking to do something like that. So, that's, you know, that June, July time frame, right? For next year. So, you're way, you're got a whole year almost before you're gonna go back to the fields, I think. Um, or nine months anyway. And then, um, you know, if you can if you have time to do it, and you got time to look for it, you know, combines during harvest, that's always seems to be a typically a full I'm talking spring harvest, you know, we harvest those kind of things. Um, and then, but if you start looking at like the peak times, you know, that January, February time frame is typically a pretty decent time of the year as far as traffic goes because again, folks are not doing much and they've got some time to think about it. So, they're gonna there's a lot more demand during that time frame. After harvest, after spring harvest is typically a peak time. Um, you see a lot more demand there in that time frame again. You know, they they've harvested that crop and if they're, you know, do a wheat crop and a corn crop or whatever, you know, double cropping beans, whatever it might be, they kind of know where they're at for the year. So, they're gonna make some buying decisions in that July, June, July, August time frame. And then and then where we're at right now, that October, November, December time frame, those are all the peak times of the year. So, anywhere inside of that, you there's not a lot of buying going on. So, if you're, you know, March through April, you know, if you're in, you know, May, if you get into that, um, September to October time frame, those are typically not quote unquote as busy selling cycles as as other times. So, there's there might be some opportunity for you in those time frames. Well, good. Good. I think that's I think that's great insight, uh, and allows us maybe people will a chance to make some plans and and look at some of those windows, um, whenever they're, you know, you don't want to be standing in line with everybody else at the same time. We all know that's true in Ag, right? Yeah. Everybody gets paid at the same time, unfortunately. So, that's that's what you have. That's what you have your money. So, that's that's stuff. That's exactly right. Hey, what what's your big takeaway this week? Uh, what do you want to end the folks to end their thoughts on or uh, what their takeaways for you this week? You know, I would say there's there's a lot of noise out there right now, uh, when you look around. Look at diesel prices. You look at what's going on with the markets. You know, we're seeing huge volatility in the market again. Um, move things around. If you have a plan and you've put that plan together, run your plan. Don't get over your skis and get thinking about what's going on. Are there times to adjust your plan? Sure. Need to make those decisions as you go along. But if your plan is to sell at X, get to that point and make that and hold hold out. Don't uh, don't let the emotion overtake you in these time frames right now to where you are making um, hasty decisions based around, uh, things that are just out of your control, right? So, fix your plan if you got one, which I know everyone's got one. But just stick to your plan and and push your, um, push that plan to the max. And then, you know, make adjustments as you need to because when stuff like this, times like this are going on, you start seeing prices start to creep up and where they've been at, you know, sell the crop that you need to sell to keep everybody happy. But I believe that we have some some upside coming out of. So, stick with your plan, be patient, and don't let the emotion get a hold of you. Yeah, and I think that's great advice, Casey. It's so sometimes it can be so hard. These are big decisions for a lot of operations. Yeah. And it's so sometimes it's just so hard to pull the trigger, right? Yeah. Yeah. A lot of pressure on these guys, you know, and I I I get it. I mean, I I see the guys that come in and but how they're trying to juggle all the millions worth of things that they have going on in their mind as well as they have going on the farm and the financial implications of every single solitary thing they do. It's it's a massive undertaking every year for these guys to go farm. And I've watched a lot of guys sell stuff, um, at the bottom of the market because it bounced back up and now here we are and then it took off and ran another $1.25. You know, and then but I've also seen it go the other way where they should sell it come back down. So, it's just I I just say, you know, I've had one of those guys that I've had on the podcast in the past. He's really big on, let's talk about your plans. Let's see what your plan is. And then we'll make that a plan as we adjust and we can we can move those things along and how important it is to to know what what your actual dollar hard dollars are so that you can make those adjustments to those financial decisions as you push your way through. And I just, you know, Yeah. No, that's really good advice. And I I do think having that plan and having something to work off of, um, really helps with as you said, the emotion of making some of these big decisions. Uh, at least you've got a blueprint of something you're trying to follow. You can stick to it. Doesn't mean we don't adjust, right? We we always adjust life on the fly, but Yeah. Absolutely. Well, Casey, appreciate it. Thank you for jumping in here today. We're gonna be back with more Moving Iron here in just a minute. Looking for more accuracy, more productivity from your current planter? Let's get exact with precision upgrades from John Deere. Start with Exact Emerge and get accurate singulation and spacing at 10 miles per hour. Or choose Exact Shot to promote early root growth and cut fertilizer costs. And with FurrowVision, save time by verifying seed depth right from your cab. Visit JohnDeere.com/planterupgrades and see why nothing runs like a Deere. Welcome back to Moving Iron. Clinton Griffiths now joined by Curt Blades with the Association of Equipment Manufacturers. Curt, it's a busy time of year. We've talked about this just a minute ago with Casey, the obviously harvest often running, a lot of equipment moving out there. You bet. This is the most exciting part of the year as a farm kid when you see tractors rolling and corn corn soybeans coming out of the field. It's the fruits of the labor. Uh, you can't help but have a good smile on your face when you're looking at some of the yields and some of the great looking crops that are, you know, happening certainly at my farm in uh, in Northeast Missouri. But as I'm driving through Iowa and Illinois, it looks pretty good out there. Yeah, absolutely. Um, so let's talk a little bit about uh, big picture stuff. Equipment this year. Uh, we know that 2026 has been a little bit soft. Where where are we trending as we head through October? Well, I mean, as you stated, 2020, you know, six has been a soft year. That's continuing for the last, you know, 12 months or so has been pretty soft in equipment sales. It's absolutely a reflection of the overall Ag economy, which we know is also been soft. Margins are squeezed. Uh, we get it. Um, and and and respect that. And we it's it's to be expected in the capital equipment market when when your inputs are, you know, coming in a little higher, whether that's diesel fuel or or seed or chemistry or fertilizer. Those are real costs that have to occur every year. And as a result, you can potentially postpone your capital uh, equipment. So, we've seen that reflected in the sales being down about 20% year over year on top of being down about 20% year over year, um, last year. So, we're we're seeing that. Uh, there's some bright spots here and there that are that are really nice uh, that we like to see. But I think it's just the reality is like the Ag economy is a little tight right now. And and as a result, capital equipment purchases might get delayed. Yeah. Curt, as we start to talk about, you know, and we're we're starting to see this a little bit uh, of, you know, with these with these higher uh, grain prices, we're seeing a little more lift in people's interest, especially at used markets. And what from a new perspective, uh, from OEM manufacturers, what are some of the leading edge type indicators that they're watching to hopefully start to see some more interest build, um, for that new equipment this year? Well, I tell you, first of all, selfishly representing the Association of Equipment Manufacturers, I love to see machines move, whether that's new equipment or used equipment. So, I love it all. I love it all to move. But most importantly, I love it when when farmers are making good business decisions to to upgrade their equipment. And we're starting to see that. I mean, for the last year, we've seen, um, a lot of interest in, um, upgrading existing uh, uh, machines, whether that's a uh, aftermarket uh, retrofits or other things that that improve their machines that might have a lower cost point. So, that's been going on for a while. I think we continue to see that as an early indicator that the farmers want to do something. Uh, and, you know, as you're seeing maybe some relief on the commodity prices, maybe, you know, at harvest time whenever everybody's got a smile on their face, that might shake loose some uh, some desire for some upgrades of machines that might have been deferred for a couple years. So, I remain optimistic that as the year closes out, we might see some some some positive upticks for the next couple of months. Historically, October is a really good sales month for machines. So, we'll see what that looks like. Those numbers won't come out until November. But I remain optimistic that uh, you know, we've been we've been bouncing along this bottom for a while. Maybe we're starting to uh, to see some optimism out there. Yeah. How big a challenge is the the current, um, you know, financing climate that we're dealing with with the higher interest rates overall? Has has that been a little bit of a headwind here or I I know a lot of manufacturers out there do offer some of their own incentives and incentive programs. Well, there's a number of factors that go into the purchase of a new machine. Financing being one of them. I mean, you don't wake up tomorrow and buy a seven-figure combine. You have to either figure out a way to cash flow that into your operation or finance it in agreeable terms. Uh, with interest rates kind of being a little bit of a question mark, that's one of the that's one of the considerations that might cause someone to defer their purchases. You know, their overall, you know, farm health is figures into that as well as, you know, what their use situation is looking like. So, it's interest rates are part of it. It's not necessarily the only driver, but it's part of it. And then those that, you know, manufacturers that have captive financing have made some pretty attractive interest, um, offers available. So, I mean, there might be a really interesting time for a farmer to uh, that might be that one additional incentive they need when they were wanting to upgrade their fleet, but they were looking for something to get them across the line. Well, maybe a, you know, cheap interest might be the one thing that uh, uh, that gets them to to to make a purchase decision between now and the end of the year. Yeah. Curt, one of the things Casey and I have been talking about is this idea of uh, right, making sure that we're right sizing the fleet. And maybe maybe we do upgrade to some some newer equipment here, uh, but we have maybe a few less machines in the field, uh, as we go forward. Uh, talk to me a little bit about that strategy because it does feel like we're kind of in this world where like, you know what? We we need to be strategic about here, uh, about what we're doing. And there are some benefits to the newer uh, equipment that's out there from a, you know, even an efficiency standpoint. Yeah. Well, I think I think the key thing is that it's and it's there's no one-size-fits-all for a machinery prescription. It really comes down to your farm, your acres, your size of operation, you know, how you're set up for the roads, those types of things are all have got to be uh, uh, in the consideration set. But what's most important is that there's a plan. Uh, so, you know, a farmer thinking, you know, long-term, what are my machine needs five years from now? What are my machine needs 10 years from now? So, then you can take advantage of if there's a special offer that you want to, you know, take advantage of, great. Uh, or if you say, hey, you know what, time's a little bit tight right now. I'm gonna postpone that that purchase for a for a few years. That also works. So, that kind of removes that that uh, uh, impulse that sometimes has existed in the uh, in the Ag market. I think that's kind of important to have a good plan, have a good relationship with your dealers. And then, as you talk about the efficiency, I mean, it's it's you can I can understand a a desire of a farmer is like, oh, I'm just gonna haul this machine a little bit longer because I don't want to spend more money on it. I don't want to spend money on a new piece of equipment. And I think that that logic makes a ton of sense until you look at, you know, the most modern machines, whether it has all of the precision Ag stuff in it or the latest engines, are just a lot more efficient. And I'll tell you, an engine that is 20% more efficient at sipping diesel than the previous one of 10 years ago, it doesn't take very long for that to pencil out when you're paying $5 a gallon for diesel. So, it's like, that's that's those are considerations that need to be come in come into play as a farmer's looking at their overarching, uh, machinery needs. Plan for efficiency is part of that equation. I think it's really important. And then, also recognizing at the end of the day, all we're looking for is uptime. So, new machines tend to be a little bit more, uh, stable from the upside uptime standpoint. That's critically important during these uh, tight windows that we're dealing with of harvest and planting. So, obviously, I'm biased in wanting to sell new machines. Make no make no bones about that. But I do think there's some very solid reasons for farmers to take a look at their fleet and make sure that they're keeping it current. Well, we do need to remember that we have to factor in and pencil in the cost of maintenance because even if you're keeping a machine, let's say you're going to keep it for 30 years, uh, you want to keep a machine in good working condition because that uptime is so critical. Plus, whenever if you do ever go to sell something used, uh, and machinery people tell us, he'll tell us every day of the week that, you know, a machine that is very well maintained and taken care of is going to bring so much more at auction. So, um, it's an important budget item to really factor in. Hey, from that perspective, uh, what are the manufacturers and folks that are working out there in the industry? What are you hearing from them in terms of technicians and are they being able to find enough help out there, uh, to work on these machines? Is I know from time to time we have these conversations of like, man, we just need more people to get into this industry. Well, I I've been saying this for the 10 years that I've been in this role. It's like we have, you know, 1200 members at AEM. Every single one of them's hiring at all levels, whether it's the factory worker, the dealer, the tech support, sales, sales and engineering all across the board. So, there is a challenge. Uh, there's a there's absolutely a technician's challenge at the dealer level that's been, you know, well documented and I think there's lots of pockets where you can kind of see where it's been fixed with different things. But it's it's there. It's very real. And it certainly shows up louder during harvest and during planting. Again, going back to what we said before. Farmers are buying uptime and you want that uptime. Um, and and certainly there are situations that show up where a machine goes down, you got to fix it as quick as possible. But I'll tell you what what prevents a whole lot of that is planning ahead for it. And we find that, you know, one what knowing in advance that there's a technician challenge and a technician shortage out there. If you have done your pre-event maintenance throughout the summer or throughout the winter to get it to get ready for this busy season, that tends to eliminate, you know, a whole lot of those uh, issues. It doesn't eliminate all of them because things happen. But if you can if you can eliminate the things that were just, you know, maybe on the cusp by doing a little bit of pre-event maintenance, that'll save you a lot of trouble, uh, during this critical time when there may be a technician shortage out there. Yeah. Well, you know, a lot of time and a lot of headaches, uh, and frustration. I mean, it's just it's so frustrating to be ready to go and then have to be on the sidelines waiting on things to get fixed and and get the repairs made. Hey, uh, obviously, we want people to be safe out there. It's a busy time of year. Uh, Farm Safety Week last week. Um, you know, I know you work with a lot of folks, uh, that really want to make sure that, uh, you know, the agricultural public is, uh, being safe on the roads. Well, I think last time I talked to you, uh, you I was calling you from uh, Washington D.C. and trying to get those things straightened out. Now, I'm calling you from Milwaukee, Wisconsin, at the AEM offices. At the same time, when we've got all of our technical engineers in the room, just right across the right across from all for me. So, talk about safe equipment and talk about safe operation of equipment, whether it's routes on machines or whether it's, you know, making sure that the the the regulations and the interpretation of the regulations around tractor road safety and lighting and marking are there. Because it's this stuff is really important. We have a lifestyle that we live. We're fortunate to live in agriculture. But none of this matters if you don't go home at night, uh, safely to your loved ones. And so, you know, I just encourage all of your listeners, whether they're farmers or whether they're sharing the road with farmers, we all got to be on the same road together and we've all got to be, you know, at exercise a little bit of grace, uh, because it doesn't matter if we don't go home safely. Right. Slow down a little bit. Make sure that uh, everything's clear before we take off. Always appreciate it, Curt. Thank you so much. Great message. Uh, great insights. Appreciate you joining us for Moving Iron. We'll be back with machinery Pete coming up in just a minute. Hey, welcome back to the Moving Iron podcast. We've caught up here with Greg Peterson, machinery Pete. And Greg, well, I'll tell you, you've been racking up the travel points this week. Uh, been kind of all over the place. Talk to us about what you've seen out there. Uh, kind of a busy, a busy, uh, few days. Yeah. Made my way down to Georgia, Clinton, down here hanging out with the good folks at Rebel Auction Company. They had, uh, yesterday, uh, as we're talking, it would have been Thursday, October 8th. They had the day one of their big auction sale, which is, I believe, the second Thursday of the month. And, uh, and yeah, that was a very strong sale. The volume was a little down, but they're anticipating a huge, huge November auction. A lot of heavy equipment, mostly heavy equipment, which, uh, I don't tend to write about that as much, but data-wise for auction pricing, it's probably our second or third biggest category, uh, over my 37 years. So, yeah, met a lot of great people yesterday, talked. Pricing was solid, very, uh, I would say solid to above expectation on good used. Just a couple highlights. Some of these dollar prices get kind of big on this big equipment, but they had a 20 model Caterpillar D8T High Track Dozer, uh, big rig, 4600 hours on it. That took a check of 425,000 to buy that one. Uh, stand with, of course, a lot of Caterpillar equipment. 2014 Scraper, a 627K, uh, 6346 hours, it came in at 295. And then, uh, one more dozer, a 21 model Cat D5 LGP, 985 hours, did 265. Yeah, I went out to dinner last night. Sam Mayer, owner of Rebel Auction Company, uh, took me out to dinner with his great team and got a chance to visit with Sam and they were very pleased with the prices on the sale today. And we are looking forward to Saturday, Clinton, October 10th. I'm staying down in Georgia. We're gonna cover a farm auction in in Louisville, Georgia, filming it for our Machinery Pete TV show that Rebel Auction is doing some really low-hour tractors on a farm there. So, that should be a big fun. And and hey, I've never Machinery Pete, I'm a Minnesota boy. I've never hung out in a hurricane before. So, we're kind of on the edge of it here in Eastern Georgia. I think we'll be okay, but we'll take Machinery Pete TV high-def cameras into the hurricane. So, There you go. Well, make sure you nail your shoes down so you don't get uh, carried away. Hopefully, you didn't empty your pockets yesterday because that's a pretty uh, high prices there on some of that equipment. How does that how does that industry track in versus what we've seen in the farm industry for the the heavy equipment side? Yeah, it's a good question, Clinton. I don't get asked that often, but on the heavy side, I would say generally speaking, it's been a little stronger. Uh, now, I've been reporting since June and particularly since end of August that good used farm equipment has lifted. Uh, good used construction equipment, I think, had started at a little bit higher level early in 26. Uh, and it it just there was optimism across the in a lot of the building sectors. A lot of it with the data centers going up. And so, a lot of activity there. Now, the diesel price issue, just like it has on the Ag side, has interjected some uncertainty. And that's created maybe a little bit of a wait and see mode. Obviously, for contractors, if you're bidding jobs, you know, you'd kind of a little harder to bid when all of a sudden the price of fuel shoots up and keeps going. So, uh, but even considering that, I think it has the same effect it does on the farm equipment side, Clinton, in terms of maybe pushing people away from the new purchase towards, you know, controlling what you can, which is, okay, well, let's let's maybe stay on the used side. And and then again, what contractors want and need is the best condition used, like that, you know, six-year-old D8T dozer yesterday at four and a quarter. Uh, they're willing to pay that for the for the nice ones. Yeah, absolutely. You know, you you said you're staying for a farm auction, uh, down there in the Southeast. Uh, regionally, have we seen any trends lately in terms of uh, Ag equipment, farm machinery based on whether we're in Minnesota or the Midwest or we're all the way down in the Southeast? Yeah, again, great question, Clinton. Uh, I would say kind of minimal. Uh, well, I would say it cuts on the condition of the equipment. So, if it's averagey kind of equipment, we've seen prices out of what you would call the southern half of the US. And that's sort of always been the case over my 37 years. But if you drift into the stuff we're focusing on Saturday on this auction in Louisville, Georgia, which is low-hour premium equipment. For example, you've got like a, well, here I got a list. So, uh, 14-year-old combine, a Case IH 7230 with only uh, 606 sep hours on it. Or a tractor like a, uh, 2012 Magnum 315 with, uh, 886 hours. It's the kind of stuff everybody wants. So, it's been interesting since the pandemic, Clinton, now, six and a half years now, the the geography doesn't matter as much because it's all a lot of it shifted, most of it shifted online. So, people are just clicking the button. And it boils down to particularly the last couple years, they're not buying new, so they scour looking for the exact best condition used item. So, if you're sitting in Minnesota where I live and you see this Magnum 315 with 886 hours on it, Right. It kind of pulls people like, ooh, tell me more. And they don't it doesn't matter that it's in Louisville, Georgia. They just here's your one shot to get a super low-hour 14-year-old Magnum 315. In fact, the Rebel Auction Company owner Sam Mayer was telling me last night at dinner that, you know, they're fielding calls and inquiries from all over the place on this auction Saturday. So, I wasn't surprised by that, but it used to be a very noticeable difference in auction pricing based on geography. And that again, last six and a half years has kind of flown out the window on the good stuff. Yeah. I know it's early in in really in the amount of time that we've had to deal with these much higher diesel prices. Uh, but shipping costs, I'm guessing to move that equipment from one part of the country to the other. Part of the equation, but is it is it enough to be a determining factor? Is it still too early to tell? Yeah, people are aware of it. I'm very much aware of it, but I would say it has not affected the pricing on the good condition used equipment. Just for the simple fact that the rising diesel prices in general have further cemented farmer mindset towards the used market. And they were it already was away from the new market. Again, you can look at the AEM numbers on sales of all horsepower tractors and combines. They just keep sinking lower because the price is so high and farmers are just voting, right or wrong, they're just voting, well, let's roll used, either extending the life of their current, uh, equipment line or now, you know, coming into harvest here and then looking ahead into 27, they're making their plans. And I can feel it and I the farmers don't hesitate. They they verbalize it when I'm out at events, farm shows or auctions. They're squarely focused on used. And so, transportation cost hasn't deterred them like the sale Saturday in Georgia here. Whoever buys that this low-hour tractors and the combine and the other beautiful equipment, they they'll be happy as clams to ship it back to because it's so hard to find, uh, the super nice stuff. And part of that too is the fact that the top end of the funnel, the one, two, three-year-old stuff, because they didn't sell much of it the last few years, the supply of it is down now. And so, again, when you find what you need, you just kind of got to snap it up. Yeah, absolutely. What else? Anything else on your radar as you, uh, go through the next week or so that you'll be keeping up on? Well, just a little bit focused on the Georgia auction here this week. It's kind of, uh, been occupying my head space, but I am starting to look ahead, of course, to November and, uh, December. We are getting an increase. It happens every year, but this year might be a little bigger, uh, from auction companies, uh, saying, hey, Pete, uh, circle this date, circle this date. And I think the number of auction, I think it's gonna be a busy year and very busy on the auction season. And again, prices have been rising. And our data shows, I think 23 out of the last 25 years, auction pricing goes up anyway in November, December. And when it's going up leading into that, that is usually when it goes up further. So, it could be a wild, semi-wild end of the year, uh, and then you factor in who knows what the war and the price of diesel, X factors there. Uh, so, it's gonna be it's gonna be super interesting day by day. And a lot of a lot of good, you know, prices could go lower, but I guess, you know, buckle up and stay tuned. Buckle up and stay tuned. Well, I think that's a a good spot to leave it at this week, Greg. We'll uh, catch up with you as you, uh, spend some time on the road here over the next few weeks. I really appreciate you coming on and giving us some insights here from Georgia and hopefully, uh, we can keep you roped into your into your room there as the hurricane goes overhead and, uh, get you back out to auction and, uh, check out some more equipment there. You bet. Well, you have a great week, Clint. Always a always a pleasure to visit. Yeah, always. Hey, appreciate it. Thank you so much. And thank to all of you for watching Moving Iron. We'll be back next week. Thanks for joining us. We'll see you again next week. And remember, Moving Iron is available on Farm Journal's YouTube channel and anywhere podcasts are found. So, until next time, let's move some iron.",
  "description": "Diesel prices are surging, farm equipment sales remain under pressure, and used machinery is becoming an increasingly important option for farmers heading into 2027. On this episode of Moving Iron, Clinton Griffiths talks with Casey Seymour, Curt Blades of the Association of Equipment Manufacturers, and Machinery Pete about the forces shaping today's equipment market and what buyers and sellers should watch in the months ahead.\n\nCasey Seymour breaks down the impact of rising diesel prices, the proposed government investigation into equipment pricing, and why farmers should carefully evaluate their machinery needs before making their next purchase. He also shares insights on equipment-buying seasons, financing incentives, and where buyers may find opportunities in the current market.\n\nCurt Blades discusses the continued slowdown in new equipment sales, the outlook for a potential market rebound, the benefits of upgrading existing machinery, and the ongoing shortage of agricultural equipment technicians.\n\nMachinery Pete joins the show from Georgia to share highlights from recent auctions, explain why exceptionally well-maintained used equipment continues to command strong prices, and offer his outlook for the November and December auction season.\n\nPlus, the team discusses harvest challenges, equipment maintenance, and why having a clear marketing plan is critical when market volatility creates uncertainty.\n\nBuckle up, its time to move some iron!",
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  "published_at": "2026-10-09T17:02:43Z",
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