104-Year-Old Farmer's Auction Priced Tractors Signal Farm Recovery

Donald 'Shorty' Peterson, a 104-year-old Illinois farmer, has sold his Deere & Co. tractors and combines for $183,000 at auction, signaling a potential recovery in US farm equipment sales.

Aging farmers like Peterson have been holding onto machinery for longer than usual due to low crop prices and rising costs. However, the market's prolonged downturn is bottoming out, with industry data showing that used-tractor inventories have reached their lowest levels in over three years as of July.

Despite an influx of new equipment coming up for sale, buyers are absorbing the supply and bids remain strong, particularly as farmers weigh the cost of new machines against expensive repairs. The market is driven by a recovery in crop prices, with corn futures up about 15% this month, wheat rising roughly 20%, and soybeans adding over 8%.

Industry experts are cautiously optimistic about the prospects for farm equipment sales, but warn that it may take even higher crop prices to spur meaningful growth. The American Farm Bureau Federation estimates losses of $31 billion for major row crops this year.