Market Insight

What Prices, Inventories, & Auctions Reveal About the Used Equipment Market

By Steve Sniff

In the next couple of months, a lot of decisions have to be made to prepare for next season. To buy replacement equipment now or wait until spring. To purchase brand new or used. To put equipment on the dealer market or go through an auction.

It would be nice if it were just a matter of picking a square out of a situation grid and being told what the best move would be under those circumstances. But unfortunately, that ' s venturing too much into the crystal ball arena. The reality is that no one answer is the right one for everyone, and very few situations are identical. So, there is some homework that needs to be done.

This article is intended to present an evenhanded view of the current agricultural investment landscape. But be prepared for a few surprises along the way.

What the Market Is Telling Us

There isn’ t one right price for every machine. But current market reports offer some useful clues. Buyers are still cautious about major purchases, yet used-equipment values are holding up in several categories. For farmers shopping for a replacement, that means that there are some good bargains to be had— but they may take some looking to be found.

The newest available industry reports show a market that is no longer moving uniformly in one direction. Used-equipment inventories have generally tightened, but demand for new machinery remains weak and used prices vary significantly by category.

A look at recent reports from Sandhills Global shows that it’ s important to look beyond the asking price, whether buying or selling. In their September 2026 report( published in October), auction values for used tractors rated at 100 horsepower and above were nearly 5 % higher than last year, while inventory was down almost 15 %. Used combines showed a similar drop in inventory— down about 10 % year-over-year— but their auction values fell about 3 % from August. Nevertheless, they were still higher than a year earlier.

Planters were another bright spot, with auction values up nearly 15 % from last year, even as inventory declined about 15 %.

These figures don’ t mean every tractor, combine, or planter is worth more than it was last year. What they do suggest is that available supply and buyer interest vary by equipment type. And while a dealer’ s asking price tells us what a seller hopes to get, an auction result shows what bidders were actually willing to pay.

New-equipment sales tell another part of the story. The Association of Equipment Manufacturers reported that U. S. tractor sales fell 16.4 % year-over-year in September, while combine sales declined 10.9 %. Those numbers cover new machines, not used equipment, but they point to a cautious buying environment.

Farm finances are part of the picture, too. The United States Department of Agriculture’ s( USDA) September forecast projected inflation-adjusted net farm income would decline 5.5 % in 2026 compared with 2025.

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