Sales of farm equipment up in August

Farm machinery sales reflected farmers' optimism last month.

"We are pleasantly surprised by the return to growth for small units in both the U.S. and Canada, and by a healthy rate," said Curt Blades, senior vice president of agriculture services at the Association of Equipment Manufacturers (AEM). "In addition to the continued growth of the big row-crop units, I think the interesting story is harvesters, up nearly 20 to 30% in their respective markets. Farmers investing in more of these big machines is another indicator of that farmer optimism we've been seeing."

Farm Tractors

According to a report from the Association of Equipment Manufacturers, total farm tractor sales climbed nearly 10% from August 2020. Year to date, total farm tractor sales are up 13.3%.

AEM breaks down tractor sales into 4 categories. Sales of the smallest tractors, 2WD machines with less than 40 horsepower, jumped 8.7% in units sold between August 2020 and August 2021. Year to date, AEM reports 154,029 tractors in this category have been sold.

The 2WD 40 to 100 horsepower tractor category was the slowest growing segment of the tractor market last month. Sales in August 2021 were up 5.4% from the year prior. Year to date, AEM reports 49,906 tractors in this category have been sold.

The 2WD 100+ horsepower tractor category also saw positive change between August 2020 and August 2021. AEM reports 14,094 tractors in this category have been sold year to date.

Finally, the 4WD tractor category saw the most dramatic growth between August 2020 and August 2021 with a jump in sales of 37.8%. AEM reports 14,094 tractors I this category have been sold year to date.

Self-propelled combines

Ahead of harvest in the Corn Belt, self-propelled combine sales jumped for the second month in a row, up nearly 20% from August 2020. Year to date, combine sales are up 13.8%. AEM reports 3,562 self-propelled combines have been sold year to date.