IHC vintage tractors are hot, combine values escalate

The High Plains wheat crop is heading toward an early harvest while corn and soybean planting is about to finish in the Midwest. As such, buyers' minds are starting to drift toward harvest, which explains the strong final bids given for combines during this past week's Bigiron.com sale.

A 2012 Deere S670 showing just 553 separator hours went for $134,250 at that sale. For that price the buyer got a harvester equipped with Deere's Side Hill package and a ProDrive transmission.

Later in that same online-only auction, a 2014 New Holland CR8.90 showing 646 separator hours sold for $202,250. That combine was loaded with about everything New Holland had to offer for that model harvester.

What the sale of these two combines predicts are stronger values for low-hour combines this summer and early fall. The industry hasn't sold a whole lot of new combines since 2014. And the once ample supply of late-model combines has dried up.

As a result, low-hour combines are bringing increasingly more money as farmers needing to upgrade harvesters but not wanting to take on brand-new combine debt look for used harvesters.

That's one pricey Pete

$25,750 was the final bid on a show-worthy 2014 Kenworth T660 that sold at the Bigiron.com sale. For that investment the Kenny's purchaser got a semi showing 633,212 miles and packing a 12.9-liter Paccar MX-13 diesel and Eaton 10-speed automatic tranny. For good measure, the truck was topped off with a 72-inch Aerocab sleeper.

Now I mention the sale of the Kenny for comparison to a 1993 Peterbilt 379 that had over 1.5 million miles and sold at Butch Booker's spring consignment auction in Washington.

$25,900! That's what that 27-year-old Pete brought.

$200 more than the seven-year-old Kenny showing one third the miles!

I know old Petes are pricey. And I know there is a set of buyers out there who will pay a premium for trucks built prior to the 2007 introduction of Tier 4 diesels.

Still . . . I can't wrap my mind around the final bid for that Pete.

The auction bill didn't mention if the truck's Cat 3406 engine had been overhauled. If so, and if that rebuild was done recently, I can kind of understand the price paid for the Pete. But only kind of.

Red-hot red muscle tractors

Matt Maring's auction house held a fantastic online-only collector sale last week that featured an extensive line of red power antiques.

Of particular note at this sale were the following horsepower transactions:

• $18,000 was the final bid for an International 1456 described as "missing a few parts, motor is free, good tin."
• $8,900 laid out for an International 1468 packing an International V-8 diesel but missing motor parts.
• $8,000 bid for an International 4386 four-wheel drive with 2,110 hours showing.

The same day of the Maring sale, the Bigiron.com auction saw $12,059 given for a 1978 IHC 1486 (seen above). That particular tractor was showing 6,272 hours.

Finally, a 1979 International "Anteater" – that company's unique 2+2 tractor – sold for $6,800 during the Bigiron auction.

What this slew of red iron sales proves is the International Harvester muscle tractors from the 1970s are red-hot with collectors.

I found another sweet ride for my son!

I have this bumper sticker on my pickup that says, "Embarrassing My Children Is My Full-Time Job."

I aim to live up to this sage saying by continuing to find old grain trucks that I threaten to buy for my son who wants a newer car (he is currently driving my mom's old Dodge). Several months ago I posted the sale of a low-mile 1950s grain truck that I joked would be ideal for my son to drive to and from college.

He did not take that suggestion well.

Anyway, my latest find is such a sweet truck I'm not so sure I wouldn't keep it for myself just to have around for those small odd hauling jobs we all have. During the Bigiron.com auction, an absolutely pristine 1966 Chevy C60 truck with just over 54,000 miles sold for only $3,809. This truck was in beautiful shape with showroom looks testifying to the fact that it had been shedded its entire life. The truck's paint was barely faded, its Omaha Standard box was solid dressed out with bright red paint and the cab looked to be well cared for.

I know I'm going on about the truck, but really – go look at it at: https://www.bigiron.com/Auctions/May_13_2020_10A?userControlsVisible=false&auction=68cc0251226aea11b69800155d42358c&distance=500&historical=false&page=6&itemsPerPage=50&filter=Sold&sort=Start&sortOrder=Ascending

A sign of the times: hogs selling at a machinery auction

Machinery auctions are, well, for selling machinery, and livestock sales are for critters.

Yet, a sign of the times was witnessed during the Bigiron.com sale when a hog producer out of Columbus, Nebraska, used this market venue to sell his market-ready hogs. Although the listing didn't say so, you can be certain this producer was seeking any way possible to move out his fat hogs because of the COVID-19 pandemic shutting down packing plants.