In all that time, equipment bearing his name has played an important role in the lives of millions of farmers worldwide. That has spawned a very large following of brand enthusiasts and individuals who have significant personal collections of the green brand’s memorabilia and equipment.

Deere too now has its own extensive archives containing not only select pieces of equipment but also items that detail its corporate history. The facility that houses that collection, which itself began in 1976, is located in East Moline, Illinois.

“We were created because our CEO at the time, William Hewitt, the last Deere family member to serve in that role, commissioned a professor at Dartmouth to write a corporate history,” says branded properties and heritage manager Neil Dahlstrom, who curates the collection.

“So it really started as a corporate memory exercise. In order to do that, you need to start acquiring records and materials.

“We were fortunate in that we had what was called an agricultural library at Deere since at least the very early 20th century. They saved things like speeches, advertising and secondary market share research — even things like journals from Robert Tate, who was one of John Deere’s partners when he moved to Moline in 1848.”

Home to the Deere collection is a 75,000-square-foot building that houses millions of individual items. It was originally built as the East Moline sales branch in 1955 — so even the building is a piece of corporate history.

“We have the core archives,” Dahlstrom adds. “So it’s everything from business records to advertising to service literature, CEO papers, in the neighbourhood of probably three million photographs and a large film collection that dates back to 1929. In addition to that, there are several thousand artifacts — everything from stickpins from the early 20th century to licensed products, including toys and social media influencer kits most recently.

“We sample these things. We don’t collect one of everything, because there’s just too much. In addition to those, we also manage the company’s historical equipment collection, which is about 500 pieces. The oldest in our collection is a plow built by John Deere in 1853.”

There are milestone machines in the collection, including a 1980 4440 tractor, the two-millionth tractor to roll off the line at Waterloo, Iowa. It only has 27 hours on the tachometer. There are also combines, construction equipment and lawn tractors, as well as experimental prototypes that didn’t make it to production.

But not all of the collection remains stored in East Moline. Pieces from it are displayed at different times in 25 Deere locations across North America.

“We have 10 snowmobiles at the training centre in Grimsby (Ontario),” he says. “We’re designed to have large parts of our collection out on exhibit at any given time.”

Seeking specific artifacts

Dahlstrom adds he receives about six offers a week from people interested in donating or selling items to the Deere archives.

“We look at those things and balance everything from, ‘Do we have gaps in the historical record we need to fill? Is this a significant piece? Do we have space for it?’ That’s a growing concern — do we have somewhere to put it? The size of the equipment is making it really difficult. So I think we evaluate things differently now than we did 20 or 30 years ago.”

While the archive actively looks for specific items that fill those gaps in its collection, when those items become available, it often defers to individuals who would also like to add them to their own private collections.

“We also have the luxury of incredibly enthusiastic fans and collectors,” he says. “There are things we’ve passed on that have come up for auction, because the last thing I want to do is get something and put it in storage where no one is going to see it for the next decade. I’d much rather it be in private hands with someone who’s going to take it from show to show. We don’t need to own all of it.”

Among the items high on the archives’ wish list are early copies of Deere’s The Furrow magazine. They have a pretty complete collection from 1897 onward, but nothing earlier. The magazine began publication in 1895.

An example of a uniform of the John Deere Battalion from the Second World War is also being sought.

In that war, “the John Deere Battalion was formed from about 900 employees and dealer employees,” Dahlstrom says. “They served mostly in France and Belgium during the war. They repaired tanks, trucks, tractors and things. We have scrapbooks. I’d love a John Deere Battalion member uniform for the collection. Anything that personalizes who we are as a company I think is really important and significant.”

Dahlstrom is a historian in his own right and has published a book on the history of machinery evolution as farming moved from horses to tractors, including Deere’s role in it. He says after spending so much time detailing the history of the company founder John Deere and reading his personal papers and writings that others said about him during his lifetime, he believes he has come to know him.

“I’ve grown to know John Deere over my career here. We’re pals,” he says jokingly.

So would John Deere be surprised to find out that the company that bears his name today has become a global corporation with sales exceeding US$30 billion a year?

“I spent a lot of time thinking about this,” Dahlstrom says. “I think he wouldn’t be surprised … that is what set him apart from his competition. He built his first plow in 1837. In 1860 there were over 2,000 plow manufacturers in the United States alone.

“He survived that and evolved out of that for a reason. It’s because he had this constant focus on what we call continuous improvement today. By the time a competitor came out with something similar to him, he’d already moved on to something else.

“I see him as this guy who’s really enthusiastic about tech, which is really hard to put someone in the 19th century in that view. But I think that’s who he was.”

The post Could John Deere have imagined what his company has become today? appeared first on Grainews.

Technology often plays a role in improving how things get done on the farm — and Coffey says FieldOps, an online tool Case’s parent CNH released in 2024, has been connecting with farmers.

FieldOps provides real-time display monitoring of Case IH machines across equipment brands to see their location, duty status, job completion time and more.

Users can also integrate on-farm data from other compatible sources into FieldOps to help streamline their farm operations.

“That new launch is probably resonating the most with our customer base,” Coffey says, as it allows them to improve farm management practices for a relatively small investment.

At the show, Coffey also offered his perspective on the state of the machinery market.

New equipment sales remained soft from the previous year, he says, and the brand has been taking steps to ensure dealers were able to maintain a good inventory of used equipment.

“We saw another downturn challenge about 10 years ago,” he says. “What we’ve learned is ‘Let’s be steady, let’s get ahead of the change.’”

For Case IH, that included building up its used machinery inventory in mid-2024 and lowering used equipment values. The company took this approach in order to ensure “general health” across its dealer network, he says.

“We’re taking it in stride,” he says. “This is an 180-year-old brand and we’re going to still be here in another 100 years.”

The post Video: Case IH aims to “get ahead of the change” appeared first on Grainews.

Start with the basics.

First, check the oil. You’re looking for any kind of condensation or grey material on the dipstick or underneath the filler lid. That would be an indication of water, moisture or coolant in the engine, which could be very serious. If there is coolant in there, it could damage the main bearings.

Moisture could come from a pin hole in a cylinder sleeve due to cavitation, a failure of the O-ring at the bottom of the sleeve or a head gasket leak.

Once you know what things look like inside the crankcase, look at what the engine has been breathing in. If it’s been sucking dirt, there is likely serious trouble ahead. Ideally, the primary air filter should trap nearly all the contaminants, and everything behind it should be very clean.

Pull the air cleaner cover off and take a look at the secondary engine air filter, just to make sure everything looks fresh, clean, bright and new. Often there will be a date stamp on the inner filter, indicating when it was last changed — a good indicator of the level of maintenance a machine was given.

Move on to the coolant, check the level and make sure there’s no indication of oil. Usually with coolant, oil will float to the top if the engine hasn’t been running. It’ll be evident in the overflow bottle or under the rad cap.

That problem is an indicator of a crack in the oil cooler, which forces higher-pressure oil into the lower-pressure cooling system.

(P.S. — Hopefully no one needs to be reminded of this, but make sure the engine is cold when you remove the radiator cap.)

Start it up

Once the preliminaries are done, it’s time to start the engine up and see how it runs. Observe how long it takes for the r.p.m. to level out. Does it run rough? Is it missing on one or two cylinders? How long does it crank over before firing?

On electronic engines, extended cranking can be an indication of some type of sensor failure, such as a crank position sensor; on older engines, it’s likely due to low compression.

READ MORE: How to diagnose a no-start problem

An infrared non-contact thermometer will help provide a clearer picture of what’s happening inside the cylinders when the engine is running. Use it to check the temperature along the exhaust manifold at each cylinder.

There should be fairly even temperature growth along the manifold. The number one and six cylinders might have a temperature of 180 F. As you get closer to the turbo, the temperature will increase. Cylinder exhaust manifold ports should heat up relatively evenly, within 15 or 20 F of each other. If they don’t, there may be a faulty injector or low compression on one cylinder.

Watching for exhaust smoke can also provide some useful clues — but what smoke indicates often depends on the age of the engine.

Older equipment usually puffs out lots of smoke when there is an internal problem. White smoke could be an indication of coolant loss or improper timing. Older tractors will smoke a light blue when they’re cold. Black smoke will be an indication of over-fuelling or restricted air. Grey or hazy would usually indicate some type of oil burnoff.

On newer Tier 4A and B engines, after 15 or 20 seconds you’ll see a bright white smoke, which is actually steam. That’s just from the injection of diesel exhaust fluid (DEF). It’s common and will clear up as the engine warms up.

Check the crankcase ventilation tube on older engines for indications of blow-by, which would point to cylinder failure or compression loss. But that’s not possible on newer engines, which recycle crankcase ventilation back into the engine.

READ MORE: New or used?

Don’t forget to check the dashboard on newer machines for warning lights and fault icons.

Finally, if you can speak to the owner, find out about the maintenance history of the machine. Keeping up to scheduled work on newer diesels is more important now than it ever was.

Mechanics advise that the biggest imperative on new engines is maintenance. If manufacturers say change the coolant every five years or 2,000 hours, they mean it — whereas on an old engine, it wasn’t as important.

The post How to evaluate a diesel engine appeared first on Grainews.

However, as farms grow in size, trucks are getting a lot more use, and lack of reliability can become a pretty big problem, causing expensive field delays. Does the old idea of looking for a bargain, used, high-mileage highway tractor and trailer or tandem truck still make sense? For some it will, of course. But for larger operations it might make a lot more sense to budget for a brand new truck to get the reliability needed for today’s commercial farming operations, in the same way producers consider the need for new, reliable field equipment.

Nathan Yelland, northern truck sales manager at Redhead Equipment in Saskatoon, says a significant percentage of his ag customers are now doing exactly that and opting for new instead of used trucks.

Advantages to buying new

“Traditionally, guys in the ag sector haven’t spent money on new trucks,” he says. “But it’s really the only piece of equipment that works all year round. More and more guys are buying new trucks because they’re tired of their old truck blowing a radiator line when they’re seeding or at harvest. And when you really compare a new highway tractor to a (farm) tractor, they’re pretty inexpensive.”

Expect to pay somewhere just north of $200,000, or a bit more depending on brand, model and features, for a new, reasonably equipped highway tractor.

If a truck can’t deliver seed and fertilizer to the field during seeding or move grain out of the field at harvest, that shuts down field operations just like any other machine breakdown.

“When you get to 25,000 acres, trucks are a major portion of the business,” Yelland notes. “On the farm, a tractor works two seasons, but a highway tractor works all year round. You’re using it for seeding. You’re using it for spraying. You’re using it for harvest. Then you’re using it to haul your grain in the winter and bringing in fertilizer.”

There are other advantages to buying new as well.

Along with new trucks come new features that make it easier for the driver, such as automated manual transmissions, or auto shifts as they’re often referred to. Yelland says most of his farm customers have seen the advantages in that powertrain and few, if any, ever go back to manual transmission models. Large transport fleet operators have moved almost exclusively to automated manuals for improved fuel economy, and many cite reduced maintenance costs due to eliminating driver-related wear and tear due to improper shifting as another benefit.

“Lots of guys really like the manual transmissions because they’re reliable,” Yelland says. “But with Mack, the mDrive has become more of our standard. Almost 90 per cent of our trucks are built with the mDrive automated manual transmission. (In agriculture) if I sold 100 trucks, 95 of them would be the automated manual, the mDrive.” 

The post New or used? appeared first on Grainews.

The new program, dubbed ‘Claas Used,’ will offer warranty protection on certified late-model units in Canada and the U.S., along with lower-rate financing through Claas Financial Services.

The Claas Used program replaces the ‘First Claas Used’ program set up in 2018, which in turn was billed as the “next generation” plan following the Lexion Field Ready Reconditioned program set up in 2011.

The new program also scraps the First Claas Used system of gold-, silver- and bronze-level classifications on used Claas equipment in favour of a new certified pre-owned (CPO) standard.

The ‘Claas Used’ plan comes as “supply chain disruptions and financial constraints have affected many growers across North America,” the company said Tuesday.

“By combining the superior power and efficiency of Claas machines at a pre-owned price with a one-year protection plan and excellent low-rate financing, growers who take advantage of the Claas certified pre-owned program can have the best of both worlds,” Allen Miller, the company’s remarketing manager for North America, said in Tuesday’s release.

The company will also offer “flexible” protection plans for CPO combines, forage harvesters and tractors under the Claas Used program.

All certified machines to be sold under the program will have been “inspected, repaired and approved based on rigorous criteria by Claas certified technicians,” the company said.

The one-year plan will also provide repairs, done with Claas parts, plus standard one-year drive-train protection with an option to upgrade to a “comprehensive” protection plan.

The level-up plan, dubbed Maxi Care Comprehensive Extended Protection, will be “an optional layer of coverage” for Claas CPO machines meeting the “strictest inspection standards.”

On eligible combines and forage harvesters, the standard one-year plan will provide protection for either a year or 500 hours of use, whichever comes first, with a $500 deductible.

On tractors, the coverage will be for either a year or 1,000 hours of use, whichever comes first, with a $500 deductible — or $250 under the Maxi Care plan.

Eligible CPO combines and forage harvesters must have fewer than 2,500 hours use and be no older than five years of age by machine model year. Eligible tractors must also be no older than five years, with less than 5,000 hours’ use.

Equipment certified under the Claas Used program will be available through the company’s used equipment website. As of Tuesday afternoon, in the CPO category, just three self-propelled forage harvesters are listed for sale on that site, all in the U.S.

For the Canadian market, the company said it will offer a low financing rate on CPO Lexion combines and Jaguar forage harvesters, at zero per cent for the first 24 months up to a maximum financed amount of $450,000. That offer expires Dec. 31 this year.

Claas bills itself as an early adopter of the CPO system for sales of pre-owned equipment, which has given major manufacturers the opportunity to boost their brands’ sales beyond the showroom floor.

John Deere and Agco rolled out CPO programs for their late-model equipment in North America starting in 2014, followed in 2015 by Case IH and New Holland. — Glacier FarmMedia Network

The post Claas retools certified pre-owned equipment program appeared first on Grainews.

And that means the dynamics in the ag equipment market have changed. The rise in new machine costs has dragged late-model used equipment values a little higher too, but there is a lot to choose from at the moment. The high rate of new equipment sales over the previous five years resulted in farmers trading in a lot of low-hour machines, creating a good selection to pick from. And their prices are still much lower than new models. So it may make sense for buyers to take a second look at a used machine before eating the cost of a new one, especially with many dealers now focused on moving their used inventory.

“I think it (lower new machine sales numbers) is the new normal,” says Wood. “If you look at it from our side, we’re trying to sell a little less new, because our used is just that much more attractive.”

He thinks a farmer who wants to update machines that have seen their third or fourth birthday may want to consider replacing them with one-year old models rather than looking at something brand new. There are also certified pre-owned warranty programs from all the major brands to help make that an even more attractive option. “It’s considerably cheaper for him to buy a one-year-old machine than a new one,” Wood says. “What we’re seeing is there continues to be a lot of used equipment. And I think a lot of customers are just saying they can’t justify the additional cost (of new), even the guys that flip every year.”

And most machinery built in the past couple of years shares similar technology with what is currently available in new models, with the possible exception of engine emissions features. The value offered by late-model, used equipment when compared to new may remain a good option for a while.

“You know, right where [the new equipment market] is today, I can’t see it changing unless someone brings on some new technology,” says Wood. “Because, let’s face it, a combine from five years ago will still go out and do what a new combine will today.”

“There has to be a reason to trade,” he continues. “Some of it is taxation. But if you see a manufacturer come out with something that is value added, I think you’ll see a lot of customers see the value. But I really don’t see a lot of new technology coming in the next two or three years that’s going to make that much difference from a harvesting perspective.”

And if you’re in the market for a swather, you may find a real steal in the used market due to reduced demand. “Now you have canola varieties that can be straight cut,” says Wood.

“So you’re going to see the windrower market drop off.”

The post Used farm equipment offers good value appeared first on Grainews.

This time we look at two of New Holland’s late model four-wheel drive tractors, the T9060 and slightly lower horsepower T9040.

We surveyed auction prices for only those tractors sold on the prairie throughout 2014. And to try and put some perspective on where selling prices for these machines are going, we also checked back at how the same models fared at auction sales in 2013.

The Ritchie Bros. information shows they sold four T9060 tractors in 2014 (table 1) and five in 2013 (table 2), so the sample sizes aren’t large, but we can still get a sense from those sale results what demand is like for these machines. Average selling price for this model declined by roughly $6,000 between 2013 and 2014, only a relatively small percentage.

There were also five T9040 tractors sold last year at an average price of $169,200 (table 3). In 2013, Ritchie Bros only reports selling one machine, a 2010 model with 554 engine hours for $242,500.

The post Grainews surveys used equipment auction prices appeared first on Grainews.

“We started back in 2013,” explains Eric Lescourret, AGCO’s North American director of commercial strategic initiatives, during a conversation at the National Farm Machinery Show in Louisville, Kentucky. “We were looking at what tools can we put in place to do a better job and help our dealers manage their used inventory.”

The Certified Pre-owned Program began as an initiative to help AGCO dealers grow their market share and was based on research the company did to find out what’s important to dealers and used-equipment customers.

“We interviewed a lot of our used customers, about 200, and we wanted to have an understanding of what’s important when they go out and buy a used machine,” adds Lescourret. “We found there was a trend. They were looking for peace of mind when buying a piece of used equipment. So there was a need for it (the program), based on what we learned, even though there was nothing like it (at the time) in the marketplace.”

Now, the AGCO program covers combines, balers and windrowers up to three years old, along with sprayers up to four years old and tractors up to five years.

For any machine in those categories that qualifies, AGCO will throw its weight behind a one-year warranty to help give buyers that peace of mind Lescourret mentioned. But don’t expect to have to pay a fee for an extended warranty the way you might at a car dealership. Participating dealers may ask a higher purchase price for a qualifying machine because of the hours spent by the service department inspecting and refreshing it, but the Certified Pre-owned Program comes without a specific cost.

“For the dealer, he doesn’t necessarily make more money, but because there are more options, he can turn his inventory faster,” Lescourret explains. “Typically about two to four per cent of the book value (is spent by the dealer) in reconditioning costs. The customer will see the value in that. Right now we have some dealers using that to really differentiate themselves in the market.”

And AGCO makes dealers qualify before they can participate in the warranty program. Only those who have proven they have an up-to-date service department and can do the kind of inspection and reconditioning work required get the brand’s backing.

“We have a very robust process our dealers have to go through,” Lescourret adds. “On tractors we have a 120-point inspection. Tractors that would qualify for this are up to five years or 3,000 hours. So it’s giving us a lot of options.”

Brand executives believe taking the risk out of used equipment purchases will give participating dealers an edge in the marketplace, and create happy customers.

“From a customer’s perspective, it’s giving them an option they didn’t have before at that price point,” he says. “They (customers) said we’d like to see a check list of what you’ve done to that piece of equipment and know the history of it and have a good warranty on it, something backed by the manufacturer. The salesman now is able to is able to tell a story.”

The post AGCO’s new pre-owned program appeared first on Grainews.

Peterson, who has spent years tracking the value of used farm equipment, said he’s seen a new trend where older equipment, particularly tractors, in excellent condition is now defying the current price pressure weighing on the late-model stuff, which is piling up on dealer lots across the U.S. and Canada. While selling prices for late-model, used equipment at auctions in the U.S. have slumped as much as 25 per cent in some cases, that’s not true for many older machines.

Flicking though images of tractors recently sold at U.S. auctions, Peterson cited numerous examples of older, 1960 through early 2000-built tractors selling for record prices, including a 5020 John Deere topping U.S. $40,000 and an IH 1256 hitting more than U.S. $44,000. And he had examples of more modern models hitting new heights as well, such as a Case IH Magnum and 7000 Series John Deere loader tractors.

There are several reasons behind that, he notes. One of which is the steadily rising cost of new equipment and the increased sophistication required to service and repair computer-controlled systems, which often require brand-specific diagnostic tools.

“I don’t have to hook up a computer to fix it (older tractors),” he explained. “That resonates very deeply (with farmers).”

But don’t expect to get top dollar for a pile of junk, just because it has a mechanical injector pump. Only well looked after machines are feeling the love from buyers. And buyers with cash to spend are falling head-over-heals for the really good ones.

“The echo on this is getting stronger,” Peterson added. “It feels like it’s going to keep creeping up. But it (the tractor) has got to be nice.” And the finest examples are fetching high prices all across the lower 48 states. “If you have something nice, geography is out the window,” he added.

Adding more fuel to the fire when it comes to demand for tractors built in the 1960s and 1970s is that they are becoming “the new collector classics”.

“Late model (JD) 4020s are hot,” he noted.

And if you’re ready to sell a used machine, regardless of its age, Peterson says you should try and “personalize it”. He cited an example of a farm retirement sale that billed an FL Series Freightliner truck as belonging to and only driven by the farm wife, who was pictured in the sale bill standing beside the cab. It sold for much more than expected.

Adding that personal attachment to a machine by showing the owner with it has shown to boost its resale value. “Our auction prices show it will go higher,” he said.

Having video showing the machine at work in pleasant surroundings sends a signal it has been cared for and appreciated. That elevates it from “a” machine to “someone’s” machine. Showing that footage to a prospective buyer can make a difference in how much he or she is willing to pay for it.

“What everyone should do (when working in the field) is have someone shoot some video,” Peterson explained. “You’re personalizing it. I’ve seen it have big results.”

The post Older machines holding or gaining value appeared first on Grainews.