SEE WHAT'S NEW IN USED

Machinery Pete travels the country attending equipment auctions

Now I have a pickup with our “Machinery Pete” logo on it.

Back then, I didn’t. Then? Back just before Christmas. The new pickup was on order. I made a roadtrip to shoot video at machinery auctions in Kansas, Missouri and Illinois. The last leg of my journey found me in Walnut, IL on December 19, 2009 for a very nice farm retirement auction by auctioneers Darrell Dahl and Bob Johnson. Lot of great Deere equipment on this sale, including a sweet 1977 JD 4430 tractor with 6,250 1-owner hours. Also a 2009 JD 1770 NT 12R-30 planter; a 2008 JD 8130 MFWD tractor with 575 hours; a 2001 JD 9550 combine with 1,750 engine hours and a 2003 JD 693 corn head (sold very high!). Here’s the video from this auction:

We love how passionate our John Deere fans are out there, and we’ve tried our best to highlight some of the wonderful ideas that fans have come up with. Still, we think you’ll agree that this collection of John Deere mailboxes really takes the cake!

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Well, here they are, we’ve picked our 10 favorite image entries from the John Deere Machine Finder Ultimate Fan Contest and now we’re going to turn the final voting phase over to our readers!

The numbers speak for themselves.

They always have. 21 years now I’ve been compiling auction sale prices on all types of used farm and construction equipment sold on auctions throughout the U.S. and Canada. Normally the numbers I write about are those sale prices. But all the sale price numbers I’ve compiled also tell another tale.

We hope you all had a fabulous 4th of July! Before we move off the Independence Day spirit, we wanted to share a great video we found about this year’s 4th of July festivities right here in Lenexa, Kansas – home of one of John Deere Ag & Turf division’s sales and marketing offices (and MachineFinder):

1991 JD 4455 tractor with 1,423 hours sells for record auction price

What’s the hottest used tractor going?

Come on, give me a tough question. This one is too easy. Hands down, the hottest used tractor on the market the past five years has been the JD 4455. Auction sale prices on 4455’s have been zooming higher since 2004 and show no signs of slowing down.

When you think of a Deere, you probably also think of farmers and those that help make our country great.  As a tribute to the hard working men and women who wave the red white and blue, here is  a tribute of John Deere green – our collection of favorite used tractor events throughout the nation in pictures:

Culpeper, Virginia

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New JD 4230 tractor unveiled at Colgan Co. John Deere in Wyoming, IL on Saturday, August 19, 1972

August 1972: new JD 4230 tractor about to be unveiled at Colgan Co., a Deere dealership in Wyoming, IL

What were you doing back in mid August 1972?

I was only six years old and doubt I was paying much attention to the Nixon vs. McGovern presidential race that summer. More probably I was out in the driveway dribbing a ball pretending I was Walt Frazier or Earl Monroe. That’s just a guess on my part. My memory isn’t quite that good. But I can tell you without a doubt, what was going on in front showrooms of John Deere dealerships around the country.

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John Deere recently announced its 2011 line of Gator crossover utility vehicles and leading the pack will be the 825i, the ‘fastest and most powerful Gator ever…’ according to David Gigandet, a marketing manager at Deere. The 825i can top out at speeds of 44 mph with a carrying capacity of 1400 pounds, which is practically unheard of in the XUV class.

Deere is really aiming for the outdoor enthusiast with this launch of the some of the most exciting Gator XUV’s they’ve ever produced. With a 50 hp engine, and advanced independent suspension, this class of XUV will be able to deliver top performance no matter what the conditions.

I got an interesting email last week. From Dustin, a farmer in West Virginia, who collects late model JD 714A and 716A forage wagons:

I COLLECT THE LATE MODEL 714A AND 716A WAGONS. I WORKED AT A JOHN DEERE DEALER FOR 4 YEARS AND KNOW THE LAST ONES WERE BUILT IN LATE 1989 OR EARLY 1990 AND THE POLY FLOORS STARTED AT SN #: 017701. I’M WONDERING  WHAT THE LAST SERIAL # PRODUCED IS. I HAVE (3) OF THE LAST 716A’S WITH SERIAL #’S W00716A018510, W00716A018514, AND W00716A018528. (2) ARE IN MINT CONDITION, STILL HAVE THE DEALER DELIVERY STICKERS ON THEM ALONG WITH THE PLASTIC TAG ON THE BEATERS. DO YOU HAVE ANY INFO ON THE LAST SERIAL #’s?