Tractors

Trump Signals More DEF Rollbacks, Pushes Manufacturers to Lower Equipment Costs

Fri, 27 Mar 2026 20:12:45 GMT

In front of a gathering of farmers, ranchers and growers at the White House, President Trump and EPA announced new guidance that will remove the DEF sensor requirements, which the Small Business Administration (SBA) estimates will save farmers $4.4 billion a year and translate into $13.79 billion for Americans. Administrator Lee Zeldin says the move impacts farmers, truckers, motor coach operators and other diesel equipment operators.

“I have heard from truck drivers, farmers and many others complaining about DEF and pleading for a fix in all 50 states I visited during my first year as EPA administrator,” Zeldin says. “Americans are justified in being fed up with failing DEF system issues. EPA understands this is a massive issue and has been doing everything in our statutory power to address this. Today, we take another step in furthering our work by removing DEF sensors. Farmers and truckers should not be losing billions of dollars because of repair costs or days lost on the job.”

Every farmer now has the Right to Repair their own equipment thanks to President Trump. It’s crazy that our talented farmers were being prevented from doing this previously. This announcement is about common sense. Farmers will be able to spend more time in the field and less… pic.twitter.com/4hROUN45EU
— Lee Zeldin (@epaleezeldin) March 27, 2026

New Guidelines Focus on DEF Sensors

EPA says that sudden speed losses and shutdowns caused by DEF system failures compromise safety and productivity. It calls the issue unacceptable and problematic. In a release, EPA says it plans to continue to pursue all legal avenues to address Americans’ complaints. On Feb. 3, 2026, EPA demanded critical data on DEF system failures from the manufacturers that account for over 80% of all products used in DEF systems. This information will arm EPA with what it needs to permanently address DEF system failures. Thus far, the agency has received data from 11 of the 14 manufacturers, and in less than a month, EPA has turned around preliminary findings to issue today’s guidance, demonstrating Administrator Zeldin’s commitment to fixing this issue.

“Today, by eliminating DEF mandates, the Trump Administration is taking yet another step to free up hardworking Americans to focus on the vital work of feeding, clothing, building, and fueling our nation,” says SBA Administrator Kelly Loeffler. “I applaud Administrator Zeldin for his leadership on this issue, and I look forward to our continued collaboration to cut red tape for small businesses across the U.S. food supply chain.”

Several ag equipment manufacturers were highlighted during the event at the White House, including John Deere. The company weighed in EPA’s latest announcement about DEF.

“John Deere applauds the EPA’s leadership to provide as much flexibility through agency guidance as possible to limit the frequency of false DEF-quality inducements,” says Kyle Gilley, vice president for global government affairs at John Deere. “Today’s announcement builds upon EPA guidance from February 2026, requested by John Deere, to provide farmers additional tools to complete emissions-related repairs. These announcements are a win for farmers and their ability to keep modern equipment operating in the field.”

EPA says the preliminary review of the warranty data suggests that DEF sensor failures are a significant source of warranty claims and DEF-related inducements. The agency’s new guidance makes clear that under existing regulations, manufacturers can stop inaccurate DEF system failures by removing traditional emission sensors, known as Urea Quality Sensors, and switching to nitrous oxide (NOx) sensors.

EPA also affirms that approved NOx sensor-based software updates can be installed on existing engines without being treated as illegal tampering under the Clean Air Act. This is in line with EPA’s February 2026 Right to Repair clarification guidance , which removed a major barrier keeping farmers from fixing their faulty DEF systems in the field. EPA anticipates the switch will greatly curb errors that traditional sensor technologies have been prone to and reduce the issues Americans face with inaccurate DEF failures.

For more information, see EPA’s Diesel Exhaust Fluid .

Trump Calls on Manufacturers to Lower Equipment Prices If DEF Rolled Back

During Friday’s event, Trump also spoke about the rising complexity and cost of modern farm equipment.

“When you buy a tractor today, you spend 50 percent of your time fixing the environmental — I say environmental impact statement garbage that’s on the tractor,” he says.

He adds that equipment often includes computerized systems that can shut down tractors unnecessarily, increasing repair costs.

“I said to the head of John Deere, ‘Is this a good thing or a bad thing?’ He said, sir, you have no idea how bad it is. It’s made our tractors so complicated. … We want to go back to the old ways, sir. And I said, I agree with you 100 percent.”

During remarks at the event at the White House today, President Trump said EPA is working to further roll back DEF-related requirements and pushed manufacturers to cut equipment costs:

“You’re going to lower the cost of a tractor… they’re going to be able to very shortly…
— Tyne Morgan (@Tyne_Ag) March 27, 2026

The president says the administration is looking into further rolling back DEF requirements, but as he does, he is also urging manufacturers to reduce equipment prices for farmers if the added environmental regulation costs are no longer there.

“Lee (Zeldin), I think we can say, I know you’re in the process of cutting out massive amounts of nonsense that are mandated to be put on your tractors, that all of your trucks that cost your fortune…and I know that they’re going to do this. And I asked one thing, you got to promise me one thing. You’re not going to take any profits. You’re going lower the cost of a tractor. I want you to lower the costs. And if they don’t lower the course, you’ll let me know. And I’ll have to do a big number of those companies. Okay? They’re going to be able to, very shortly, produce a bigger, better tractor and substantially less money. It’s going to be better. It’s gonna be a better tractor at substantially less,” Trump says.

He adds that future tractors will be simpler, more reliable and less expensive.

“I want John Deere and Case and all of the great companies … to give it to you in the form of lower tractor and equipment costs. And I think it’s going to have a huge impact,” he says.

President Trump then directed EPA Administrator Zeldin to explore ways to require, or mandate, manufacturers to lower the cost of farm equipment.

EPA’s guidance issued on Friday is part of a broader effort to address complaints from farmers, truckers and other diesel equipment operators about DEF system failures that cause equipment shutdowns, but Trump says more action on DEF is currently underway.

Exclusive: In the Eye of the Cycle, John Deere Charts a Path Through Ag’s Slump

Fri, 13 Feb 2026 21:25:37 GMT

After months of workforce reductions and sliding equipment sales, John Deere is reversing course, announcing it will bring 140 employees back to its Waterloo, Iowa, operations as demand ticks higher for its 8R and 9R tractors.

The recall comes even as Deere forecasts the North American ag equipment market will decline another 15% to 20% in 2026, underscoring the push-and-pull shaping today’s farm economy. Large equipment sales remain under pressure from lower commodity prices and tighter margins, yet pockets of global demand are forcing Deere to recalibrate production in real time.

In an exclusive interview with Farm Journal this week, Deere & Company President Deanna Kovar laid out how the company is navigating that tension: tightening its long-standing build-for-retail manufacturing model, adjusting output month to month and working to protect farmers’ equipment equity during a downturn.

At the same time, Deere is attacking costs where it can, reducing prices on 187,000 parts over the past two years and preparing to roll out a new lower-priced tier of replacement parts later this summer. The company is also testing a tractor powered by E-98 ethanol, technology that could eventually eliminate the need for Diesel Exhaust Fluid (DEF) altogether while driving even more demand for the crops farmers already grow.

For Kovar, who grew up on a Wisconsin dairy farm before spending 26 years rising through Deere’s ranks, the stakes are personal. Now, just months into her role leading Deere’s Worldwide Agriculture & Turf Division, she is steering the company through one of the sharpest equipment pullbacks in recent memory, while positioning it for what comes next.

A Cyclical Business in a Prolonged Downturn

The ag equipment cycle has clearly turned. Industry data show steep drops in large equipment sales, and Deere’s internal outlook aligns with the broader trend.

“Deere is 188 years old, so we know we’re part of a cyclical business of ag equipment, but definitely we’re seeing similar numbers. Our expectations that we shared in our last quarterly earnings was that the North American equipment market would be down 15% to 20% again in 2026. We recognize the ag economy is in a tough spot at the moment, and we’re working hard to make sure we can help farmers become more productive and more profitable through using our equipment and technology solutions, but it’s tough out there.”

She says the Association of Equipment Manufacturers figures for 2025, which show sales of 4WD tractors fell nearly 42% and combine sales are down 36%, align with what Deere is seeing.

The significant slump in sales doesn’t come as a surprise to row crop farmers who’ve seen several consecutive years of declining net farm income following a record high in 2022. USDA’s first official forecast for 2026 suggests continued pressure and another year of declining net farm income, with not much relief on input prices and stagnant commodity prices. Kovar says Deere understands the financial strains producers are seeing.

“Overall, the outlook for 2026 is that farmers are going to continue to be under pressure from a commodity price standpoint,” she says. “We’re certainly seeing input costs somewhat flatten for producers, and, of course, many producers are grateful for the government payments that will help them start 2026 maybe in a better place than they would have without it. Certainly great yields last fall were a good positive thing for producers, but it’s still putting a lot of pressure on commodity prices today.”

For Deere, that pressure translates directly into lower equipment demand and tough decisions inside its factories.

Manufacturing Adjustments: Building for Retail in Real Time

Over the past year, Deere announced workforce reductions across multiple Midwestern facilities. Since 2024, it’s reported John Deere laid off over 2,000 employees in the U.S., with those jobs primarily located in Iowa and Illinois. Recently, it reversed course in a couple locations, announcing it would bring some of those employees back.

Back in January, Deere also announced it was returning 99 workers to the job in Iowa, impacting both its Davenport Works and Dubuque facilities. But Deere said this week it’s also bringing back jobs at its Waterloo facility.

“We’re constantly evaluating what we think the market will be. And it’s not an annual thing. It’s a month to month, a quarter-to-quarter opportunity. And yes, we just announced 140 workers to come back to our Waterloo operations. This is the operations where we make the drive trains for 8R tractors, where we pour the castings for the new high horsepower 9R tractors, where engines are made, and where we put tractors final assembly together. So we’re always happy when we can bring workers back into our factory. And it’s because we’re starting to see a little tick up in demand for those tractors,” she says.

Kovar says it’s not necessarily just a North American phenomenon. The uptick in demand is coming globally.

“We are seeing some signs that there could be some opportunities, but much of this is going to be iterative over time. It won’t be from a very low point to a very high point. We expect over time that we can start to see things normal,” she adds.

Kovar emphasizes Deere’s long-standing “build-for-retail” philosophy, avoiding overproduction that would flood dealer lots and depress used values.

“We’ve been in business for 188 years, so we’re always making sure that we’re being as efficient and effective as we can at building the quality products that farmers come to rely on. So we’re all always adjusting how we manufacture, how we make sure we have the quality checks and the automation to make sure we’re making every tractor as good as we can,” says Kovar.

She says the company is also working to forecast demand expectations and where that additional demand could surface. But she says for the past 25 years, the company has been focused on a build-to-order mentality, especially in the larger ag equipment space.

“We are a build for retail mentality,” says Kovar. “We don’t want to build it unless somebody wants it. So this has been something we’ve been working on for 20 years, and we will continue to be focused on really understanding the demand in the market and making sure we’re setting up schedules and plans to build for that amount.”

Equipment Prices: It’s About the Trade Differential

Few issues generate more coffee-shop debate than equipment prices. Farmers have seen machinery values dramatically climb over the past five years. Kovar points out that looking at sticker price alone misses the bigger financial picture.

“We’re always looking at making sure we’re delivering value for farmers when they buy our equipment, when they buy our technology,” Kovar says. “When we think about the price of equipment it’s really important we understand that farmers, when they buy a new piece of equipment, it’s really about the trade differential from the product they’re trading in to the one they’re buying, and if we were to lower the price of equipment, it would lower the trade-in value of their used equipment as well. We’re always very mindful of the equity farmers have in their equipment fleet and the fact it’s a huge part of their balance sheet.”

Not only does Deere need to be careful that changes don’t impact the trade differential, but she says the company is also focused on making sure there’s a balance between products being affordable and creating the value farmers expect.

That balance, of affordability versus protecting used values, according to Kovar, shapes Deere’s pricing philosophy in a down cycle.

Lowering the Cost of Technology and Parts

While base machine pricing remains complex, Deere is targeting affordability in other ways. The first, she says, is on the technology side, and lowering the upfront cost.

“We’re lowering the barrier to entry to amazing technologies like ExactShot fertilizer systems, See & Spray sprayer systems and a combine automation system so that more farmers can afford to get into the technology. These technologies are saving inputs, ensuring we’re getting all of the grain out of the field and increasing yields. That strategy to lower the upfront cost of those technologies, and help the customer pay for it as they get the value from it, is a huge step forward in allowing affordability of the technology.”

On repairs and parts, she points to self-service tools and direct price reductions. She says the company is constantly looking at the cost of parts for their equipment.

“Over the last two years, we’ve reduced the price on over 187,000 part numbers in the John Deere system. Later this summer, we’re going to be announcing a new tier of parts from John Deare that will allow us to give customers choice when they buy parts from us as to whether they want the traditional OEM, that likely has a longer life, or if they want to look at a lower cost option,” Kovar says.

Deciding between the two parts tiers depends on:

How much a farmer uses the machine
Equipment age
How long a farmer intends to keep that piece of equipment

Retrofit Kits: Precision Without the New Iron Price Tag

As new equipment sales slow and more farmers turn to the used market, Deere sees retrofit technology as a critical bridge, allowing producers to upgrade performance without taking on the cost of a brand-new machine.

Kovar says retrofit kits are designed to separate technology adoption from iron replacement.

“I think the beauty of retrofit kits is you don’t have to buy a brand new piece of equipment to get brand new technologies. Just last year we launched what we call our precision ag essentials kit, which is the foundation of our technology stack. It’s where farmers start to go from no precision to a more precision mentality, and this ability allows them to put a John Deere GPS receiver, a display and a modem on any piece of equipment, Deere or non Deere,” Kovar says.

The strategy fits squarely into Deere’s broader push to lower the barrier to entry for precision ag. By allowing a GPS receiver, display and modem to be installed on any brand of older equipment, the company is effectively expanding the addressable market for advanced automation and data tools.

“We’re seeing people put these kits on 20-year-old tractors and then being able to do things like AutoTrac, AutoPath and turn automation, section control, the things that can save 10% of inputs and make sure your stand is better in the spring and your weeds are deader during the season,” Kovar says. “This is a huge opportunity for every farmer to get more into precision. Once you get into that base of the technology stack, the sky’s the limit to be able to go to other products like ExactEmerge or See and Spray — these technologies that really drive savings to the bottom line for farmers.”

In a downturn defined by lower commodity prices and cautious equipment purchases, Deere is betting the future of precision ag won’t be limited to the newest machines on the lot, but will increasingly ride on tractors that have already been in the field for decades.

Right to Repair, EPA and DEF: Seeking Clarity

Right-to-repair and diesel exhaust fluid (DEF) rules have been flash points between manufacturers and producers with two major announcements from EPA.

In early February 2026, EPA made a right-to-repair guidance announcement guidance and actions supporting the right to repair for farmers and equipment owners, specifically addressing issues with Diesel Exhaust Fluid (DEF) systems and emission controls. The guidance clarifies the Clean Air Act allows for temporary overrides of emission systems during repairs, prohibits manufacturers from restricting access to tools or software, and enables repairs in the field.

The following day, EPA announced the agency is demanding detailed failure data from major diesel engine manufacturers as it considers additional rules aimed at reducing DEF-related shutdowns and derates that have plagued farmers, truckers and equipment operators for years.

“I think if you step back and think about what EPA’s done over about the last nine months, there’s been two important messages. One was last summer when they gave voluntary guidance that said we should extend the time from when a customer might have an issue with their DEF systems and not cause them to go into an inducement or a derate within two hours, which was the original rule. We’re very glad EPA has come out and said we can extend that time to give farmers more time to maybe finish the field, finish the day before they have to execute a derate or go through a regen on their DEF,” Kovar says.

She calls it a huge opportunity for Deere and one to which the company is already responding.

“We’re in the process of making sure we can extent that time on all the equipment we’re producing. We’ll do that over the coming months and years to help make sure we’re extending that time and not putting people in jeopardy of having a shutdown opportunity,” Kovar says.

On off-road right-to-repair clarity, Kovar says EPA’s right-to-repair guidance announced in February directly responds to a formal request the company made to the agency in June 2025 .

“[EPS] had already shared that on-road equipment didn’t have to go to the original equipment manufacturer or an authorized repair shop to turn your tractor or your truck back on after you had a deratement issue. We said, ‘Hey, we have tools that a farmer can do this on their own, but the way we read your rules, we believe we need you to tell us it’s OK.’ We’re grateful that last week EPA came out and said, yes, it is OK for off-road equipment for farmers to fix their own issues. We’re in the process of making sure John Deere Operations Center ProService, which is our self-repair tool any farmer can access, by early March, mid-March, we want to have the ability for a farmer to, if they run into a deratement issue on their tractor or combine or whatever, use Operation Center Pro Service to get their tractors back up.”

If DEF Goes Away, It’s Not a Quick Switch

With political discussions swirling around eliminating certain environmental regulations, and President Trump specifically stating he wants to see those regulations removed on equipment , some farmers wonder whether equipment could quickly be built without DEF systems.

When Trump was in a roundtable with farmers in December, he claimed removing those requirements on equipment would prevent breakdowns and make equipment cheaper. During the one-on-one interview with Kovar, Farm Journal asked if removing DEF on equipment would bring down prices.

“We have to really understand what they mean and how they want to go about it before we can really answer, does it make equipment cheaper? I think we’ve spent 15 years perfecting the system we have today, so we’ll have to continue to understand how far back do we think we’re going to go, how long would it take us, because we don’t have all of the technologies that don’t have DEF today,” Kovar explains. “If it were called tomorrow, we couldn’t start building tractors without it the next day.”

Removing DEF is not as simple as flipping a switch on the assembly line. Instead, she says Deere is focused on making sure farmers have the ability to repair their own equipment if it would go into derate. She thinks that’s a huge step forward in solving some of the issues that farmers have had with DEF.

Deere Tests an E-98 Ethanol Tractor

Even as debate continues in Washington over DEF requirements, Deere is exploring a future that could bypass the issue entirely.

While the company says it remains engaged with EPA on next steps surrounding DEF and emissions policy, Deere is also investing in an alternative fuel platform, an ethanol-powered tractor designed to run on E-98. The tractor will debut at Commodity Classic in two weeks.

“We’re not just thinking also about diesel, right, we also considering how might we fix this problem another way. And that’s an ethanol tractor we’ve been using across Iowa and other places. It’s early for us, but the idea that we could use E-98 to run a tractor, it’s so clean you don’t need diesel exhaust fluid to run it. We’re early in trying to pioneer what is an alternative to diesel that would allow a farmer to grow the fuel they put in their tractor to grow next year’s crop. It’s something we think we need to continue to talk about. There is a ton of infrastructure that would need to follow to allow an E-98-type fuel to flow and be on farm, but we think it’s an opportunity in the long run to help agriculture grow the fuel they use to grow the food we all eat.”

Deere confirms the early results are promising.

According to Deere, the limiting factor isn’t the engine technology itself, it’s the infrastructure needed to support it.

“Do we have the fuels available? Do we have the on-farm ability? Are the fuel companies ready to deliver it to the farm? At this point, there is a much bigger system challenge that will have to work,” Kovar says.

Advocating for Demand: Ethanol, Exports and E-15

Turning the ag economy around, in Kovar’s view, is about demand, both domestic and global. Not only is Deere working on equipment that could run with higher blends of ethanol, but Deere is also advocating for more demand.

“Certainly, we’re focused on helping farmers grow more with less. At the same time, we’re focused on helping to make sure there are markets for the crops our producers sell. We certainly spend a lot of time advocating for agriculture and for producers to have access to markets. We’re grateful for all of the trade deals that have happened here recently. We’re hopeful they start to materialize, and we see more and more grains flowing outside of the U.S. in exports. We also know we’ve got a huge opportunity here in the U.S. to drive ethanol and renewable fuels,” Kovar says. “We’re focused on making sure we’re using our voice at Deere to advocate for agriculture to not only feed the world, but fuel it. It starts with E-15, which we are hopeful we can get across the finish line at some point very soon. But it can’t end there. We have to continue to advocate for renewable diesels and an ethanol future, so we have to make sure farmers can sell their grains at a price that’s profitable, and it’s all about creating demand.”

The Next Five Years: From Data Collection to Real-Time Decisions

For Deere, which sees itself as a technology company, Kovar says she also sees Deere as a smart industrial company. With a focus on technology, she thinks the future isn’t about a single breakthrough machine, but rather about what happens behind the scenes in the data.

When asked what the biggest shift will be over the next five years, Kovar points to the evolution of information rooted in data.

“I think if you look back over those 25 years of technology, data has been such an important part of it. It started with yield maps, yield monitoring and binders on a shelf and has evolved over time to a cloud-based system. Everything’s connected. With Deere, it’s about John Deere Operation Center and how farmers can leverage that data, share it with partners, with their seed dealer, with their ag retailer, with the banker and with their landlords and have this really cohesive opportunity to bring all of the data they have in agriculture into one place,” Kovar says.

Personally, she sees the next step involving Deere helping farmers move beyond timely insights to timely decision-making.

“How do we help [farmers] get insights, timely information, that helps them make the best decision they can make in that moment on their unique piece of land in the middle of wherever they are farming and really give them confidence the data can help them drive to even better decisions,” she adds. “If we’re going to help them be more productive and be more profitable, it really starts with all the decisions they make. I think this next three to five years is a huge opportunity for us to make sure we are connecting all of their data in one place and helping them make really important decisions in real time that help them become more.”

Instead of one sweeping, industry-altering change, Kovar sees steady gains driven by machine learning, automation and in-the-moment decision-making, sometimes by the operator and sometimes by the equipment itself.

“I think that’s a huge part of the next three to five years, and those decisions happen because they’ve consciously made them or the machines are making them. If you think about See and Spray, it is deciding whether that’s a weed or a plant and only spraying the weed to save 50% to 60% of the herbicides,” Kovar says. “Those kind of in-the-moment decisions are a huge opportunity over the next 3 to 5 years as computer vision and machine learning compute and all of these things continue to accelerate at a pace that is very hard to keep up with.”

For Deere, the future isn’t just bigger iron or even more automation, it’s about connecting every data point on the farm and turning it into actionable insight, fast enough to matter in the field.

Watch the full interview here:

More DEF Relief? EPA Takes New Action for Farmers and Truckers

Tue, 03 Feb 2026 16:14:39 GMT

On the heels of clarifying farmers’ right to repair their own equipment, EPA is escalating pressure on diesel engine manufacturers over ongoing Diesel Exhaust Fluid (DEF) system failures the administration claims continue to sideline farm machinery and trucks.

On Tuesday, EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin announced the agency is demanding detailed failure data from major diesel engine manufacturers as it considers additional rules aimed at reducing DEF-related shutdowns and derates that have plagued farmers, truckers and equipment operators for years.

The move builds directly on Monday’s EPA right-to-repair guidance announcement that clarified the Clean Air Act does not prohibit farmers from fixing their own non-road diesel equipment, which includes making temporary emissions overrides when necessary to complete repairs.

“As I traveled to all 50 states during my first year as EPA administrator, I heard from truck drivers, farmers and many others rightly complaining about DEF and pleading for a fix,” Zeldin said in a statement on Tuesday. “EPA understands this is a massive issue, which is why we have already established commonsense guidance for manufacturers to update DEF systems.

“Today, we are furthering that work and demanding detailed data to hold manufacturers accountable for the continued system failures,” he added.

While neither announcement fully rolls back DEF requirements on tractors, a step many farmers and truckers continue to push for, both signal movement in that direction.

With today’s news in the mix, here’s what farmers and truckers need to know:

1. Increased Operational Up-Time.

The most immediate benefit is the reduction of “forced downtime.” Under the clarified guidance announced on Feb. 2, farmers can now perform temporary emissions overrides to complete essential work, such as planting or harvesting, even if a DEF failure occurs. The extension of warning periods — specifically the 36-hour window for non-road equipment before a derate kicks in — provides a buffer to finish a job before seeking repairs.

2. Legal Empowerment for Repairs.

EPA has explicitly stated the Clean Air Act cannot be used by manufacturers as a shield to prevent farmers from fixing your own equipment. This clarification removes a major legal hurdle in the right-to-repair movement, potentially lowering repair costs by allowing farmers and independent mechanics to access the tools and software needed to address DEF-related faults.

3. Manufacturer Accountability.

Under Section 208(a) of the Clean Air Act, EPA is demanding warranty and failure data for Model Year 2016, 2019 and 2023 engines from 14 major on-road and non-road diesel manufacturers (covering 80% of the market). That shifts the burden of DEF reliability from the end-user to the manufacturer. EPA says the information will help determine whether persistent DEF problems are tied to specific product generations, system designs or materials, and will inform further regulatory steps in 2026. Manufacturers have 30 days to comply or face potential enforcement actions.

4. Impact on Machinery Values.

Auction data suggests farmers are already voting with their checkbooks. According to Machinery Pete , demand and values remain strongest for pre-DEF used equipment, while interest in DEF-equipped machinery has softened.

If these EPA actions lead to more reliable DEF systems or easier repairs, the high demand (and inflated prices) for older, less efficient equipment might eventually stabilize as newer models become less of a liability in the field.

5. More Changes are Coming.

When asked why EPA has not eliminated DEF requirements entirely,Zeldin said the agency said it is actively building on last summer’s guidance and actively moving toward “common-sense” adjustments that prioritize productivity alongside emissions standards.

EPA’s demand for warranty and failure data follows DEF guidance issued in August 2025 that significantly softened inducement rules. That guidance delayed severe derates, reduced sudden shutdowns and required manufacturers to update software so operators could continue safely working while addressing faults.

For heavy-duty trucks, warning periods were extended to up to 650 miles or 10 hours before derates begin, with weeks of normal operation allowed before speed is limited. Non-road equipment now sees no impact for the first 36 hours after a DEF fault.

EPA has also said that starting with Model Year 2027, new diesel trucks must be engineered to avoid sudden and severe power loss after running out of DEF.

EPA Backs Farmers, Affirms Right to Repair Equipment

Mon, 02 Feb 2026 17:42:10 GMT

EPA issued new right-to-repair guidance on Monday, clarifying how the Clean Air Act applies to non-road diesel equipment. It’s a move EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin says is intended to end years of confusion and misuse of the law that has limited farmers’ ability to fix their own machinery.

“Unfortunately, equipment manufacturers have misused the Clean Air Act by falsely claiming that environmental laws prevented them from making essential repair tools or software available to all Americans,” he says. “Because of this misinterpretation of the law, manufacturers have limited the ability of farmers and independent repair shops to repair equipment.”

How Much Will Right to Repair Save the Average Farm?

According to Kelly Loeffler, Small Business Administration (SBA) administrator, the savings could be $48 billion across agriculture. For an individual farm, that could mean:

$33,000 in savings per repair
$3,000 to $4,000 in potential yield losses avoided due to reduced downtime
10% reduction in annual operating costs
Up to 80% reduction in repair costs annually

Loeffler says savings come from avoiding dealer-only repairs, reducing downtime during critical fieldwork windows, and eliminating transportation and labor delays tied to authorized service requirements.

The news came as a joint announcement on Feb. 2 with Loeffler as well as USDA Secretary Brooke Rollins.

“Today we are issuing guidance out of the Trump EPA to make abundantly clear that if you own your farm and other non-road diesel equipment, you have the right to fix it,” Zeldin says. “This might seem like a no-brainer, but ask any American farmer and they will tell you about the headaches and costly hassles that they have been forced to endure at the hands of equipment manufacturers.”

Zeldin says manufacturers have relied on what he calls a false interpretation of the Clean Air Act to restrict access to repair tools, software and diagnostic systems. He says today’s announcement will make that new guidance clear.

What EPA’s Announcement Didn’t Include? A Complete Rollback of DEF

Following today’s right-to-repair announcement, Farm Journal asked EPA why the administration isn’t also removing Diesel Exhaust Fluid, or DEF, requirements for farm equipment. Farmers have long cited DEF as a major contributor to rising equipment costs, particularly compared with competitors in Brazil, for example. In summer 2025, EPA issued guidance relaxing DEF “inducement” requirements, and today’s announcement focuses on allowing farmers to temporarily override DEF when making repairs.

In response, EPA says the agency is actively building on last summer’s DEF guidance.

“As Administrator Zeldin mentioned on today’s press call, EPA is actively working to build upon the DEF guidance the agency issued this summer,” the press office wrote. “EPA understands DEF is a major issue facing farmers, truck drivers and equipment operators. The agency will be making an announcement on DEF in the near future.”

This indicates that while today’s right-to-repair guidance stops short of changing DEF rules, additional updates could be coming soon.

Downtime, Dealer Dependence and Lost Productivity

Zeldin says farmers are often forced to rely exclusively on authorized dealerships for repairs, even during critical times like during planting and harvest when downtime costs farmers time and money.

“Instead of a farmer being able to fix their own equipment in the field or bring it down the road to their local repair shop, farmers have been forced to rely solely on authorized dealers for essential repairs, which are not always close by,” he says. “For farmers, timing is everything. When equipment breaks down during planting or harvesting, delays can result in thousands of dollars in lost productivity.”

He adds that the financial burden goes beyond inconvenience.

“Being forced to haul machinery to a certified dealership, pay higher prices for repairs and wait in line; it’s not just inconvenient,” Zeldin says. “It can prove to be very economically damaging.”

The Future of DEF: Is an Emissions Rollback Coming?

This latest right-to-repair announcement builds on action taken by the Trump administration in August 2025, when EPA issued guidance addressing diesel exhaust fluid, or DEF, system failures in farm equipment. The 2025 guidance aimed to address widespread frustration among farmers with Tier 4 emissions technology, while maintaining long-term environmental protections.

Prior to that announcement, in early June, John Deere sent a letter to EPA, asking the agency to clarify that temporary emissions overrides are allowed. In response, EPA issued guidance on Aug. 12 and later urged DEF system software updates to prevent sudden shutdowns, helping farmers and equipment operators make repairs without losing productivity or safety.

The new right-to-repair guidance announced today by EPA, USDA and SBA aims to extend this administration’s approach by clarifying farmers’ ability to make essential repairs themselves, which they claim will further improve reliability, efficiency and cost savings on the farm.

If you go back to the Trump administration’s original announcement last summer, EPA said it would allow manufacturers to update DEF system software to prevent abrupt power loss in tractors, trucks and other diesel machinery. The goal was to reduce “red tape” and prevent equipment shutdowns during critical planting and harvest periods, while still maintaining emissions controls.

Key aspects of the 2025 DEF guidance included:

Reduced Derating: Instead of immediate, severe speed and power reductions when DEF levels are low or sensors fail, engines could now slow down more gradually, reducing disruption in the field.
“Soft” Power Loss for New Models: For 2027 and later models, engines were required not to shut down or lose power abruptly if DEF ran out.
Software Fixes for Existing Equipment: Manufacturers could issue software updates to ensure older machinery properly handled low-DEF scenarios.
No Deleting Permitted: Emissions equipment could not be removed, and the guidance did not legalize deleting any system.

EPA says the announcement meant tractors and machinery were less likely to experience sudden, catastrophic power loss, which would reduce downtime.

USDA: Right to Repair Is Important for Everyday Farm Operations

USDA Secretary Brooke Rollins says the administration has been working on the guidance for months because of its importance to everyday farm operations.

“We have been working on today’s guidance now for a while because we know how much it means for the everyday farmer,” Rollins says. “The right to repair isn’t just a slogan. It’s a common-sense extension of the God-given right to private property.”

Rollins ties equipment downtime directly to food production and national security.

“Every single day our farmers feed us, they fuel us, they clothe us,” she says. “But when that equipment breaks down and remains out of operation, it means crops aren’t planted or harvested, mouths aren’t fed, and America’s economic growth and national security are put at risk.”

She says farmers overwhelmingly agree they should be able to repair their own equipment, an issue USDA has been hearing since President Trump took office more than a year ago.

“Farmers shouldn’t be forced to haul their equipment to specialized and costly repair shops when they could be making those repairs on their own,” Rollins says. “An overwhelming majority of farmers, north of 95%, agree with that statement.”

What Does the New EPA Right to Repair Guidance Allow?

Zeldin stresses the guidance does not weaken emissions standards or change the Clean Air Act.

“It does not change the law, and it does not reduce compliance obligations,” he says. “What it does do is stop the law from being misused to block common-sense repairs.”

The guidance clarifies that equipment owners may temporarily override emissions systems — including diesel exhaust fluid (DEF) systems — when necessary to complete a repair, as long as the equipment is returned to compliance.

“At times, a tractor might just stop working altogether in the middle of harvest because of a DEF issue,” Zeldin says. “This allows farmers to fix broken DEF systems right there at home or in the field.”

SBA: ‘Huge Relief’ with Measurable Savings

Small Business Administration Administrator Kelly Loeffler says the guidance delivers significant, quantifiable savings for farmers.

“I’m the product of one of the 1.9 million farms in this great nation that feed, fuel and clothe our country,” Loeffler says. “Diesel exhaust fluid and now right to repair — these are huge-relief, common-sense reforms.”

Loeffler says SBA economists worked to quantify the impact farm by farm.

“In the aggregate, this is about a $48 billion savings,” she says. “It’s about $33,000 per repair.”

She adds that downtime drives additional losses.

“The loss of yield could be up to $3,000 to $4,000 for the average farm,” Loeffler says. “That’s time spent leaving the field, missing a window of dry weather and dealing with delays in parts and labor.”

According to Loeffler, the guidance could reduce annual operating costs by roughly 10% and cut repair costs dramatically.

“This could potentially reach an 80% annual reduction in the cost of repairs,” she says. “And we know those repairs are getting even more expensive.”

John Deere Say’s EPA’s Guidance Responds to Formal Request

John Deere says the EPA’s right-to-repair guidance directly responds to a formal request the company made to the agency in June 2025 .

In a statement, John Deere says it sought updated guidance from EPA to expand repair options for customers and independent technicians while still ensuring compliance with federal emissions requirements.

“John Deere appreciates today’s action by EPA Administrator Zeldin, which responds directly to a formal request made by the company in June 2025,” the company says. “John Deere sought this updated guidance from the EPA with the intent to further increase customers’ and independent repair technicians’ repair capabilities while ensuring compliance with EPA requirements and guidance.”

The company says its request aligns with its long-standing position that customers should have flexibility in how their equipment is repaired.

“John Deere’s request to the EPA is consistent with the company’s longstanding commitment to supporting customer choice on how equipment is repaired — whether through their trusted John Deere dealer, with a local service provider, or by doing the work themselves,” the statement says.

John Deere adds that in light of the updated EPA guidance, it plans to roll out new repair functionality for customers.

“The temporary inducement override capability will soon be made available to John Deere customers through Operations Center™ PRO Service,” the company says, describing the platform as an enhanced digital repair tool that provides diagnostic, repair and reprogramming capabilities.

The company says additional information about the tool is available through its website.

Trump Administration Frames Announcement as Farmer Choice and Independence

All three officials frame the announcement as centered on farmer independence.

“This is about fairness, competition and independence,” Zeldin says. “Farmers should be able to choose where and how their equipment is repaired.”

“In America, the timely, affordable maintenance of agricultural equipment should not be a luxury,” Rollins says. “It should be a given.”

“And coming from a multigenerational farm family, this issue is very personal,” Loeffler says. “We’re going to continue to make sure farmers get the regulatory relief they deserve.”

Is The Death of DEF Coming Soon?

While today’s announcement is another step in reducing regulations and emissions standards, EPA didn’t go as far as to eliminate DEF requirements on farm equipment, but told Farm Journal an announcement on that is coming soon.

Industry analysts say a rollback of federal emissions requirements on machinery could send shockwaves through both the new and used equipment markets, though exactly how depends on how far any policy would go and how manufacturers respond.

Greg Peterson, widely known as “Machinery Pete,” says the biggest immediate impact would be on used equipment values, particularly older, pre-emissions models that farmers already favor.

Emissions Rollback Could Reshape Machinery Markets, Analysts Say

Peterson points to years of auction data showing strong demand, as well as rising prices for good-condition pre-DEF tractors and combines, even during tight grain markets. If emissions rules were suddenly relaxed, he says the industry would be entering uncharted territory.

“The wild card is what happens to that one-, two-, three-, four-, five- and six-year-old equipment that’s already out there,” Peterson says. “It would be unprecedented.”

Opportunity and Uncertainty for Dealers and OEMs

While that uncertainty could create short-term friction, Peterson also sees opportunity. If manufacturers were allowed to build simpler machines again, it could align more closely with what many farmers are already voting for with their checkbooks.

“That’s what farmers want,” Peterson says, noting the continued premium buyers are willing to pay for older machines without complex emissions systems.

He adds that such a shift could be “an unbelievable opportunity” for both manufacturers and dealers, depending on how quickly and cleanly changes could be implemented at the factory level.

Manufacturers Unlikely to Fully Abandon Emissions Systems

Casey Seymour, host of the ‘ Moving Iron ’ podcast, agrees the used equipment market could benefit, but he’s skeptical manufacturers would abandon emissions technology altogether.

Seymour says the bigger issue for OEMs is regulatory whiplash. Environmental rules can change dramatically from one administration to the next, making it risky to retool factories for non-emissions machines only to reverse course a few years later.

“I don’t see a manufacturer of any color completely stepping back and saying we’re not going to worry about this anymore,” Seymour says.

Flexibility Could Boost Used Equipment Values

Instead, if EPA would decide to roll back emissions standards, Seymour envisions machines leaving the factory “emissions-ready,” giving farmers flexibility down the road. If deleting emissions systems became legal, equipment could be modified and resold without violating regulations, opening new possibilities in the secondary market.

That shift, Seymour says, could actually strengthen used equipment values. Demand for legally modified machines could rise, and farmers would no longer need to remove emissions components illegally.

Both analysts agree the used market would likely react first to any regulatory change, while new equipment pricing may remain largely unchanged unless manufacturers gain long-term certainty on emissions policy.

$280,000? 18-Year-Old Semi Sells for Record Price, Signaling Pre-DEF Equipment Demand Is Surging

Thu, 18 Dec 2025 17:56:03 GMT

An 18-year-old semi just set a record at auction, offering one of the clearest signals yet of where demand is flowing in today’s machinery market — and where it isn’t.

A 2007 Peterbilt 379, built before diesel exhaust fluid (DEF) systems were required, sold for $280,000 during a late-year consignment auction in North Dakota. The truck was a rare example: one owner, always shedded, and showing just 20,817 miles. Still, the price stunned even seasoned auction watchers.

Greg Peterson — better known as Machinery Pete — says the sale eclipses every previous result he has tracked for the iconic model.

“I’ve seen about 2,800 Pete 379s over the last 25 years,” Peterson says. “The previous high was $262,000, and that was back in July 2022 when the whole market was absolutely on fire. To come along now and just smoke that number, with an 18-year-old truck, that tells you something.”

That “something,” Peterson says, is demand not just for trucks, but for pre-emissions equipment across agriculture and transportation. Auctions, he notes, are brutally honest. They don’t care about model-year labels or marketing cycles. They simply reflect what buyers want — and what they are willing to pay for.

“That Peterbilt is an 18-year-old truck,” Peterson says. “And it brings $280,000. Auctions don’t lie. They tell you exactly what people want — and right now, that’s used, pre-DEF equipment.”

‘07 Peterbilt 379 w/ only 20,817 miles, 1 owner, always shedded, sold $280,000 today on @UlmerAuction sale. I’ve compiled 2800+ auction sale prices on 379’s past 25 Yrs. $280,000 is new record high auction price. Was $262K on 7/28/22 Villa Grove, IL salehttps://t.co/S6yC5PLDvR pic.twitter.com/TxdTN67GIH
— Greg Peterson (@MachineryPete) December 17, 2025

Used Equipment Values Gain Momentum

The Peterbilt sale is not an isolated case. Peterson says used equipment values, broadly speaking, have been strengthening for much of the year — a trend that runs counter to what the machinery market has historically done during periods of soft farm income.

“Used values started to solidify in the third week of February,” Peterson says. “They held, held, held. Then we got into November and December and it was like, ‘Katie, bar the door.’ I’ve never seen this in my 36 years.”

What makes the current cycle unusual, he says, is not just that used values are strong — it’s that they’re strengthening at a time when new equipment sales are clearly contracting.

“In the past, when I’ve seen auction prices take off like this, it’s always been equivalent to optimal conditions for new equipment sales,” Peterson says. “That ain’t the case this time.”

Recent auction data reinforces the point. A 2011 Case IH 6088 combine, pre-DEF and with low hours, sold for $178,000, the highest auction price for that model in nearly 11 years. A 2009 John Deere 8295R tractor with just over 1,000 hours brought $230,000, the strongest result in more than 30 months.

“I’ve never seen used values going up while new sales are going down,” Peterson says. “Never.”

Price of New Forces a Rethink

Peterson says the underlying force behind this shift is impossible to ignore: the cost of new equipment.

“I don’t know how tall the ceiling is, but that’s the price of new,” he says. “We understand why prices went up — labor, materials, everything through the pandemic — but at some point you have to ask, ‘Just because you can raise the price, should you?’”

As the grain downturn stretches on, Peterson says farmers have had time to pause and reassess their operations — and their machinery lineups.

“What it’s done is it’s given farmers time to catch their breath,” he says. “They’re saying, ‘We’ve got a lot of iron on this farm. We’ve got more equipment than my dad had and more than my grandpa had. Do we really need all this going forward?’”

That mindset shift doesn’t necessarily mean farmers will stop buying equipment forever. But Peterson says it has changed buying behavior — especially in the short term — and it’s pushed many operators toward well-kept used machines rather than six- or seven-figure new purchases.

“When the money’s not flowing, people think differently,” he says. “That’s just the reality.”

Dealers, Manufacturers Pull Back on New

At the same time farmers are stepping back, Peterson says the supply side of the market has also changed in ways that amplify used-equipment demand.

Manufacturers have dramatically reduced production, closing plants and laying off workers at levels Peterson says he has never seen before. While painful, those moves have eliminated excess new inventory sitting on dealer lots — and the interest expense that comes with it.

“What manufacturers have achieved is basically no backlog of new equipment,” Peterson says.

He says dealer consolidation over the past decade has played a major role. Larger dealer groups now carry more leverage with manufacturers, and when the slowdown hit, dealers acted quickly.

“They were paying 8% interest on all this stuff sitting on their lots,” Peterson says. “Their No. 1 mission wasn’t selling new equipment. Their No. 1 mission was, ‘We are going to move this one-, two-, three-year-old stuff.’”

Manufacturers responded with incentives to help dealers clear late-model used inventory — a level of cooperation Peterson says he has not seen in more than three decades of tracking the market.

“I’ve never seen that level of coordination before,” he says. “And the focus clearly shifted away from new.”

Pre-DEF Machines Command a Premium

Layered on top of price and supply issues is deep frustration with emissions systems. Peterson says pre-DEF equipment — whether trucks, tractors or combines — now stands out immediately to buyers.

“The good pre-emission stuff jumps forward like a neon sign,” he says.

That demand is no longer subtle. Practices that once happened quietly, such as emissions deletions, are now openly acknowledged — and reflected in sale prices.

“It used to be hush-hush,” Peterson says. “It’s not anymore. People say it right on the auction bill because it sells for more money. It just flat does.”

He says recent political discussion around environmental regulations has only amplified that sentiment, particularly among farmers who feel reliability and repair costs have been compromised.

“When he talked about it, I honestly thought it was an AI clip at first,” Peterson says. “He sounded like every farmer I’ve talked to for the last 15 years.”

New Equipment Demand Remains Weak

While used values climb, new equipment sales continue to struggle. November data show four-wheel-drive tractor sales down 19%, with self-propelled combine sales down 35% for the month and nearly 40% year-to-date. Livestock producers remain a bright spot, but on the grain side, Peterson says demand is clearly subdued.

Looking ahead, he says today’s production cuts could have major consequences when farm income eventually improves.

“When corn and beans finally move higher and stay there, we’re going to see exactly what we saw in 2021,” Peterson says. “Farmers are going to want to update, and dealers are going to say, ‘I can only sell you eight — that’s all we get.’”

Until then, he says the auction market continues to speak clearly.

Will Trump Roll Back DEF?

During a roundtable at the White House last week when the Trump administration rolled out $12 billion in farmer aid , President Trump also revealed other actions the Trump administration is working on to reduce regulations. Trump told farmers Monday his administration plans to scale back environmental requirements on tractors and other farm equipment, framing the move as a way to bring down machinery costs that have climbed in recent years.

“The other thing I’d like to add … we’re going to also give the tractor companies, John Deere and all of the companies that make the equipment, we’re going to take off a lot of the environmental restrictions that they have on machinery,” Trump said. “It’s ridiculous.”

While Trump didn’t provide specifics on how the details of that plan will come together, Trump said EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin would be involved in carrying out the effort. There’s speculation on if that will be removing diesel exhaust fluid (DEF) requirements on tractors or also addressing the long-standing right-to-repair issue.

Farm Journal reached out to EPA, and the agency confirmed it was DEF to which the president was referring.

“EPA has heard loud and clear from truckers and farmers across the United States that the Diesel Exhaust Fluid (DEF) system was unacceptable and cost millions of dollars in lost productivity,” Brigit Hirsch, EPA press secretary, told Farm Journal. “This summer, Administrator Zeldin issued clear guidance urging engine and equipment manufacturers to revise DEF system software in existing vehicles and equipment to prevent sudden shutdowns. It is essential manufacturers give operators more time to repair faults without impacting their livelihoods or safety. EPA will continue to evaluate ways to expand the work the agency has already done on DEF and looks forward to working across the administration to do so.”

Trump argued added systems meant to meet environmental rules have driven up price tags and made equipment harder to operate and repair.

“You buy it, it’s got so much equipment on it for the environmental, it doesn’t do anything except it makes the equipment much more expensive and much more complicated to work,” he said, adding, “it’s not as good as the old days.”

Trump said the administration’s goal is to remove what he called “nonsense” and require manufacturers to pass savings along to farmers.

Read more about what President Trump may do with DEF in the coming months.

Machinery Pete: Versatile Skid Steers, Used Tractors Are Hotter Than Fish Grease

Mon, 23 Jun 2025 21:46:48 GMT

What goes well alongside sweltering summer Midwest heat and humidity?

Well, if you answered used farm equipment auctions, you’re on the same wavelength as our used equipment-obsessed friend, Machinery Pete. He hit the road last week, capturing all of that sweet, sweet iron moving at auction.

All jokes aside, the extreme heat and humidity that hit the Upper Midwest this weekend can indeed be a bad omen for farm auction results, Pete says. Good thing there’s plenty of online auctions this summer so you can avoid the sweaty, sunburned crowds while still getting down on all the bidding action.

Here’s a quick sample of what Pete says stood out from the past seven days of red-hot farm equipment auction sales:

(Machinery Pete Facebook)

In an online Pifer Group auction that pulled used farm equipment from Minnesota and the Dakotas, a 2024 John Deere 335 P-Tier skid steer (pictured above) with 275 hours sold for $94,000. Pete says that’s a pretty good deal considering the only comparable model listed for sale at MachineryPete.com right now is a 2025 335 P-Tier. That bad boy starts at $159,000, though.

(Machinery Pete Facebook)

And a 2009 John Deere 325I skid steer with only 124 hours on it sold for $36,000 at the Harry and Lola Blackburn farm estate sale in Iowa.

On the tractor front, on Tuesday of last week, the folks at DPA Auctions moved a pair of late-model John Deere tractors that originated from farms in South Dakota.

(DPA Auctions)

In that sale, two 2024 John Deere 8R 280 MFWD tractors, one with just under 1,200 hours (pictured above) and another with 1,451 hours on it, sold for $315,000 and $296,000, respectively.

“Those were both above the average auction price this year, which is just over $282,600,” Pete says. “And interestingly, that’s up from last year’s average which was just over $258,000.”

And finally, Pete’s “Pick of the Week” is a pair of used tractors:

(Machinery Pete Facebook)

At the Blackburn estate auction in Iowa, a Gold Key Certified 2009 John Deere 7230 Premium 2WD tractor (above) with only 1,076 hours sold for $94,500.

And at the Al Bruhn farm auction sale Saturday in Mapleton, Iowa, a vintage 1968 International Harvester 756 German diesel tractor set a new all-time record at $29,000. The previous high for that year/model was $21,000.

Auction to Watch This Week

Sullivan Auctioneers and Big Iron Auctions is having a “No Reserve Dealer Inventory Reduction” online auction for Sinclair Tractor featuring a huge collection of machines from the dealer’s Iowa stores. Check out the video preview from auctioneer Dan Sullivan above.

Your Next Read: Farmers Are in the Buying Mindset for Used Equipment

Grit, Grease, and Gears: Meet the Colorado Teen Breathing New Life into Old Tractors

Tue, 25 Mar 2025 20:01:34 GMT

Colorado teenager Tyson Hansen is a shining example of that old saying “If you start them young…”

That’s because Hansen, 17, has cultivated a rare passion for buying and restoring classic tractors. It is a passion passed down from his great grandfather, who started the Hansen family farm and pieced together a massive tractor fleet over the years.

“He had over 200-some tractors, mostly two-cylinder, and when he passed, they had the big auction and my dad bought one to remember him by, and well now it’s our family tractor,” Hansen remembers. “My dad still talks about the first day he let me drive it, and he always says since that first ride, I was just hooked.”

The tractor that launched his lifelong love for tractors - the 1934 John Deere GP in all its glory.

(Photo courtesy of Mecum Auctions)

That first taste of classic tractor heaven was on the hardened steel green seat of a 1934 John Deere GP, a popular two-plow row crop setup John Deere built and sold from 1928 to 1935.

The high school junior says he’s wrenched on about 16 to 17 classic tractors at this point, all while participating in his high school FFA program and wrestling for the varsity team. And it’s not a hobby he tackles alone in a dusty, dark barn – his dad, stepmom, and brother all pitch in and help out. Because everyone knows nothing brings a family closer than bonding over busted knuckles and stripped chassis bolts.

Tyson says his family is “pretty much a John Deere family” but that he has started to feel the pull from other legacy brands.

“I started out as a John Deere guy, but I don’t even actually own any John Deeres,” he says, adding that right now his personal collection consists of two classic Case IH tractors and two Farmalls.

That doesn’t mean a young man can’t dream big, though, and Tyson’s big dream restoration project is to someday fix up a John Deere Model R.

He purchased his latest tractor, a Case 400 Super Diesel Western Special Edition with a hand clutch – one of only eight ever built, he says – with the goal of fixing it up and flipping it to raise enough cash to make that dream a reality.

“Once I got that tractor I went online and looked up some Facebook groups where the guys are all about Case, and I didn’t know anything about them at the time, so I just started asking guys for help and next thing I know within an hour I had about seven or eight texts from guys asking to buy that thing off me,” he says. “That’s when I realized that 400 is a little rarer than I figured it would have been.”

His Case 400 is also going to end up helping his fellow students in the FFA program. Tyson’s FFA teacher has asked him to bring the 400 in and is going to let the young man lead his classmates through a lesson on how diesel engines work.

Work is a key word in any farming family, and the Hansen family is no different.

“I don’t know why, my dad always tells me I won’t like it when I am out of high school, but I like to work,” Hansen says. “I guess I’ve just got a working mindset – I’m not the biggest fan of sitting in the house.”

Check out Tyson Hansen’s latest Tractor Tales spotlight below, where the teen shows off his rebuilt Case 400 tractor. And subscribe to the Farm Journal YouTube channel to get all of the latest Tractor Tale videos.

Also keep an eye on U.S. Farm Report every Saturday morning for the debut of the newest Tractor Tales feature.

Your Next Read: 2001 John Deere Smashes Record With $132,500 Price Tag

From the Factory to Your Fields: Where Farm Equipment Is Made

Wed, 12 Feb 2025 18:55:14 GMT

The global agriculture equipment market is currently valued at $181 billion (USD) and is expected to grow by 4% over the next eight years. That’s according to a recent analysis from global consulting firm IMARC Group.

While IMARC Group pegs Asia-Pacific as the leading region for farm equipment manufacturing market share, it would stand to reason most of those machines are being sold to farmers in that region. The farm equipment U.S. farmers use is most commonly built in Europe, North America and South America.

Brand Breakdown
For example, John Deere’s manufacturing footprint is mainly based in North America. Of the 60 John Deere machines relevant to row-crop producers, 50 of them (83%) are manufactured in North America. Drilling down further, the three states with the largest John Deere manufacturing presence are:

Iowa at 61%
North Dakota at 17%
Illinois at 15%

Case IH builds 66% of its row-crop machines throughout North America, while 24% of them are manufactured in Europe.

Fellow CNH brand New Holland maintains a fairly balanced manufacturing presence between Europe (30%) and North America (43%).

AGCO’s Germany-based brand, Fendt, builds 57% of its row-crop machines in the European Union (EU) with North America hosting roughly 43% of its manufacturing. Claas has a large manufacturing presence in Europe, but it also manufactures its LEXION combine in Omaha, Neb., and has facilities in Columbus, Ind., and Regina, Saskatchewan.

McCormick and Landini machines are built entirely in EU factories. In contrast, Buhler Industries’ manufacturing footprint is fully based in North America.

Check out the data to see where your favorite tractor, planter, sprayer, combine and other farm machines are built in 2025.

Click here to download a printable version of the table above.

Your Next Read: Casey Seymour and Machinery Pete Join Forces on the Moving Iron Podcast

Trump Threatens 200% Tariff If Deere Moves Manufacturing to Mexico

Tue, 24 Sep 2024 01:39:32 GMT

Former President Donald Trump on Monday made significant statements regarding John Deere and its plans to move some production to Mexico. Trump threatened to impose a 200% tariff on John Deere products if the company proceeds with its plan to relocate some of its manufacturing operations to Mexico. He made this announcement during a policy roundtable in Smithton, Penn., organized by the Protecting America Initiative.

Trump’s threat comes in response to John Deere’s recent announcement about moving some of its production to Mexico, which has already resulted in job cuts at certain facilities in Iowa. Trump expressed concern about the impact on American workers, stating, “It’s hurting our country. It’s hurting our workers.”

When contacted for a response, John Deere referred to a section on its website titled “Deere Commitment to U.S. Manufacturing,” which highlights its investments in American facilities and workforce. The company stated that to keep its U.S. factories focused on high-value activities, it sometimes needs to move less complex operations, such as cab assembly, to other locations.

Following Trump’s remarks, shares of Deere fell approximately 1.6% in after-hours trading shortly after the market closed on Monday.

This threat to John Deere appears to be an extension of Trump’s economic policy, which has consistently emphasized the use of tariffs. He has previously made similar threats to automakers producing vehicles in Mexico. Trump’s focus on protecting American manufacturing jobs is a key element of his campaign strategy, particularly in battleground states like Pennsylvania where he held this event.

Trump’s comments about John Deere seem to have been spontaneous, inspired by John Deere tractors displayed at the event venue. This marks the first time Trump has specifically targeted John Deere with such a threat, expanding his tariff warnings beyond the automotive industry to include agricultural equipment manufacturers.

A Look at the USMCA

Several aspects of the USMCA, negotiated by the Trump administration, help facilitate U.S. manufacturers like John Deere moving some production to Mexico:

Duty-free access: The USMCA maintains duty-free trade between the U.S. and Mexico for most goods, allowing companies to manufacture in Mexico and export back to the U.S. without tariffs.
Rules of origin: The USMCA has rules of origin requirements that goods must meet to qualify for duty-free treatment. Manufacturing in Mexico can help companies meet these requirements for North American content.
Increased regional content requirements: The USMCA raises the regional value content (RVC) requirement for automobiles from 62.5% under NAFTA to 75%. This incentivizes more production and sourcing within North America, including Mexico.
Labor Value Content (LVC) provision: The agreement requires 40-45% of auto content to be made by workers earning at least $16 per hour. This can make Mexico an attractive option for U.S. companies looking to meet this requirement while still benefiting from lower overall labor costs. While the USMCA includes stricter labor standards for Mexico, wages are still significantly lower than in the U.S. for most workers. Mexican workers often make 3-4 times less than U.S. counterparts. • Streamlined supply chains: The USMCA facilitates the movement of goods between the U.S., Mexico, and Canada by reducing trade barriers and tariffs. This makes it easier for U.S. companies to integrate Mexican operations into their supply chains.

Potential for Relocation

The USMCA rules may encourage some manufacturers to relocate certain production processes within North America to meet content requirements, which could involve significant upfront costs but potentially lead to long-term savings.

Your Next Read: EXCLUSIVE: John Deere Speaks Publicly For the First Time About Layoffs, New Challenges in the Ag Economy

EXCLUSIVE: John Deere Speaks Publicly For the First Time About Layoffs, New Challenges in the Ag Economy

Fri, 26 Jul 2024 14:14:35 GMT

John Deere recently laid off a significant number of salaried employees as part of the company’s ongoing workforce reductions. The official number of layoffs is still unknown but are part of a broader trend of workforce reductions at John Deere, which have been ongoing for several months.

Cory Reed, president of the company’s Worldwide Agriculture & Turf Division for Production and Precision Ag , spoke publicly about the layoffs for the first time in an exclusive interview with U.S. Farm Report this week.

What You Need to Know

Reed addressed everything from the recent layoffs to the company’s decision to move a small portion of its production to Mexico. Here are highlights from Farm Journal’s exclusive interview:

John Deere says recent layoffs of both its salaried and production workforce are due to lower net farm income, higher interest rates and market volatility.
Reed says John Deere expects equipment sales to be down 20% in 2024, due to economic pressures on the farm.
John Deere is addressing cost concerns by reducing the prices of some new technologies, such as the See & Spray retrofit kit.
John Deere is investing in automation to improve manufacturing efficiency and reliability.
Reed emphasized the job cuts are unrelated to the 2021 strike by production workers.
He also stressed that John Deere’s decision to move its cab production to Mexico is separate, saying that production site in Mexico has been in operation for nearly 70 years, calling it “an important part of our global footprint.”

The Reality of the Farm Economy

USDA is forecasting net farm income in 2024 to be $116.1 billion, which is a 25.5% drop from 2023 following a 16% drop in 2023 versus 2022. Those two consecutive years of significant decline mark the largest drop in net farm income in U.S. history.

“Net farm income is expected to be down in the mid to high 20s, and when that happens, and commodity prices pull back, interest rates are a little bit higher and we see volatility in the weather, it creates uncertainty that interrupts demand. We’re experiencing that today. Looking out across our industry, we’re expecting to be off roughly 20% year-over-year from 2023,” Reed told U.S. Farm Report.

USDA’s 2023 and 2024 Net Farm Income projections point to the largest drop in history.

(Lori Hayes )

The mounting economic pressures are showing up across the equipment industry. The latest Association of Equipment Manufacturers (AEM) flash report released in June showed just how drastic of a drop the ag equipment sector is currently experiencing. AEM’s report showed combine sales in June dropped 31% compared to last year. Total farm tractor sales were down 16%.

While the company forecasts equipment demand to fall 20% overall in 2024, Reed says the second half of the year looks to be even more challenging than the first.

“We kind of have the tale of two ends of the year, “ he says. “If you looked at the front half of the year, in fact, if you took the large row-crop tractor business, what you would have seen is a market that was still peaking in the April and May time frame. A lot of buyers were in the market, based off of performance last year. As we hit May and going into June, used inventory levels started to grow and you saw buyers starting to pull back. Those trade differentials look different for them, and they started pulling back at a faster rate.”

As farmers pull back on purchasing new equipment, the short-term market outlook is hard to project, according to John Deere.

“I think what you see is markets that are cycling faster today. When you see what was going on in the commodity market, it’s been more volatile here recently. So obviously, we’d like to have better predictability of those things. What I would tell you is the long-term outlook for global commodities grown here in the U.S. still look really strong. We’re still bullish on that,” Reed says. “It’s the reason that even when we see these cycles potentially coming, we invest directly through them. We’ve never invested more in research dollars than we did this year, and in the next five years we will invest more than we have over the past five years. That’s a testament to what we believe about the future of the agricultural industry. We’re doing that around the world.”

John Deere Says Layoffs Are Unrelated to 2021 Strike

With the drop in equipment demand, came cuts to the salaried workforce this week. But the company had already cut more than 1,800 workers in its Iowa and Illinois production facilities.

In October 2021, those same production sites were in the news after 10,000 production workers went on strike . But a month later, John Deere and the United Auto Workers (UAW) Union reached a new six-year deal. With a 20% increase in pay granted by John Deere, UAW ended its month-long strike. But Reed says the job cuts today are not tied to that.

“Certainly, cost, availability and reliability of labor in the workforce is a factor all the time. Cuts right now are not related to that, they’re related to demand,” he adds.

As a result, Reed says John Deere is turning internally to manage its own cost structure, which means layoffs. Those started last September and have accelerated in 2024.

“We don’t like making workforce adjustments. We don’t. But that’s all about the cost structure we have, so we can hold the line on costs. We’re deploying more of our engineering resources to cost-reduce each part without sacrificing any reliability, durability or quality. We’re doing that in a big way,” Reeds adds.

John Deere has committed to providing severance packages to the affected employees. The packages include up to 12 months of severance pay based on years of service, pro-rated pay based on short- and long-term incentives, payment for unused vacation or paid time off, ongoing access to health and wellness benefits and a year of professional job placement services.

The Question on Every Farmer’s Mind

The question on every farmer’s mind: Does John Deere have any plans to cut the price of equipment? Reed says John Deere is addressing cost concerns by reducing the prices of some new technologies, such as the See & Spray retrofit kit.

“We’re taking some of our latest technologies, and we’re cutting the upfront price of it,” Reed says. “If you take See & Spray, which is a great example, that product would normally cost hundreds of thousands of dollars to add to a machine. We lowered the upfront price for a retrofit kit to be able to put it on for tens of thousands of dollars. A customer who wants to manage their herbicide cost differently has the opportunity to buy into that, on an acre-by-acre basis, and only pay based on what they save.”

John Deere’s Decision to Move Cab Production to Mexico

John Deere is also catching some backlash for its decision to move its cab operations from Waterloo, Iowa, to Mexico, which impacts a couple hundred U.S. jobs. According to Reed, John Deere’s production site in Mexico has been in operation for nearly 70 years. What started in 1956 became one of the company’s first operations outside the U.S., and Reed calls it “an important part of our global footprint.”

“First and foremost, it’s important to understand that the movement of certain components or products to Mexico is entirely separate from what we’ve seen in terms of layoffs today,” Reed says. “When we move a product, we make the announcement and say, ‘This portion of this product is going to move here.’ And by the way, we’re doing that all the time. It’s a part of what we do in our global network.”

Reed says what’s not reported when John Deere makes such an announcement is how they are replacing their production in the U.S. with the manufacturing of a new product or piece of equipment. While the cab production might be moving to Mexico, he says they are now building the new 9RX 830-hp four-wheel drive tractor there.

“If you drove to Waterloo today and went into the operations, what you’d see is that brand new tractor going down the very place in the factory where those cabs were manufactured before,” Reed says.

What John Deere Wants Farmers to Know

As John Deere aims to align production inventory levels with current market demands, the down cycle of agriculture is hitting all of the industry hard, but Reed says he’s still bullish on agriculture long-term. When asked what he wanted farmers to know, Reed’s message was this:

“We have 80,000 employees in the company. We wake up every day with the same purpose. That purpose is quality, innovation, integrity and commitment to our customers. We want to grow value on each and every one of those farms. We want to do it in a way that every day they wake up, with every pass they make through the field, they have confidence they’ve partnered with someone in the industry, John Deere and our John Deere dealers, working to drive value, working to drive profitability, on each and every one of their farms,” Reed says.

You can watch the full interview with Reed here.

First Monarch Electric Autonomous Tractor Lands in the Midwest

Thu, 21 Sep 2023 14:20:14 GMT

California is already seeing electric autonomous tractors at work, but until this month, the Monarch tractor hadn’t ventured east. That all changed earlier this month when the University of Missouri became the first college to land a Monarch tractor, which marks the first of its kind in the Midwest.

“This is the first one at a university, and it’s also one of the first ones, if not the first one, outside of the state of California,” says Dan Downing, who works on Ag Engineering extension programs at the University of Missouri.

The first thing you notice about the tractor is how small it is, but once you start watching the tractor work, you realize how quiet it is. However, Downing says don’t underestimate its size or power.

“It’s about a 40-hp tractor, weighs about 5,000 lb., but one of the sleepers is that it performs a little bit better than you would think of a 40-hp internal combustion engine because the torque from the electric motors,” Downing says. “It is instantaneous torque.”

The other impressive piece, to Downing, is how the Monarch tractor is loaded with software and technology at the top of the tractor.

“One of the major things is the data acquisition and data management side of it. The top piece, the canopy of this tractor, is loaded with computer technology. And it has sensors in it to detect everything from wind speed to temperature to ground speed, I believe tire slippage, battery optimization, all those kinds of things are potential that can be done with this,” he says.

Driving Research, Teaching and Extension into the Future

The goal is to use the equipment for research, teaching and extension. And as professors and Mizzou extension gathered outside to watch the equipment at work, it was clear there’s excitement surrounding the Monarch tractor as it will also be used as a teaching tool to drive Mizzou’s program into the future.

“From a teaching perspective, to use the tractor in classes as showing modern, up-to-date, cutting edge, sensory technology and integration with precision ag implements,” Downing says. “There’s even some movement also towards some of the major equipment distributors in the Midwest. They are looking at similar technologies or about potentially working with this company on some of it.”

The electric monarch tractor is on the smaller side, so Downing knows it may not be a fit for larger row crop farms. But considering the machine can also run autonomously, he says it’s a potential game changer for specialty crop and smaller livestock operations. Through his extension work, his goal is to see how the new technology can work on different operations.

“One of the programs I work with is the sustainable ag research and education program, which kind of caters to small farmers, beginning farmers and vegetable and fruit production. And these tractors coming out of California, that’s where they’re mainly being implemented right now,” he adds. “So, there’s a direct application there. And for the folks that are in organic production, with this tractor, there isn’t pumping out any hydrocarbon emissions as they go through their organic operation. So that’s a big plus on that.”

He says also from an extension standpoint, he thinks it will be a great way to create awareness of the sensory technology and how it’s evolving.

“We think of the drones and drone use coming into play, and the data collection when you do field mapping and yield mapping,” says Downing. “All that can be advanced with this tractor. Another piece, just creating the awareness of the evolution of electronic tractors for our crop producers and our farmers out there. The manufacturers are working on some smaller implements, such as a blade to go on the front of it, and some other devices where it has potential application for use in livestock operations, and even indoor operations with no emissions. You can operate it inside of a closed building without having to worry about that.”

Manual or Autonomous Applications

Downing says with the cutting-edge technology equipped on the Monarch tractor, the fourth generation all electric, with autonomous capabilities, but it could also be a great option for someone who’s disabled.

“A disabled person could be potentially able to operate this tractor remotely, or with the joystick operation if they have some mobility,” Downing says. “It can even be driven off a joystick or driven conventionally using hand and foot controls.”

As Mizzou begins to uncover the various applications of the new Monarch tractor, it’s a possible glimpse into the future for farms where it’s the right fit.

Machinery Pete Reveals the Strongest Drivers of These Record Used Equipment Values Right Now

Thu, 23 Feb 2023 19:30:51 GMT

Strong used equipment values have been a theme for the past 18 to 20 months, and Machinery Pete doesn’t see that story changing anytime soon. There were expectations prices would soften to start 2023, but that hasn’t been in the case. However, if you’re searching for a bargain, during National Farm Machinery Show last week Machinery Pete revealed two areas farmers may want to watch.

Greg Peterson, also known as Machinery Pete , says prices of used four-wheel-drive tractors have been on fire as farmers are paying premiums prices for slightly older pre-DEF, pre-Tier IV four-wheel-drive models that are still in nice condition.

So, just how dynamic is the used equipment today? Machinery Pete says he’s running out of adjectives to describe it.

“As hot as it was a year ago, which was the hottest I’ve ever seen by a huge factor, amazingly, through the end of ‘22, the used values kept going up across the board,” says Machinery Pete. “When the calendar flipped, there were a lot of people thinking it can’t go any higher because now we’re taking out the urine taxpayers November December, but used values have got nothing but up since January.”

Another Key Indicator of Used Market Strength

He says the biggest driver of values continues to be availability, along with the right piece of used equipment on the market, even if it has high hours. Now, there’s another indicator of the market strength.

“We’re seeing auction pricing, strong pricing out of the deep South,” says Machinery Pete. “And over my 33 years, that’s always been a sure sign that you know that’s a hot market when used values there are exploding and higher in value.”

What to Watch for the Best Bargains

So, where are the bargains? Well, they may not be huge bargains, but there are a couple areas showing the best value for those in the market to buy.

“The only two spots that I see are low horsepower tractors, frankly, because there’s just more manufacturers so supply is built back up,” he says. “And just since the second week of December, we’re starting to see one- to three-year-old late model combine softened a little bit. It’s not like prices are dropping like a rock, but just softening.”

Related Stories:

Machinery Pete: Price is Now a A Secondary Market Force

Machinery Pete’s 7 Equipment Market Predictions For 2023

5 Feats for the Record Book

Wed, 21 Sep 2022 03:52:35 GMT

Downtime is scarce this time of year, but if you need to pass the minutes while waiting at the elevator or wind down after a long day, check out these videos. Former competitive swimmer and record-holder Mark Spitz once said: “Life is true to form; records are meant to be broken.” That’s exactly what these feats accomplished.

A new Guinness World Record was set near Winkler, Manitoba, Canada, on Aug. 4, when 303 combines harvested the same crop of winter wheat continuously for five minutes. The Children’s Camps International event raised close to $5 million, enough to send 1 million kids to camp in developing countries. The new record far surpasses the 2012 total of 244 combines set in Dalmeny, Saskatchewan.

A Colorado farmer teamed up with Claas to set a new Guinness World Record for most hay cut in eight hours. While attending Agritechnica in Germany, Tate Mesbergen learned a Polish company had set a record by mowing 243 acres of alfalfa in eight hours. He knew he could beat it. Mesbergen cut 35' wide passes at 19 mph for a new record of 348.67 acres in eight hours using a Class Disco 1100 RC.

Forgetting the traditional limits, Nokian Tyres and Valtra have set the world record for snow removal with an autonomous tractor. The speed record was set in March 2018 using an unmanned Valtra T254 Versu tractor equipped with Nokian Hakkapeliitta TRI tyres. Operated without a driver, the tractor plowed snow on a closed road in southern Finland at 45.466 mph.

Pearson Farm in Fort Valley, Ga., harvested a 1.8-lb. peach, surpassing the former record of 1.75 lb. One of the farm’s workers is always on the lookout for large peaches, which typically weigh from one-third to half a pound. Pearson Farm’s massive peach grew naturally, but the particular tree didn’t have a full crop. Owner Al Pearson says he plans to make a mold of the peach to display.

Weighing in at 4,437 lb. and 63 oz., the Dairy Farmers of Wisconsin set a new Guinness World Record for the largest cheeseboard. Featuring 145 varieties and styles of Wisconsin’s cheeses, more than 60 people worked to accomplish the feat. A 2,000-lb. cheddar wheel accounted for nearly half the board’s weight. The custom-made 35’x7' board was digitally fabricated to represent a barn.

Strong Machinery Sales Start 2018, AEM Concerned On Pending Tariffs

Wed, 21 Sep 2022 03:52:35 GMT

In its monthly sales report, the Association of Equipment Manufacturers (AEM) reports year-over-year increases in high-capacity equipment for new equipment sales in the U.S.

Total sales of self-propelled combines in February grew 34% compared to last year and sales of 4-wheel drive tractors increased 9%.

“We’ve been cautiously optimistic for some growth in 2018, following a somewhat bumpy 2017 and positive overall numbers in January,” says AEM Senior VP for AG Services Curt Blades.

Some categories in the report declined. Total farm tractor sales declined 9.8% compared February 2018 to 2017. That was driven by an 11.7% decrease in sales of under 40 hp tractors and a 20.3% decline in 100+hp tractors.

Blades says while there are some positive sales results so far in 2018, it’s too early to declare any year-long trends. One issue AEM is watching closely, are the pending “Trump Tariffs.”

“A major issue is pending U.S. steel tariffs and their implications on agriculture beyond the equipment sector. Past trade wars resulting from U.S. tariffs have targeted commodities, so this is a real concern. AEM and our manufacturers will be carefully monitoring their impact on tractor and combine sales in the coming months,” Blades says.

$87.5 Million Aids Producers Protecting Conservation After Natural Disasters

Wed, 21 Sep 2022 03:51:20 GMT

By AgWeb.com editors

USDA announced that farmers and ranchers will receive funding to repair land damage created by natural disasters in 34 states since September 2007.

Producers will use the $87.5 million in Emergency Conservation Program (ECP) funding for removal of farmland debris, restoring fences and repairing conservation structures which were caused or damaged by floods, and for carrying out emergency water conservation measures in response to severe drought.

For land to be eligible, the natural disaster must create new conservation problems that:

if untreated, will impair or endanger the land;
materially affect the land’s productive capacity;
represent unusual damage that, except for wind erosion, is not of the type likely to recur frequently in the same area; and
would be so costly to repair that federal assistance is or will be required to return the land to productive agricultural use.

All of the above conditions must be met for eligibility. Conservation problems existing prior to the disaster are not eligible for cost-share assistance. FSA county committees determine land eligibility based on on-site inspections of damage, taking into account the type and extent of damage.

The states and estimated dollar amounts for ECP funding are:

Alabama	$359,000	Mississippi	$431,000
Arkansas	$4,633,000	Montana	1,683,000
California	$27,000	North Carolina	$766,000
Colorado	$354,600	Nebraska	$2,010,000
Connecticut	$51,000	Nevada	$187,000
Georgia	$4,089,000	Oklahoma	$10,219,000
Hawaii	$415,000	Oregon	$579,000
Iowa	$12,208,500	South Carolina	$782,000
Idaho	$93,000	South Dakota	$1,825,000
Illinois	$9,473,000	Tennessee	$4,491,000
Indiana	$10,742,000	Texas	$5,767,000
Kansas	$610,000	Utah	$193,000
Kentucky	$2,840,000	Virginia	$1,400,000
Maine	$101,000	Vermont	$45,000
Michigan	$34,000	Washington	$2,298,000
Minnesota	$713,000	Wisconsin	$3,037,000
Missouri	$5,051,000	Wyoming	$20,000

A detailed list of counties and associated specific disasters is on FSA’s Web site. A national map with a visual depiction of the affected counties and disaster types is on the FSA Web site. The $87.5 million comes from an appropriation of $89.4 million for ECP. The remainder will be allocated as additional requests are processed. For further information on eligibility requirements as well as applications, producers may visit their local FSA office or online at http://disaster.fsa.usda.gov.

John Deere Updates 5M Tractors With More Power, Tech and Transmissions

Wed, 21 Sep 2022 03:49:50 GMT

The model year 2022 5M tractors from John Deere now top out at 125 hp.

In addition to the higher horsepower range, the 5M series is available with integrated AutoTrac guidance when also geared with PowrQuad transmission. This feature provides hay, livestock, and other operators to have the benefits of straight-line guidance to reduce implement overlap, maximize fuel use, and more.

“No other utility tractor on the market offers this level of integrated guidance on a mid-spec utility tractor, making the productivity potential of the 5M Series unmatched,” Greg Christensen, marketing manager for John Deere said in a product release. “This low-cost, entry-level guidance system, can later be upgraded by plugging in a premium display for mapping and prescription-based applications.”

PowrQuad transmissions provide clutchless, push-button shifting between gears and are now available on models 5090M, 5100M, 5115M cab versions and the 5125M, which is only available with a cab.

Specifically for handling hay bales and other large objects, when equipped with PowrQuad, the 5M series has increased hitch-lift capacity and there’s an optional panoramic roof for increased visibility.

The PowrQuad transmission models are now available to order, and John Deere says the PowrReverser option models will be available to order in late 2021.

As another option, John Deere has developed the John Deere Smart Connector for select 5 series tractors. This is a parts kit marketed as an entry-level connectivity product so owners can track maintenance intervals and tractor performance via Bluetooth connection and the TractorPlus app.