New Tractor Sales Are Declining

[Sid Post]

I was blown away this week when I saw 13 RK tractors at a local Rural King. Most of them cabbed! Stock is on all lots and growing… The question is, will they sell? Upward of 200 banks are in the same danger as SVB was… I think we have more reality to experience

The question is what actions will be taken to support those 200 banks and their customers? And, what will this mean to finance things like our tractors and their implements?

The question I have is why people who didn't do any reasonable "due diligence" passed on this deficiency and their lack of oversight to other customers whose FDIC costs are bound to go up, hurting the revenue retirees make on their bank savings. There is no "free lunch"!

Stuff like this will make it harder for many people to buy their new little Diesel lawn mowing and general utility tractor. SCUTs and CUTs are going to be more sensitive to overhead costs and general finance costs than bigger tractors and things like new cars and pickups so, stuff like this is pretty worrying to me for general industry health. Past financial problems consolidated many large production tractor brands into essentially 1 of 4 major players and I hope something similar doesn't happen to the SCUTs and CUTs because 20Hp~50Hp offers a lot of productivity and joy to owners with the diversity and innovation that brings to these little tractors.

 

[Yander]

I am confident that we will find the balance again.

I too am confident that this thread will find the balance again. I'm not so certain about other, more important things, finding their balance again.

This plane's about to go into a stall that it won't soon come out of and the passengers are worried about their free peanuts!

 

[Goose1776]

I too am confident that this thread will find the balance again. I'm not so certain about other, more important things, finding their balance again.

This plane's about to go into a stall that it won't soon come out of and the passengers are worried about their free peanuts!

That is a good analogy.

 

[Gale Hawkins]

I was blown away this week when I saw 13 RK tractors at a local Rural King. Most of them cabbed! Stock is on all lots and growing… The question is, will they sell? Upward of 200 banks are in the same danger as SVB was… I think we have more reality to experience

Tractor lovers are filling up the obituaries. At least that is the case locally. I'll have five older tractors and neither one of our kids which are two l put their name on any tractor or any piece of equipment. So they will be going on an open market when I decide to quit. Trying to use them to bush hog and clean up and etc etc.

 

[rScotty]

Without political connotations or social views this thread has ran it's course. The decline, rise, or stagnant level of tractor sales are unavoidably linked to them.

It seems to me that economics and politics are linked like crops and the weather. Regardless of the weather that happens, we can usually fnd a way to make it work.
rScotty

If it wasn't a challenge it wouldn't be fun.

 

[TN8Man]

Politics seem to creep into conversations no matter what the subject matter is. I see it in RV, ORV, Truck and other forums. I see it much more now in off-line conversations with family, friends and others. Why? Because a growing number of people today have real concerns, worries and anger with what's going on today in our society. They are very concerned about our future and discussing it is probably a normal human reaction.

Just to give an example that I personally have experienced ... my primary doctor started discussing politics during my routine check-up. Then my gastroenterologist went into extended political conversations during an appointment. Even my termite inspector brings it up. I bet some people are being medicated and self medicated just to try and deal with the stress.

Unfortunately I don't see this changing any time soon and will probably get worse.

 

[Sid Post]

Tractor lovers are filling up the obituaries. At least that is the case locally. I'll have five older tractors and neither one of our kids which are two l put their name on any tractor or any piece of equipment. So they will be going on an open market when I decide to quit. Trying to use them to bush hog and clean up and etc etc.

In a similar family situation. My sister "had to have" a tractor from my father. In ~15 years I don't think she ever drove it and, the motor is now locked up. She has decided she is moving and can't "store" "her" tractor any more so, it is headed back my way in the not so distant future.

The real question is whether it will cost more than the tractor is worth to get it running again since it is such an old tractor.

 

[ovrszd]

I was blown away this week when I saw 13 RK tractors at a local Rural King. Most of them cabbed! Stock is on all lots and growing… The question is, will they sell? Upward of 200 banks are in the same danger as SVB was… I think we have more reality to experience

I had forgotten about RK. I thought that died off.

 

[Hay Dude]

Politics seem to creep into conversations no matter what the subject matter is. I see it in RV, ORV, Truck and other forums. I see it much more now in off-line conversations with family, friends and others. Why? Because a growing number of people today have real concerns, worries and anger with what's going on today in our society. They are very concerned about our future and discussing it is probably a normal human reaction.

Just to give an example that I personally have experienced ... my primary doctor started discussing politics during my routine check-up. Then my gastroenterologist went into extended political conversations during an appointment. Even my termite inspector brings it up. I bet some people are being medicated and self medicated just to try and deal with the stress.

Unfortunately I don't see this changing any time soon and will probably get worse.

Couldn’t agree with you more, Amigo.
It’s become a national past time. It‘s almost like a competitive sport.
People take sides and defend their “players” and their team’s identity.

 

[Sid Post]

It seems to me that economics and politics are linked like crops and the weather. Regardless of the weather that happens, we can usually fnd a way to make it work.
rScotty

As I have said before: Government policies affect the cost and availability of most goods in the public marketplace.

Sometimes it is just bureaucracy and, sometimes it is intentional government policy. Want more home ownership or less? Want cheaper or more expensive gasoline? Want people to consume less dairy production? Want cheap airfare?

Where I live, property taxes for public boondoggles in town are an issue. People who rent feel they don't pay property taxes and, city folks don't feel the impacts nearly as much as farmers and ranchers. This means the number of people wanting stuff they don't pay for or, pay comparatively little for are popular.

I'm not against the girls having a new softball stadium or my old high school getting a new football stadium. What I object are things like my old High School spending $5 million on a new football stadium in a town of ~1200 people that doesn't have a good library or computer lab. I get gender "equity" with the softball stadium but, that money could have been spent more effectively on a less extravagant softball field leaving funding for better IT infrastructure, more library books, and things like better Home Ec, Wood Shop, and Ag class resources and facilities.

Specifically, a school farm for the "girls" who don't have access to farm property for things like a show lamb, hog, or steer would have been awesome. The ladies are the future of farming for many families so, supporting them is important to me. How many will grow up to be professional athletes from the softball field?

And yes, I played sports in school too but, our soccer field was rather simple and the goals were a simple surplus pipe structure that didn't cost much! I can't do much for the lavish basketball courts and football fields of the boys' athletic programs but, lavish spending on a single girls' sporting facility does not make it equal, fair or, right either.