Over the past few months, the tractor industry has seen a jump in sales for articulated 4-wheel drive tractors. Curt Blades, the Senior Vice President of Industry Sectors and Product Leadership at the Association of Equipment Manufacturers (AEM), says that this is caused by numerous things.
“The larger operations may have a machinery plan, and it may have come time for them to make these purchases,” explains Blades. “The other thing that is very real is that there are new models out there. Most of the big manufacturers are coming out with their new models of 4-wheel drive tractors, and these new machines on the market tend to drive demand as well. So, it is a combination of things causing this increase in sales.”
Blades explains that he is excited about the new technology being put into these machines, and they people would have never imagined 20 years ago what these machines could do. He also said that this increase is not all just farmers either. He explained that around 20% of the 4-wheel drive tractor market comes from the construction industry.
Curt Blades also offered some advice to farmers on how to go about buying equipment. He says that creating a plan to replace equipment every so many years, by working closely with their dealers and accountants to determine when they will need to buy new equipment, will help steer away from impulse buys and help keep farms on track to make feasible purchases.
