Name: The Four Corners Construction Company Liquidation Auction
Start: 2021-10-20T17:00-06:00

<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The harvest season is coming to a close in the Northern states. That means it&#8217;s the perfect time to update your farm equipment. Whether you&#8217;re scaling up operations in 2022, launching a new ag enterprise, or just looking to get special equipment at a great price, check out one of these upcoming farm equipment auctions.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Bid in person or online, with </span><a href="https://tractorzoom.com/"><span style="font-weight: 400;">TractorZoom.com</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">.</span><br />
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<h2><b>October 20: The Four Corners Construction Company Liquidation Auction, Online Only in IA</b></h2>
<p><a href="https://tractorzoom.com/auctioneer/brock-auction-company-inc/four-corners-construction"><span style="font-weight: 400;">This online-only event</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;"> starts at 5 pm Iowa time. You&#8217;ll need to register to bid online.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Offerings include:</span></p>
<ul>
<li style="list-style-type: none;">
<ul>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1"><span style="font-weight: 400;">A 2014 Ford F-150</span></li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1"><span style="font-weight: 400;">A 2019 RAM 2500</span></li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1"><span style="font-weight: 400;">A 2016 Bobcat</span></li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1"><span style="font-weight: 400;">And one Gehl DL6H</span></li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
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<h2><b>October 23: The Fall Equipment Consignment Auction in Indianola, IA</b></h2>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">This massive farm/construction equipment auction is sure to have something for everyone. Register today to bid online, or visit the sale in person at County Road R63 in Indianola. </span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">While </span><a href="https://tractorzoom.com/auctioneer/putney-auction-service/fall-equipment-consignment-auction-1022021-putney-auction-service"><span style="font-weight: 400;">this auction</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;"> is too big to describe in detail here, all the big-name equipment is there, including:</span></p>
<ul>
<li style="list-style-type: none;">
<ul>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1"><span style="font-weight: 400;">John Deere tractors</span></li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Farm King</span></li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Dodge RAM pickup trucks</span></li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1"><span style="font-weight: 400;">International Harvester</span></li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1"><span style="font-weight: 400;">New Holland </span></li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Chevy trucks</span></li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1"><span style="font-weight: 400;">And Ford trucks</span></li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Whether you&#8217;re hoping to visit a farm equipment auction in-person or online, Tractor Zoom has all the resources you need! Find the best farm equipment, semis, tractors, combines, balers, UTVs and pickup trucks at </span><a href="https://tractorzoom.com/"><span style="font-weight: 400;">TractorZoom.com. </span></a></p>
<h2><b>The Tractor Zoom Mission</b></h2>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">At Tractor Zoom, our goal is to make it easy to buy farm equipment online. We provide a unique and </span><i><span style="font-weight: 400;">easy-to-use</span></i><span style="font-weight: 400;"> website to connect farmers with equipment sellers around the globe. Our mission is to overhaul the advertising process for sellers and simplify the decision-making process for farmers.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">To date, we&#8217;ve partnered with more than 500 auctioneers and more than 400 dealer locations around the US. Our goal is to provide you with the best, most up-to-date information about upcoming farm equipment auctions. Check out </span><a href="https://tractorzoom.com/blog"><span style="font-weight: 400;">our blog</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;"> for more farm equipment tales and topics, and </span><a href="https://about-us.tractorzoom.com/contact-us/"><span style="font-weight: 400;">contact us</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;"> if you need to know more. </span></p>
<h2><b>Tired of Scrolling Around?</b></h2>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">When you&#8217;re in the ag business, time is money. Try our online app. Just set some parameters, like location, equipment model number, or date. We&#8217;ll notify you when something suits your needs.</span></p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>


Upcoming Farm Equipment Auctions, October 2021

<p><img loading="lazy" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-1810" src="https://blog.tractorzoom.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/hero1013.jpg" alt="Hero1013" width="1200" height="1200" srcset="https://blog.tractorzoom.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/hero1013.jpg 1200w, https://blog.tractorzoom.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/hero1013-300x300.jpg 300w, https://blog.tractorzoom.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/hero1013-1024x1024.jpg 1024w, https://blog.tractorzoom.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/hero1013-150x150.jpg 150w, https://blog.tractorzoom.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/hero1013-768x768.jpg 768w, https://blog.tractorzoom.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/hero1013-100x100.jpg 100w" sizes="(max-width: 767px) 89vw, (max-width: 1000px) 54vw, (max-width: 1071px) 543px, 580px" /></p>
<h2><a href="https://tractorzoom.com/search?category=Tractors&amp;make=Case+IH%2CCub+Cadet%2CFarmall%2CInternational+Harvester%2CMcCormick%2CMcCormick+Intl&amp;sortBy=year&amp;sortDirection=asc&amp;utm_source=interestingiron&amp;utm_medium=blog&amp;utm_campaign=101421"><strong>Shop red tractors from auctions &amp; dealerships all over the country!</strong></a></h2>
<p>For a lot of the farmers and self-proclaimed &#8220;tractor nerds&#8221; that I know, a trip to Farmall Land USA was a bucket list thing. If you&#8217;re reading this, it probably was on your bucket list too &#8211; and I hope it was one you crossed off before Jerry &amp; Joyce Mez turned off the lights for the final time about a year ago.</p>
<figure id="attachment_1816" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-1816" style="width: 1600px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><img loading="lazy" class="size-full wp-image-1816" src="https://blog.tractorzoom.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/IMG_5801-copy.png" alt="Farmall H on the top of a tall tower, welcoming guests to Farmall Land." width="1600" height="1067" srcset="https://blog.tractorzoom.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/IMG_5801-copy.png 1600w, https://blog.tractorzoom.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/IMG_5801-copy-300x200.png 300w, https://blog.tractorzoom.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/IMG_5801-copy-1024x683.png 1024w, https://blog.tractorzoom.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/IMG_5801-copy-768x512.png 768w, https://blog.tractorzoom.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/IMG_5801-copy-1536x1024.png 1536w" sizes="(max-width: 767px) 89vw, (max-width: 1000px) 54vw, (max-width: 1071px) 543px, 580px" /><figcaption id="caption-attachment-1816" class="wp-caption-text">Today, the familiar Farmall H on a pole is about all that&#8217;s left of Farmall Land.</figcaption></figure>
<p>Sadly, Jerry Mez passed away surrounded by his family on September 29, 2021 (two weeks ago today). It was a year and two days after they closed the museum.</p>
<p>I was in Poseyville, IN shooting some drone video of soybean harvest for some friends of mine when I found out, and it hit me pretty hard. Later that evening, we talked about Jerry and Farmall Land over supper. Brad &amp; Andrew are die-hard red farmers, and they&#8217;d always wanted to get out there to see the museum before it closed. Sadly, they never crossed that one off of their bucket list.</p>
<p>During the course of that evening&#8217;s conversation, though, I realized something.</p>
<p><em>It was never really about the tractors.</em></p>
<p>When I said that to Brad, and he looked at me like I&#8217;d lost my marbles. <em>(You&#8217;re probably thinking it too&#8230;)</em></p>
<h2><strong>It was never really about the tractors&#8230;</strong></h2>
<p>Farmall Land was more than just the tractors. Maybe that&#8217;s the way I should&#8217;ve stated it.</p>
<p>With the exception of a few pretty rare or unique tractors, nearly everything in the Farmall Land collection was relatively common. I&#8217;m certain there are private collections as well as a few public ones that are bigger, and have rarer models. One of Jerry&#8217;s favorite series were the 06s, and arguably his favorite model was the 1206. There&#8217;s a 1206 that you can buy on <a href="https://tractorzoom.com/auctioneer/putney-auction-service/fall-equipment-consignment-auction-1022021-putney-auction-service?utm_source=interestingiron&amp;utm_medium=blog&amp;utm_campaign=101421">October 23rd at an auction</a> about a half hour away from where I&#8217;m sitting right now. Furthermore, if you bring a big enough trailer, you can take home a 706, a 1066, and a project Super MD from the same sale!</p>
<figure id="attachment_1817" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-1817" style="width: 1024px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><a href="https://tractorzoom.com/equipment/e9770084-a886-46ef-8220-e5f968987651/International-Harvester-1206?utm_source=interestingiron&amp;utm_medium=blog&amp;utm_campaign=101421"><img loading="lazy" class="wp-image-1817 size-full" src="https://blog.tractorzoom.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/putney1206.jpeg" alt="Farmall 1206 at a tractor auction" width="1024" height="576" srcset="https://blog.tractorzoom.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/putney1206.jpeg 1024w, https://blog.tractorzoom.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/putney1206-300x169.jpeg 300w, https://blog.tractorzoom.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/putney1206-768x432.jpeg 768w" sizes="(max-width: 767px) 89vw, (max-width: 1000px) 54vw, (max-width: 1071px) 543px, 580px" /></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-1817" class="wp-caption-text">Here&#8217;s the 1206 you can buy at a tractor auction on October 23, 2021. It needs some TLC, but I believe that it drove to Mark Putney&#8217;s auction yard. (Click the photo to see the TZ auction listing.)</figcaption></figure>
<p>I&#8217;ll give you this. The massive amount of iron crammed into that little building in Avoca <em>was</em> impressive. At any given time, Jerry had 150 or more tractors shoehorned into about 27,000 square feet! I think I counted 166 on one visit! For the most part, they were presentation-ready, too. They didn&#8217;t all run, but they nearly all had fresh coats of paint, and they all looked great!</p>
<figure id="attachment_835" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-835" style="width: 1920px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><img loading="lazy" class="wp-image-835 size-full" src="https://blog.tractorzoom.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/IMG_3151-scaled.jpg" alt="a row of red tractors and a row of yellow tractors" width="1920" height="2560" srcset="https://blog.tractorzoom.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/IMG_3151-scaled.jpg 1920w, https://blog.tractorzoom.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/IMG_3151-225x300.jpg 225w, https://blog.tractorzoom.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/IMG_3151-768x1024.jpg 768w, https://blog.tractorzoom.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/IMG_3151-1152x1536.jpg 1152w, https://blog.tractorzoom.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/IMG_3151-1536x2048.jpg 1536w" sizes="(max-width: 767px) 89vw, (max-width: 1000px) 54vw, (max-width: 1071px) 543px, 580px" /><figcaption id="caption-attachment-835" class="wp-caption-text">On the left, you can see the emblem and the yellow hood of an IH power unit that ran an asphalt chipper. There aren&#8217;t a lot of those left!</figcaption></figure>
<p>The memorabilia, dealer advertising, toys, as well as the other stuff that Harvester got into over the years was also impressive. Many of those things were pretty rare &#8211; especially given their condition. Jerry had everything from coffeemakers that looked like Hy-Tran containers, Zippo lighters from the IH Photography Department, more IH refrigerators and freezers than I&#8217;ve ever seen before&#8230;you name it, he had it!</p>
<figure id="attachment_1811" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-1811" style="width: 511px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><img loading="lazy" class="wp-image-1811 size-full" src="https://blog.tractorzoom.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/hytrancoffeemaker.jpeg" alt="Case IH Coffee Maker" width="511" height="640" srcset="https://blog.tractorzoom.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/hytrancoffeemaker.jpeg 511w, https://blog.tractorzoom.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/hytrancoffeemaker-240x300.jpeg 240w" sizes="(max-width: 511px) 100vw, 511px" /><figcaption id="caption-attachment-1811" class="wp-caption-text">This was one of the Hy-Tran coffeemakers that was on display at Farmall Land. It went for a small fortunate at one of Ken Girard&#8217;s auctions late last fall!</figcaption></figure>
<p>Still, I think it was more than just the tractors and the stuff.</p>
<h2><strong>Why Farmall Land was so special&#8230;</strong></h2>
<p>Farmall Land was so special because of Jerry &amp; Joyce Mez, their passion for red tractors, and the role they played in agriculture. From the second you  signed in at the desk, you could <em>feel</em> it. It truly was something that they couldn&#8217;t contain &#8211; especially Jerry. He would always get this great big smile on his face whenever he heard the bells on the door ring &#8211; I must have seen it happen half a dozen times! Of all the things associated with the museum, I think that big smile and the excitement in his voice when he got to take a farm family on a guided tour will be what I miss most. I thought about this the other day on my way out to the visitation, and I&#8217;d be a liar if I said that my eyes didn&#8217;t well up with tears when I did.</p>
<figure id="attachment_1812" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-1812" style="width: 640px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><img loading="lazy" class="wp-image-1812 size-full" src="https://blog.tractorzoom.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/JerryJoyce.jpeg" alt="farmall land owners jerry &amp; joyce mez" width="640" height="480" srcset="https://blog.tractorzoom.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/JerryJoyce.jpeg 640w, https://blog.tractorzoom.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/JerryJoyce-300x225.jpeg 300w" sizes="(max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px" /><figcaption id="caption-attachment-1812" class="wp-caption-text">Farmall Land was their happy place &#8211; especially for Jerry. It truly was a labor of love.</figcaption></figure>
<h2><strong>One last time.</strong></h2>
<p>I believe I made seven visits to Farmall Land in total. My last trip, however&#8230;that one was pretty special. That was the one where I officially checked it off the bucket list. I&#8217;d called <a href="https://tractorzoom.com/auctioneer/girard-auction-land-brokers-inc?utm_source=interestingiron&amp;utm_medium=blog&amp;utm_campaign=101421">Ken Girard</a> (Girard handled the Farmall Land auctions) to see if Jerry was going to be around, because I was going to ask him to sign my little piece of Farmall Land before I took it home. He told me that he was, but that he wasn&#8217;t sure for how long, so I&#8217;d best hurry.</p>
<p>I&#8217;ve never made the trip out to Avoca that fast in all my life!</p>
<p>When I got there, I learned that that day was a hard one for Jerry. Many of these tractors had been with him for 40 years or more, and seeing them leave was hard for him. That particular day, he had to say goodbye to several tractors that he was truly attached to, which was very tough. His face was full of sadness, and I could tell that it wasn&#8217;t the right time to chat him up.</p>
<figure id="attachment_1814" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-1814" style="width: 2560px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><img loading="lazy" class="size-full wp-image-1814" src="https://blog.tractorzoom.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/06AEF896-D80B-47B1-84E1-611A34E273E0-scaled.jpeg" alt="Front 3/4 photo of an IH 1566 from Farmall Land" width="2560" height="2560" srcset="https://blog.tractorzoom.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/06AEF896-D80B-47B1-84E1-611A34E273E0-scaled.jpeg 2560w, https://blog.tractorzoom.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/06AEF896-D80B-47B1-84E1-611A34E273E0-300x300.jpeg 300w, https://blog.tractorzoom.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/06AEF896-D80B-47B1-84E1-611A34E273E0-1024x1024.jpeg 1024w, https://blog.tractorzoom.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/06AEF896-D80B-47B1-84E1-611A34E273E0-150x150.jpeg 150w, https://blog.tractorzoom.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/06AEF896-D80B-47B1-84E1-611A34E273E0-768x768.jpeg 768w, https://blog.tractorzoom.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/06AEF896-D80B-47B1-84E1-611A34E273E0-1536x1536.jpeg 1536w, https://blog.tractorzoom.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/06AEF896-D80B-47B1-84E1-611A34E273E0-2048x2048.jpeg 2048w, https://blog.tractorzoom.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/06AEF896-D80B-47B1-84E1-611A34E273E0-100x100.jpeg 100w" sizes="(max-width: 767px) 89vw, (max-width: 1000px) 54vw, (max-width: 1071px) 543px, 580px" /><figcaption id="caption-attachment-1814" class="wp-caption-text">This 1566 factory T/A delete was one of the last tractors to leave Farmall Land.</figcaption></figure>
<p>So, I turned on the camera and shot a live video for our Facebook page. I walked through what remained in the building and previewed what would sell on the final auction. Just about the time I started to wrap it up, Jerry poked his head out of his office door. (<a href="https://www.facebook.com/TractorZoom/videos/445514130110909/">You can catch him in the last little bit of that video here. My apologies for the video quality &#8211; pole barns aren&#8217;t good for cell signal.</a>)</p>
<h2><strong>My own personal guided tour&#8230;</strong></h2>
<p>When I turned off the camera, Jerry turned to me, and said, &#8220;Let me show you something.&#8221; And for the next hour, Jerry gave me my own guided tour, just me and him. It felt like this was his way of decompressing, and who was I to put the brakes on that? So I did what I knew how to do.</p>
<p>I got him talking.</p>
<p>We talked about the history of some of the tractors left in the building, life as a dealer, pulling, and the tremendous friendships he&#8217;d made as a result of the building we were standing in. As he talked, I noticed that the twinkle came back to his eyes as all of those good memories came flooding back. Honestly, it was pretty amazing to watch, and it was one of the neatest experiences I&#8217;ve had in a long time. I&#8217;ll never forget it, either.</p>
<p>As I was leaving, I promised him that the next time I saw him at an Outlaw pull, I&#8217;d put the camera down and watch a class with them. He smiled and said, &#8220;I&#8217;m gonna hold you to it!&#8221; Then we shook hands, and I remember telling him, &#8220;So long, Jerry. Thanks for everything!&#8221; His response was one I&#8217;d heard many times before. &#8220;Thanks for stopping by!&#8221;</p>
<p>That was the last conversation we ever had. Sadly, I didn&#8217;t see him at any events this summer and never got to keep my promise.</p>
<p>And maybe that was the way it was supposed to be.</p>
<h2><strong>Jerry&#8217;s parting gift&#8230;</strong></h2>
<p>Jerry&#8217;s parting gift to me &#8211; and maybe all of us &#8211; was not just a really cool collection of tractors and memorabilia. It was his passion. He truly loved International Harvester and red tractors, but I think he loved sharing his passion with the people he met even more. That was his legacy, and I&#8217;m certain it&#8217;ll live on for years and years to come. It was never really about the tractors. It was about the passion, and sharing it with others. It&#8217;s part of the reason that you&#8217;re reading this post right now, and why I started writing this blog.</p>
<p>So long, Jerry. Thank you for everything.</p>
<figure id="attachment_1815" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-1815" style="width: 1600px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><img loading="lazy" class="size-full wp-image-1815" src="https://blog.tractorzoom.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/IMG_5803-copy.png" alt="Side view of a Farmall Land 1206" width="1600" height="900" srcset="https://blog.tractorzoom.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/IMG_5803-copy.png 1600w, https://blog.tractorzoom.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/IMG_5803-copy-300x169.png 300w, https://blog.tractorzoom.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/IMG_5803-copy-1024x576.png 1024w, https://blog.tractorzoom.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/IMG_5803-copy-768x432.png 768w, https://blog.tractorzoom.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/IMG_5803-copy-1536x864.png 1536w" sizes="(max-width: 767px) 89vw, (max-width: 1000px) 54vw, (max-width: 1071px) 543px, 580px" /><figcaption id="caption-attachment-1815" class="wp-caption-text">Jerry kept a few tractors after the museum closed, but this one was always his favorite. His father sold it new in 1966. Jerry bought it back in 1988 and restored it to what you see here. It&#8217;s fitting that this beautiful 1206 carried him to his final resting place this past Saturday.</figcaption></figure>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>


Farmall Land: It was never really about the tractors…

Why I’ll never look at a John Deere 4640 the same again…

<p><img loading="lazy" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-1770" src="https://blog.tractorzoom.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/Hero-093021.jpg" alt="Hero 093021" width="1200" height="1200" srcset="https://blog.tractorzoom.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/Hero-093021.jpg 1200w, https://blog.tractorzoom.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/Hero-093021-300x300.jpg 300w, https://blog.tractorzoom.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/Hero-093021-1024x1024.jpg 1024w, https://blog.tractorzoom.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/Hero-093021-150x150.jpg 150w, https://blog.tractorzoom.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/Hero-093021-768x768.jpg 768w, https://blog.tractorzoom.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/Hero-093021-100x100.jpg 100w" sizes="(max-width: 767px) 89vw, (max-width: 1000px) 54vw, (max-width: 1071px) 543px, 580px" /></p>
<h2><a href="https://tractorzoom.com/search?keyword=%23interestingiron&amp;utm_source=interestingiron&amp;utm_medium=blog&amp;utm_campaign=093021"><strong>Check out this week&#8217;s Interesting Iron listings on TZ!</strong></a></h2>
<p>Every so often, I see auctions where I know the seller from one area of my life or another. Such is the case this week, with a pair of John Deere 4020s selling at an auction hosted by my friend Mark Putney at <a href="https://tractorzoom.com/auctioneer/putney-auction-service?utm_source=interestingiron&amp;utm_medium=blog&amp;utm_campaign=093021">Putney Auction Services</a>. They belong to my friend (and coworker) Cindy Howard.</p>
<p>Cindy joined the Tractor Zoom family just over two years ago as a member of the Auction Success Team. Basically, it&#8217;s her job to build relationships with our auctioneer partners, and help them get their sales listed on the Tractor Zoom website. She, along with the rest of the AST, are absolutely critical to our success as a company. If we don&#8217;t have those relationships, we don&#8217;t have auctions to promote. If we don&#8217;t have anything to promote, we can&#8217;t help Tractor Zoom users find the equipment they need for their farms.</p>
<p>So yeah&#8230;Cindy, Matt, John, and Jeremy are at the core of our company. I can&#8217;t imagine what life would be like without them.</p>
<p>Now, before anybody starts accusing me of playing favorites&#8230;let me clear the air. These John Deere 4020s that she&#8217;s consigning are becoming something of a rarity, because they&#8217;re one-owner tractors. Her dad bought both of them brand new from a local dealer just south of Des Moines. They&#8217;ve been in the family ever since. These were the tractors that Cindy grew up on!</p>
<p>I&#8217;m not going to try and write something new as far as the history of the 4020 is concerned. There have been hundreds of pages devoted to telling the story of the 4020 (<a href="https://octanepress.com/book/john-deere-tractor-evolution">and more are being released every day</a>). There&#8217;s nothing new that I can really add to it!</p>
<p>So, let&#8217;s look at this pair of 4020s!</p>
<h2><a href="https://tractorzoom.com/equipment/60525836-a624-441d-a992-5eb0e9235cdb/1965-John-Deere-4020?utm_source=interestingiron&amp;utm_medium=blog&amp;utm_campaign=093021"><strong>1965 John Deere 4020 (Gas)</strong></a></h2>
<figure id="attachment_1771" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-1771" style="width: 1200px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><a href="https://tractorzoom.com/equipment/60525836-a624-441d-a992-5eb0e9235cdb/1965-John-Deere-4020?utm_source=interestingiron&amp;utm_medium=blog&amp;utm_campaign=093021"><img loading="lazy" class="size-full wp-image-1771" src="https://blog.tractorzoom.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/1965-John-Deere-4020.png" alt="1965 John Deere 4020" width="1200" height="900" srcset="https://blog.tractorzoom.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/1965-John-Deere-4020.png 1200w, https://blog.tractorzoom.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/1965-John-Deere-4020-300x225.png 300w, https://blog.tractorzoom.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/1965-John-Deere-4020-1024x768.png 1024w, https://blog.tractorzoom.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/1965-John-Deere-4020-768x576.png 768w" sizes="(max-width: 767px) 89vw, (max-width: 1000px) 54vw, (max-width: 1071px) 543px, 580px" /></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-1771" class="wp-caption-text">Click the photo to see the TZ auction listing!</figcaption></figure>
<p>This was the first 4020 that Cindy&#8217;s dad ever bought for their small farm (the Alkorn Ranch) out near Winterset, IA. If I had to guess, it was originally purchased at one of the local dealers (which I believe is now an AgriVision location). By 1969, Deere had over 3700 dealers in North America, so tracing tractors back to original dealers can be a bit of a challenge if the decal and paperwork isn&#8217;t handy.</p>
<p>At any rate, this tractor was the primary workhorse for a year or two on the Alkorn Ranch. They kept livestock, so it was sort of a do-it-all tractor, which was exactly how Deere intended the 4020 to be used. I&#8217;m just about positive that it planted corn, baled hay, and did quite a bit of choring with a loader.</p>
<p>At some point in its life (Cindy couldn&#8217;t remember when), loader life took its toll and the front axle blew out. When that happened, Dad swapped the axle with one from a 6030. That was a fairly common swap back in the day, as they were a lot beefier, and better-suited to the stresses of life with a loader.</p>
<figure id="attachment_1773" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-1773" style="width: 1200px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" class="size-full wp-image-1773" src="https://blog.tractorzoom.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/1965-John-Deere-4020-Front-Axle.png" alt="tractor Front Axle" width="1200" height="900" srcset="https://blog.tractorzoom.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/1965-John-Deere-4020-Front-Axle.png 1200w, https://blog.tractorzoom.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/1965-John-Deere-4020-Front-Axle-300x225.png 300w, https://blog.tractorzoom.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/1965-John-Deere-4020-Front-Axle-1024x768.png 1024w, https://blog.tractorzoom.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/1965-John-Deere-4020-Front-Axle-768x576.png 768w" sizes="(max-width: 767px) 89vw, (max-width: 1000px) 54vw, (max-width: 1071px) 543px, 580px" /><figcaption id="caption-attachment-1773" class="wp-caption-text">When the original axle bit the dust, Cindy&#8217;s dad swapped in a much heavier-duty axle from a 6030. Beefy is good!</figcaption></figure>
<p>The tractor itself runs well according to Cindy (I believe it was driven to the auction yard from her farm, which is at least 20 miles away). It&#8217;ll need a little a few things, but it&#8217;s got good bones, and it&#8217;ll serve a new owner pretty well, I&#8217;d imagine!</p>
<figure id="attachment_1775" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-1775" style="width: 900px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" class="size-full wp-image-1775" src="https://blog.tractorzoom.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/1965-John-Deere-4020-Cab.png" alt="Year A Round cab" width="900" height="1200" srcset="https://blog.tractorzoom.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/1965-John-Deere-4020-Cab.png 900w, https://blog.tractorzoom.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/1965-John-Deere-4020-Cab-225x300.png 225w, https://blog.tractorzoom.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/1965-John-Deere-4020-Cab-768x1024.png 768w" sizes="(max-width: 767px) 89vw, (max-width: 1000px) 54vw, (max-width: 1071px) 543px, 580px" /><figcaption id="caption-attachment-1775" class="wp-caption-text">The cab will need a new headliner and doors. The seat&#8217;s in good shape, though!</figcaption></figure>
<figure id="attachment_1774" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-1774" style="width: 900px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" class="size-full wp-image-1774" src="https://blog.tractorzoom.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/1965-John-Deere-4020-Front-End-1.png" alt="tractor hood" width="900" height="1200" srcset="https://blog.tractorzoom.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/1965-John-Deere-4020-Front-End-1.png 900w, https://blog.tractorzoom.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/1965-John-Deere-4020-Front-End-1-225x300.png 225w, https://blog.tractorzoom.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/1965-John-Deere-4020-Front-End-1-768x1024.png 768w" sizes="(max-width: 767px) 89vw, (max-width: 1000px) 54vw, (max-width: 1071px) 543px, 580px" /><figcaption id="caption-attachment-1774" class="wp-caption-text">The hood has plenty of character, but I&#8217;ve seen worse.</figcaption></figure>
<h4>What&#8217;s it worth?</h4>
<p>Honestly, you can pay whatever you want for a 4020. This year alone, we&#8217;ve seen them sell for over $30K, and as cheap as $2600. As you&#8217;d expect, the nicer (and more original) the tractor, the higher the price. And although this one is pretty original, which is generally desirable, it&#8217;s also a little worse for wear. It is a gasser, though, which is on the much less common side, so that may help the value a little bit. I feel like this is probably a $5-6000 tractor. Time will tell! The live auction starts on Saturday morning at 10AM Central, and it&#8217;ll be simulcast on the web as well. If I weren&#8217;t heading to Indiana to shoot some drag racing &amp; tractor pulling this weekend, you&#8217;d find me at this auction!</p>
<p><a href="https://tractorzoom.com/auctioneer/putney-auction-service/fall-equipment-consignment-auction-1022021-putney-auction-service?utm_source=interestingiron&amp;utm_medium=blog&amp;utm_campaign=093021"><strong>Check out the full sale bill here!</strong></a></p>
<p><a href="https://tractorzoom.com/equipment/60525836-a624-441d-a992-5eb0e9235cdb/1965-John-Deere-4020?utm_source=interestingiron&amp;utm_medium=blog&amp;utm_campaign=093021"><strong>Check out the details on this 1965 John Deere 4020 here!</strong></a></p>
<h2><a href="https://tractorzoom.com/equipment/e55139a7-309f-447c-8887-f5ef71aea877/1966-John-Deere-4020?utm_source=interestingiron&amp;utm_medium=blog&amp;utm_campaign=093021"><strong>1966 John Deere 4020 (Gas)</strong></a></h2>
<figure id="attachment_1776" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-1776" style="width: 1200px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><a href="https://tractorzoom.com/equipment/e55139a7-309f-447c-8887-f5ef71aea877/1966-John-Deere-4020?utm_source=interestingiron&amp;utm_medium=blog&amp;utm_campaign=093021"><img loading="lazy" class="wp-image-1776 size-full" src="https://blog.tractorzoom.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/1966-John-Deere-4020.png" alt="1966 John Deere 4020" width="1200" height="900" srcset="https://blog.tractorzoom.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/1966-John-Deere-4020.png 1200w, https://blog.tractorzoom.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/1966-John-Deere-4020-300x225.png 300w, https://blog.tractorzoom.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/1966-John-Deere-4020-1024x768.png 1024w, https://blog.tractorzoom.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/1966-John-Deere-4020-768x576.png 768w" sizes="(max-width: 767px) 89vw, (max-width: 1000px) 54vw, (max-width: 1071px) 543px, 580px" /></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-1776" class="wp-caption-text">Click the photo to see the auction listing on TZ!</figcaption></figure>
<p>Of Cindy&#8217;s two 4020s, the 1966 gasser is definitely the cleaner of the two. Cindy&#8217;s Dad bought this one brand new in 1966, and it&#8217;s been on the family farm ever since. I&#8217;m not sure when the Westendorf WL-42 loader came into play; it&#8217;s definitely newer than the tractor. It served as a second</p>
<p>Honestly, other than the typical sunburn on the hood and a ding or dent here and there, this one is in pretty darn good shape. I could go on and tell you what this tractor did at the Alkorn Ranch back in the day, but it&#8217;s basically the same as its big brother tractor up above!</p>
<p>Plus, the story of the Alkorn Ranch is pretty neat&#8230;and that&#8217;s coming up in next!</p>
<h4><strong>What&#8217;s it worth?</strong></h4>
<p>Based on some comparable sales in Iron Comps, I think this is probably a $7-8000 tractor.  If I had to guess, this one will remain a working tractor for somebody. Gas tractors still have a place here in the upper midwest, where chores still have to be done even when it&#8217;s cold outside&#8230;and gassers start easier than diesels in the cold! Actually, this one sports a Fireball XR700 electronic ignition, so it should fire up in just about any situation!</p>
<p><a href="https://tractorzoom.com/equipment/e55139a7-309f-447c-8887-f5ef71aea877/1966-John-Deere-4020?utm_source=successfulfarming&amp;utm_medium=interestingiron&amp;utm_campaign=093021"><strong>Check out the details on this 1966 John Deere 4020 here!</strong></a></p>
<h2><strong>The Alkorn Ranch</strong></h2>
<p>I&#8217;ve known Cindy Howard for two years or more, and I knew that her background was in cattle. However for some reason, I had it stuck in my head that her family had raised Black Angus like most other Iowa beef producers. I found out this morning that this was NOT the case!</p>
<p>The Alkorn Ranch was in operation until her dad passed away in 1987, and they were known for one thing; purebred Charolais cattle. They&#8217;re a big, stocky French breed that seem to do pretty well in the upper Midwest with its cold winters. They&#8217;re also known for being pretty even tempered and easy to handle (for the most part).</p>
<h4>Sentinel: The Protective Loudmouth</h4>
<p>They raised several pretty impressive animals when Cindy was a kid, too. Sentinel was a bull that was shown in Kansas City as well as Louisville at the National Western, where it took Reserve Champion honors in 1981. Cindy told me that Sentinel was quite the animal. He was used to having horses around him at home, and during shows, Cindy had to take him on walks to the horses to help calm his nerves. She said that if his nerves got the better of him, you&#8217;d swear he was about to tear the stall down! On multiple occasions, Cindy (all 5&#8217;2&#8243; of her) raised a few eyebrows when she marched into his stall while he was having a fit, and calmed him down almost instinctively! Sentinel was pretty protective, too. He didn&#8217;t like anybody getting near &#8220;his&#8221; Cindy.</p>
<h4><strong>Casper: The Center of Attention</strong></h4>
<p>The other notable animal that they raised was Casper. Casper was a character. For whatever odd reason, he liked costumes. Cindy told me that one of her fondest memories of that animal was walking him out of the stalls and through the main drag at the Iowa State Fairgrounds to appear on the Channel 5 news&#8230;wearing a string of five bandannas tied around his neck and a pair of sunglasses! Casper took Iowa State Super Bull honors that year as well.</p>
<p>Cindy&#8217;s family was very involved in the Iowa Charolais Breeder&#8217;s Association, too. Her Dad served as a director for many years, and I believe that Cindy&#8217;s still active in the group today.</p>
<p>At the end of the day, this pair of 4020s are pretty run of the mill. But without those two tractors, Casper and Sentinel wouldn&#8217;t exist, and Cindy probably wouldn&#8217;t be who she is today. To a point, the physical stuff around us shapes and molds us into the people we are today, or will be in the future.</p>
<p>And that makes these tractors pretty important, as far as I&#8217;m concerned.</p>


John Deere 4020: Two of a kind!

<p><img loading="lazy" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-1761" src="https://blog.tractorzoom.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/Hero-0922.jpg" alt="Hero 0922" width="1200" height="1200" srcset="https://blog.tractorzoom.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/Hero-0922.jpg 1200w, https://blog.tractorzoom.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/Hero-0922-300x300.jpg 300w, https://blog.tractorzoom.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/Hero-0922-1024x1024.jpg 1024w, https://blog.tractorzoom.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/Hero-0922-150x150.jpg 150w, https://blog.tractorzoom.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/Hero-0922-768x768.jpg 768w, https://blog.tractorzoom.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/Hero-0922-100x100.jpg 100w" sizes="(max-width: 767px) 89vw, (max-width: 1000px) 54vw, (max-width: 1071px) 543px, 580px" /></p>
<h2><a href="https://tractorzoom.com/search?keyword=%23interestingiron&amp;utm_source=interestingiron&amp;utm_medium=blog&amp;utm_campaign=092221"><strong>See the details on this week&#8217;s Interesting Iron here.</strong></a></h2>
<p>This week, we&#8217;ve got a few nifty farm auction finds in the midwest. One in Missouri, one in Illinois, and one in Minnesota. Let&#8217;s get to it!</p>
<h2><a href="https://tractorzoom.com/equipment/bdb19ffc-683f-404b-8eaf-7a756b6f3643/Oliver-Super-44?utm_source=interestingiron&amp;utm_medium=blog&amp;utm_campaign=092221"><strong>An Oliver with airplane parts!?!?!?</strong></a></h2>
<p><a href="https://tractorzoom.com/equipment/bdb19ffc-683f-404b-8eaf-7a756b6f3643/Oliver-Super-44?utm_source=interestingiron&amp;utm_medium=blog&amp;utm_campaign=092221"><img loading="lazy" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-1763" src="https://blog.tractorzoom.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/Super44-copy-2.png" alt="Super44 Copy 2" width="1024" height="681" srcset="https://blog.tractorzoom.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/Super44-copy-2.png 1024w, https://blog.tractorzoom.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/Super44-copy-2-300x200.png 300w, https://blog.tractorzoom.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/Super44-copy-2-768x511.png 768w" sizes="(max-width: 767px) 89vw, (max-width: 1000px) 54vw, (max-width: 1071px) 543px, 580px" /></a></p>
<p>Let&#8217;s talk low-production Olivers for a minute. If I&#8217;m not mistaken, the Super 44 was the second-lowest production in the company&#8217;s history. It was only produced for two years &#8211; 1957 and 1958. Furthermore, Oliver only turned out 775 of these little guys in total!</p>
<p>During the late 40s, International released several small offset models, and the market sort of followed suit. Not to be outdone, Oliver did too. Honestly, the Super 44 was kind of an odd little fella. Oliver outsourced quite a bit of this tractor.  For instance, the motor came from Continental, and the hydraulics came from Cessna (the airplane company)! The steering box came from Saginaw, and both the 4-speed gearbox and axles came from Clark. Nearly every major system on this tractor was sourced from one of Oliver&#8217;s suppliers.</p>
<p>I&#8217;m honestly not sure why, but I wonder if it had something to do with their dealer network. During the 40s and 50s, Oliver had a Dealer Advisory Council &#8211; a group of dealers from all over the country &#8211; that they regularly solicited product feedback from. Well, in the early 50s, the dealers really wanted a compact tractor to compete with the 8N, and Oliver&#8217;s design team put a prototype together that looked an awful lot like the Super 44. This was definitely NOT what the dealers were looking for as far as the 8N-fighter. The concept was retooled and the result was the Super 55 (which WAS what the dealers were wanting).</p>
<p>At some point, though, somebody came back to the Super 44 concept and it got the green light. The small, offset tractor with mid-mounted attachments worked really well for cultivating tobacco, and many of these tractors ended up in Virginia, Tennessee, Kentucky, and the Carolinas.</p>
<h4>What&#8217;s it worth?</h4>
<p>Up until about 5 years ago, these tractors and the second-generation version (the 440) were the hottest thing going at farm auctions (collector auctions too). If you had one that was nicely restored, you could count on every bit of $10-12K if not more. In 2016/2017, though, prices started to calm back down. They&#8217;re still pretty high for an itty bitty 30-horse tractor, but they&#8217;re not as crazy as they once were. I&#8217;d imagine that this one will probably sell somewhere in the $7-8000 range. It&#8217;s been nicely restored and has new rubber all the way around, and it&#8217;s part of a pretty sweet collection of smaller-sized classics!</p>
<p><strong>Auctioneer: <a href="https://tractorzoom.com/auctioneer/younger-auction-co?utm_source=interestingiron&amp;utm_medium=blog&amp;utm_campaign=092221">Younger Auction Co.</a></strong><br />
<strong>Sale Date: September 25, 2021<br />
Location: Maryville, MO</strong><br />
<strong><a href="https://tractorzoom.com/auctioneer/younger-auction-co/lifetime-collection-parade-ready-antique-tractors-9252021-younger-auction-co?utm_source=interestingiron&amp;utm_medium=blog&amp;utm_campaign=092221">Full Sale Bill</a></strong></p>
<h2><a href="https://tractorzoom.com/equipment/10c09bdf-a951-40ac-a19e-00c208b7737e/1975-International-4300?utm_source=interestingiron&amp;utm_medium=blog&amp;utm_campaign=092221"><strong>1975 International Transtar 4300 Grain Truck</strong></a></h2>
<p><a href="https://tractorzoom.com/equipment/10c09bdf-a951-40ac-a19e-00c208b7737e/1975-International-4300?utm_source=interestingiron&amp;utm_medium=blog&amp;utm_campaign=092221"><img loading="lazy" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-1762" src="https://blog.tractorzoom.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/InternationalGrainTruck-copy.png" alt="International Transtar 4300 at auction" width="800" height="535" srcset="https://blog.tractorzoom.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/InternationalGrainTruck-copy.png 800w, https://blog.tractorzoom.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/InternationalGrainTruck-copy-300x201.png 300w, https://blog.tractorzoom.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/InternationalGrainTruck-copy-768x514.png 768w" sizes="(max-width: 767px) 89vw, (max-width: 1000px) 54vw, (max-width: 1071px) 543px, 580px" /></a></p>
<p>I&#8217;ll probably always have a soft spot for Transtars. When I was just a little kid, my Uncle John hauled our apples and cherries with Transtar cabovers. It was a tradition that during cherry harvest, I used to ride with him and my cousins up to Graun, MI to Cherry Central to drop that day&#8217;s load and bring home the previous day&#8217;s cherry tanks. We were huge Detroit Tigers fans, and always listened to Ernie Harwell &amp; Paul Carey call the games on the way up. Those were some of my favorite memories from my childhood!</p>
<p>Anyway, the Transtar conventional lineup was introduced to compete with the &#8220;big&#8221; players in the over the road semi market in 1971 (the cabovers came later). Transtars were wider-track than International&#8217;s previous offerings, and they were very solid trucks. They didn&#8217;t have quite the same configurability as the Peterbilt 359, but International did have a bunch of engines available.</p>
<p>At the end of the day, the Transtar conventional semis sold okay, but they didn&#8217;t set the world on fire quite like International had hoped they would. Peterbilt and KW remained on top, but for the day cab and straight truck market, these trucks did sell pretty well. There were &#8211; and probably still are &#8211; thousands of these trucks lumbering around the midwest hauling corn and soybeans!</p>
<p>This one has survived the last 45 years better than most. It&#8217;s powered by an 8V-71 Detroit (which I also have a soft spot for), and runs an Eaton/Fuller transmission (likely a Road Ranger). Pretty standard for a grain truck like this one. With about 267K on the odometer, the farmer who owned this one must not have had far to go to get to an elevator. With that Detroit under the hood, though, I&#8217;ll bet everyone heard him coming!</p>
<h4>What&#8217;s it worth?</h4>
<p>In looking at Iron Comps for comparable farm auction results for these trucks, I think it&#8217;s probably safe to say that this one will sit somewhere between $6-8K. The smaller grain box probably hurts resale a little bit (I think that&#8217;s a 16&#8242; &#8211; maybe 18&#8242;), but there&#8217;s a little nostalgia for trucks with 70s-era striped paint jobs. The Detroit powerplant is probably a bonus, as parts are a dime a dozen in most places, and they&#8217;re relatively easy to work on. At the end of the day, trucks like these seem to speak to a certain crowd that remembers the world before 24-row planters, hopper bottoms, and huge combines. If I had to guess, somebody like that will go for this one.</p>
<p><strong>Auctioneer: <a href="https://tractorzoom.com/auctioneer/tony-montgomery-realty-auction-company?utm_source=interestingiron&amp;utm_medium=blog&amp;utm_campaign=092221">Tony Montgomery Auction &amp; Realty</a></strong><br />
<strong>Sale Date: September 28, 2021</strong><br />
<strong>Location: Plainview, MN</strong><br />
<a href="https://tractorzoom.com/auctioneer/tony-montgomery-realty-auction-company/september-18-28-2021-9282021-tony-montgomery-realty-and-auction-company?utm_source=interestingiron&amp;utm_medium=blog&amp;utm_campaign=092221"><strong>Full Sale Bill</strong></a></p>
<h2><a href="https://tractorzoom.com/equipment/e45ebd79-bc6b-46fd-81fa-dcc2312fbdd6/John-Deere-4630?utm_source=interestingiron&amp;utm_medium=blog&amp;utm_campaign=092221"><strong>John Deere 4630 Open Station</strong></a></h2>
<p><a href="https://tractorzoom.com/equipment/e45ebd79-bc6b-46fd-81fa-dcc2312fbdd6/John-Deere-4630?utm_source=interestingiron&amp;utm_medium=blog&amp;utm_campaign=092221"><img loading="lazy" class="aligncenter wp-image-1764 size-full" src="https://blog.tractorzoom.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/4630-Open-Station-2-copy-3.png" alt="4630 Open Station 2 Copy 3" width="800" height="606" srcset="https://blog.tractorzoom.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/4630-Open-Station-2-copy-3.png 800w, https://blog.tractorzoom.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/4630-Open-Station-2-copy-3-300x227.png 300w, https://blog.tractorzoom.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/4630-Open-Station-2-copy-3-768x582.png 768w" sizes="(max-width: 767px) 89vw, (max-width: 1000px) 54vw, (max-width: 1071px) 543px, 580px" /></a></p>
<p>John Deere 4630s aren&#8217;t exactly rare or unusual. Mother Deere cranked out nearly 25,000 of them between 1973 and 1977. But&#8230;finding one that&#8217;s a factory fender tractor? That&#8217;s a little less common. Record-keeping wasn&#8217;t real strong during the SoundGard days, so nobody really knows how many variants were produced. Honestly, I can&#8217;t remember the last time I saw one at a farm auction!</p>
<p>It IS, however, safe to say that a factory open station is pretty darn uncommon. This one is a two-owner tractor with 6000 hours on it &#8211; most of them spent dragging a planter in Illinois! It&#8217;s been very well cared for, and personally, I think she&#8217;s a beauty!</p>
<p>The 4630 was the king of the hill for the 30-series (aside from the 6030, which I&#8217;d put in a different category altogether). It used the same 404 as its littler brothers, but where the 4230 was naturally aspirated and the 4430 was turbocharged, the 4630 was turbocharged AND aftercooled. That was good for about 15 horsepower over the 4620, a noticeable difference in the field.</p>
<p>The air intake is behind the the stack, which is a dead giveaway that the tractor is later production. Deere had some issues with overheating in the early production. The engineers solved the problem in 1975, by relocating the air cleaner to the top of the motor, which allowed them to cram a bigger radiator out in front.</p>
<h4>What&#8217;s it worth?</h4>
<p>It&#8217;s a sharp tractor, and as a quad range open station, it&#8217;s a relatively uncommon tractor. That said, it also has 6000 hours on it, so it&#8217;s probably out of the running for most higher-line collectors. When this farm auction closes, I&#8217;d imagine it&#8217;ll still go for somewhere north of $15K. I don&#8217;t think it&#8217;ll hit $20K, but it&#8217;ll be fun to find out!</p>
<p><strong>Auctioneer: <a href="https://tractorzoom.com/auctioneer/bauer-auction-service?utm_source=interestingiron&amp;utm_medium=blog&amp;utm_campaign=092221">Bauer Auction Service</a></strong><br />
<strong>Sale Date: September 23, 2021</strong><br />
<strong>Location: Martinsville, IL</strong><br />
<strong><a href="https://tractorzoom.com/auctioneer/bauer-auction-service/verlyn-and-patsie-reed-estate-9242021-bauer-auction-service?utm_source=interestingiron&amp;utm_medium=blog&amp;utm_campaign=092221">Full Sale Bill</a></strong></p>


Farm auction finds: Olivers with airplane parts, and gems from the class of ’75!

<p><a style="font-size: 1rem; color: #000000;" href="https://blog.tractorzoom.com/2021-used-tractor-values/">Utility tractors have seen some of the biggest increases in auction values this past year</a><span style="font-size: 1rem;"> </span><span style="font-size: 1rem;">and their usage is</span><span style="font-size: 1rem;"> </span><span style="font-size: 1rem;">ubiquitous across the varied terrain of the US.  In this post we will investigate how these utility tractor values differ depending on the region.</span> Location may not be the top determinant of equipment values, but it does matter. This was a follow-up question from our last webinar. <em>“How does this [analysis] apply to my dealership in the mountain west?”</em> We answered that question <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I48IX28p_Ok">in a video post here</a>. T<a href="https://bit.ly/2Xwob0Z">his week&#8217;s webinar will broaden the scope to also look at how row crop tractors and the John Deere S670 is valued differently across states</a>.</p>
<p>The flat, open land of the grain belt naturally sets a ceiling for most ag equipment used in corn, soybean and wheat geographies. Larger tractors, combines, and other grain equipment will typically bring higher values with a substantially higher volume sold. The graph below depicts the region average price difference of utility tractors (100 – 174 HP) sold in 2019 and 2020. This analysis utilized Iron Comp’s filtering options to arrive at two comparable data sets. Below are tractors with less than 5,000 hours, and sold at auction for more than $10,000 between January and August.</p>
<h2>Utility Tractor Values by Region</h2>
<p><span style="font-size: 1rem;">What we see first are the value peaks representing the Midwest. All other regions’ were 14% lower than the Midwest in 2020 and 23% lower in 2021. This increased discrepancy is not surprising when you consider what is driving the demand in the Midwest. The 2020 and 2021 bullish grain market.</span></p>
<p><img loading="lazy" class=" wp-image-1757 aligncenter" src="https://blog.tractorzoom.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/Values-of-Utility-Tractors-by-Region-1-300x146.png" alt="Values Of Utility Tractors By Region" width="522" height="254" srcset="https://blog.tractorzoom.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/Values-of-Utility-Tractors-by-Region-1-300x146.png 300w, https://blog.tractorzoom.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/Values-of-Utility-Tractors-by-Region-1-1024x499.png 1024w, https://blog.tractorzoom.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/Values-of-Utility-Tractors-by-Region-1-768x374.png 768w, https://blog.tractorzoom.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/Values-of-Utility-Tractors-by-Region-1-1536x748.png 1536w, https://blog.tractorzoom.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/Values-of-Utility-Tractors-by-Region-1.png 1850w" sizes="(max-width: 522px) 100vw, 522px" /></p>
<p>So how much have regional utility tractor rates increased from early 2020 to 2021? You could break out the calculator with the graph figures above, or you can let us do the math below.</p>
<p><img loading="lazy" class="wp-image-1753 aligncenter" src="https://blog.tractorzoom.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/Number-Breakdown-of-Region-YOY-300x65.png" alt="Iron Comps Change in Utility Tractor Values by Region YOY" width="535" height="116" srcset="https://blog.tractorzoom.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/Number-Breakdown-of-Region-YOY-300x65.png 300w, https://blog.tractorzoom.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/Number-Breakdown-of-Region-YOY-1024x221.png 1024w, https://blog.tractorzoom.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/Number-Breakdown-of-Region-YOY-768x166.png 768w, https://blog.tractorzoom.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/Number-Breakdown-of-Region-YOY.png 1075w" sizes="(max-width: 535px) 100vw, 535px" /><br />
Similar to the demand logic about the Midwest, other regions with high demand of utility tractors should also see higher year over year increases. The Northeast&#8217;s heavy use of utility tractors in dairy country are a good example. The New England region has a 38% year over year increase in value.</p>
<p>In this data set there were fewer comparables from the Rockies and Pacific states <span style="font-size: 1rem;">with the applied month and sale price filters. When this happens the average should receive less weight in your valuation model. A more direct look at comparables may be more beneficial. Iron Comps has recently added in a search by state function. Check out the Auction Results screenshot below. This allows for faster sorting and locating of the best comps. </span></p>
<p><img loading="lazy" class=" wp-image-1754 aligncenter" src="https://blog.tractorzoom.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/Iron-Comps-Screenshot-of-Search-by-State-Utility-Case-IH-300x159.png" alt="Iron Comps Auction Results: Search By State Utility Case IH" width="637" height="338" srcset="https://blog.tractorzoom.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/Iron-Comps-Screenshot-of-Search-by-State-Utility-Case-IH-300x159.png 300w, https://blog.tractorzoom.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/Iron-Comps-Screenshot-of-Search-by-State-Utility-Case-IH-1024x543.png 1024w, https://blog.tractorzoom.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/Iron-Comps-Screenshot-of-Search-by-State-Utility-Case-IH-768x407.png 768w, https://blog.tractorzoom.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/Iron-Comps-Screenshot-of-Search-by-State-Utility-Case-IH-1536x814.png 1536w, https://blog.tractorzoom.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/Iron-Comps-Screenshot-of-Search-by-State-Utility-Case-IH.png 1898w" sizes="(max-width: 637px) 100vw, 637px" /></p>
<p>If you are interested in learning more about how utility tractor values differ by region (and combine and row crop tractors too!), <a href="https://bit.ly/2Xwob0Z">tune into the webinar tomorrow</a>!</p>


How Utility Tractor Values Differ by Region

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<p><img loading="lazy" class="aligncenter wp-image-1736 size-full" src="https://blog.tractorzoom.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/Hero.115KMistake.jpg" alt="combine depreciation can be a costly part of upgrading" width="1200" height="1200" srcset="https://blog.tractorzoom.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/Hero.115KMistake.jpg 1200w, https://blog.tractorzoom.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/Hero.115KMistake-300x300.jpg 300w, https://blog.tractorzoom.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/Hero.115KMistake-1024x1024.jpg 1024w, https://blog.tractorzoom.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/Hero.115KMistake-150x150.jpg 150w, https://blog.tractorzoom.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/Hero.115KMistake-768x768.jpg 768w, https://blog.tractorzoom.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/Hero.115KMistake-100x100.jpg 100w" sizes="(max-width: 767px) 89vw, (max-width: 1000px) 54vw, (max-width: 1071px) 543px, 580px" /></p>
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<p>2021 has been a pretty good year for corn and soybean prices, and many farmers are looking to upgrade equipment. One of the highest value items on that list is the combine. But, at the end of the day, does it really make sense, or is it a high-dollar mistake waiting to happen?</p>
<p>John is one of our buddies, and like everybody else, he&#8217;s trying to figure out what to do. Is it a better idea to pick up a bigger, newer combine with lower hours, trade in for another one like he&#8217;s already got but with lower hours, hang on to what he&#8217;s got, or something different altogether?</p>
<p>So, over beers one night, we started talking through his options, and penciled some things out. If you&#8217;re in a similar position, maybe this will be helpful to you.</p>
<p>Here are a few key factors to consider when deciding what to do.</p>
<ol>
<li>Usage</li>
<li>Current Market Value</li>
<li>Interest Expense</li>
<li>Expected Repairs</li>
<li>Fuel Expense</li>
<li>Actual Depreciation</li>
</ol>
<p>He&#8217;s currently using a <strong>John Deere S670</strong> with <strong>~1800</strong> separator hours. He&#8217;s farming about 1,800 acres with a 50/50 corn and soybean rotation.</p>
<h2><strong>Usage</strong></h2>
<p>One key factor to consider is how long you plan on owning your next combine. How many years is this thing going to live in your machine shed, and how many separator hours are you going to put on it per year? In John&#8217;s case, it&#8217;ll probably be about 5 years and ~215 separator hours per year.</p>
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<figure><a class="image-link image2 image2-73-542" href="https://cdn.substack.com/image/fetch/f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fbucketeer-e05bbc84-baa3-437e-9518-adb32be77984.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F801f95db-69c1-43b7-8325-6e106d420419_914x122.png" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><img src="https://cdn.substack.com/image/fetch/w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fbucketeer-e05bbc84-baa3-437e-9518-adb32be77984.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F801f95db-69c1-43b7-8325-6e106d420419_914x122.png" alt="" data-attrs="{&quot;src&quot;:&quot;https://bucketeer-e05bbc84-baa3-437e-9518-adb32be77984.s3.amazonaws.com/public/images/801f95db-69c1-43b7-8325-6e106d420419_914x122.png&quot;,&quot;height&quot;:122,&quot;width&quot;:914,&quot;resizeWidth&quot;:542,&quot;bytes&quot;:24837,&quot;alt&quot;:null,&quot;title&quot;:null,&quot;type&quot;:&quot;image/png&quot;,&quot;href&quot;:null}" /></a></figure>
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<h2><strong>Current Market Value</strong></h2>
<p>One of the biggest pain points for farmers is understanding the current value of their farm equipment. We looked at prices for over <strong>825</strong> John Deere S670s currently listed on MachineFinder.com and narrowed down the results to just those machines between 1700-1900 hours. This resulted in an average dealer list price of <strong>~$142,000</strong> for 72 machines.</p>
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<figure><a class="image-link image2 image2-501-811" href="https://cdn.substack.com/image/fetch/f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fbucketeer-e05bbc84-baa3-437e-9518-adb32be77984.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F3ac66497-915c-4e08-9fb1-1b8a225e8e90_811x501.png" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><img class="alignleft" src="https://cdn.substack.com/image/fetch/w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fbucketeer-e05bbc84-baa3-437e-9518-adb32be77984.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F3ac66497-915c-4e08-9fb1-1b8a225e8e90_811x501.png" alt="" data-attrs="{&quot;src&quot;:&quot;https://bucketeer-e05bbc84-baa3-437e-9518-adb32be77984.s3.amazonaws.com/public/images/3ac66497-915c-4e08-9fb1-1b8a225e8e90_811x501.png&quot;,&quot;height&quot;:501,&quot;width&quot;:811,&quot;resizeWidth&quot;:null,&quot;bytes&quot;:27866,&quot;alt&quot;:null,&quot;title&quot;:null,&quot;type&quot;:&quot;image/png&quot;,&quot;href&quot;:null}" /></a></figure>
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<p>For the sake of this argument, let&#8217;s assume trade in value of roughly <strong>80%</strong> of list value for our John Deere S670. That puts the trade-in value of John&#8217;s combine at about <strong>$113,600</strong>.</p>
<p>Using the same basic data noted above to compare the following, let&#8217;s assume a purchase price of <strong>~93%</strong> of List Price for each. Here&#8217;s the options he&#8217;s looking at.</p>
<ul>
<li style="list-style-type: none;">
<ul>
<li>Trade up to a John Deere S770 with 500-1000 hrs?</li>
<li>Trade up to one with less than 500 hours?</li>
<li>Or, trade in for another S670 with lower hours?</li>
<li>Or, keep the S670 we have now, knowing we&#8217;ll have high repair costs in the future?</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
<p>John plans on applying the trade-in value of of his S670 to the purchase price of the combines listed above, resulting in our “Trade in Boot Value.” Let&#8217;s also assume that the “Trade in Boot” is going to be fully financed and that our current S670 is paid off.</p>
<figure id="attachment_1684" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-1684" style="width: 1784px" class="wp-caption alignleft"><img loading="lazy" class="size-full wp-image-1684" src="https://blog.tractorzoom.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/Screen-Shot-2021-09-01-at-10.14.23-AM.png" alt="graphic outlining the various John Deere combine purchasing options" width="1784" height="812" srcset="https://blog.tractorzoom.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/Screen-Shot-2021-09-01-at-10.14.23-AM.png 1784w, https://blog.tractorzoom.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/Screen-Shot-2021-09-01-at-10.14.23-AM-300x137.png 300w, https://blog.tractorzoom.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/Screen-Shot-2021-09-01-at-10.14.23-AM-1024x466.png 1024w, https://blog.tractorzoom.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/Screen-Shot-2021-09-01-at-10.14.23-AM-768x350.png 768w, https://blog.tractorzoom.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/Screen-Shot-2021-09-01-at-10.14.23-AM-1536x699.png 1536w" sizes="(max-width: 767px) 89vw, (max-width: 1000px) 54vw, (max-width: 1071px) 543px, 580px" /><figcaption id="caption-attachment-1684" class="wp-caption-text">Here are the 4 different buying scenarios.</figcaption></figure>
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<h2><strong>Interest Expense</strong></h2>
<p>For each combine above we will assume a payoff term of 5 years with an interest rate of 3.5%. As expected, the S770 with the lowest hours represents the highest interest expense as it has the highest purchase price.</p>
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<figure><a class="image-link image2 image2-371-600" href="https://cdn.substack.com/image/fetch/f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fbucketeer-e05bbc84-baa3-437e-9518-adb32be77984.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F8227f20d-4cb8-4cfb-9045-084419d9c77d_600x371.png" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><img class="alignleft" src="https://cdn.substack.com/image/fetch/w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fbucketeer-e05bbc84-baa3-437e-9518-adb32be77984.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F8227f20d-4cb8-4cfb-9045-084419d9c77d_600x371.png" alt="" data-attrs="{&quot;src&quot;:&quot;https://bucketeer-e05bbc84-baa3-437e-9518-adb32be77984.s3.amazonaws.com/public/images/8227f20d-4cb8-4cfb-9045-084419d9c77d_600x371.png&quot;,&quot;height&quot;:371,&quot;width&quot;:600,&quot;resizeWidth&quot;:null,&quot;bytes&quot;:17335,&quot;alt&quot;:null,&quot;title&quot;:null,&quot;type&quot;:&quot;image/png&quot;,&quot;href&quot;:null}" /></a></figure>
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<h2><strong>Expected Repairs</strong></h2>
<p>Repairs are likely the hardest part of the equation &#8211; as it’s nearly impossible to predict. However, let’s agree that as the machine gets older and hours are added &#8211; the expected repair costs go up at an increasing rate.</p>
<p>To establish some kind of baseline, we used Iowa State University&#8217;s numbers for repair costs <a href="https://www.extension.iastate.edu/agdm/crops/html/a3-29.html">(AgDM A3-29)</a>. <em>Your repair costs may vary.</em></p>
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<figure><a class="image-link image2 image2-406-525" href="https://cdn.substack.com/image/fetch/f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fbucketeer-e05bbc84-baa3-437e-9518-adb32be77984.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F423233e5-dff3-4f55-b5d9-8492d0b0e007_679x524.png" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><img src="https://cdn.substack.com/image/fetch/w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fbucketeer-e05bbc84-baa3-437e-9518-adb32be77984.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F423233e5-dff3-4f55-b5d9-8492d0b0e007_679x524.png" alt="" data-attrs="{&quot;src&quot;:&quot;https://bucketeer-e05bbc84-baa3-437e-9518-adb32be77984.s3.amazonaws.com/public/images/423233e5-dff3-4f55-b5d9-8492d0b0e007_679x524.png&quot;,&quot;height&quot;:524,&quot;width&quot;:679,&quot;resizeWidth&quot;:525,&quot;bytes&quot;:132646,&quot;alt&quot;:null,&quot;title&quot;:null,&quot;type&quot;:&quot;image/png&quot;,&quot;href&quot;:null}" /></a></figure>
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<p>For each combine we can figure the percent (%) from the table above by using the list price for each. Newer combines have a higher list price, and the argument is that parts will inevitably be more expensive, even if everything else is equal.</p>
<p>If we slot in John&#8217;s usage numbers from above and add ~1075 hours to each machine, we can project the estimated repair costs for each machine over the next 5 years. If he keeps his current machine, that&#8217;ll obviously result in the highest expected repair cost as that would put that machine close to 3,000 separator hours at the end of 5 years.</p>
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<figure><a class="image-link image2 image2-371-600" href="https://cdn.substack.com/image/fetch/f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fbucketeer-e05bbc84-baa3-437e-9518-adb32be77984.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Ff84ddbaf-f12b-4e58-bbdf-f29b07eaaaae_600x371.png" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><img src="https://cdn.substack.com/image/fetch/w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fbucketeer-e05bbc84-baa3-437e-9518-adb32be77984.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Ff84ddbaf-f12b-4e58-bbdf-f29b07eaaaae_600x371.png" alt="" data-attrs="{&quot;src&quot;:&quot;https://bucketeer-e05bbc84-baa3-437e-9518-adb32be77984.s3.amazonaws.com/public/images/f84ddbaf-f12b-4e58-bbdf-f29b07eaaaae_600x371.png&quot;,&quot;height&quot;:371,&quot;width&quot;:600,&quot;resizeWidth&quot;:null,&quot;bytes&quot;:18974,&quot;alt&quot;:null,&quot;title&quot;:null,&quot;type&quot;:&quot;image/png&quot;,&quot;href&quot;:null}" /></a></figure>
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<h2><strong>Fuel Expense</strong></h2>
<p>For each machine listed the expected hours used are the same. For the S770s we will also assume a <em><strong>15% decrease</strong></em> in fuel usage due to efficiency gains with the newer machine. Another way of thinking about it is that the fuel cost for the S770’s will be 85% of the S670’s.</p>
<p>We will also use Fuel Required for Field Operations <a href="https://www.extension.iastate.edu/agdm/crops/html/a3-27.html">(PM 709)</a> to project fuel costs for each machine. PM 709 assumes 1.0 gal/acre for soybeans and 1.45 gal/acre for corn. For John&#8217;s 1800 acre farm that is 50/50 corn &amp; soybeans, that works out to about 2200 gallons of fuel each harvest. If fuel is $3.40/gal, this is how the fuel budget shakes out. <em>(Obviously, we can&#8217;t rely on fuel prices to remain constant, so this number will definitely move around a little.)</em></p>
<ul>
<li style="list-style-type: none;">
<ul>
<li>S670’s 5 year Fuel Expense = <strong>$37,845</strong></li>
<li>S770’s 5 year Fuel Expense = <strong>$31,862</strong></li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
<h2><strong>Combine Depreciation (Actual Depreciation)</strong></h2>
<p>The final key variable is to project out the combine depreciation &#8211; the trade in value of the machine 5 years from now with additional separator hours. We will call this value <em><strong>“Actual Depreciation”</strong></em> because it’s what you will receive for the machine when it leaves the farm. I leveraged the same dataset from above and applied the same assumptions to project out the Resale or Trade-In Value.</p>
<figure id="attachment_1685" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-1685" style="width: 1492px" class="wp-caption alignleft"><img loading="lazy" class="size-full wp-image-1685" src="https://blog.tractorzoom.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/Screen-Shot-2021-09-01-at-10.21.52-AM.png" alt="graph showing actual depreciation by john deere combine model" width="1492" height="1034" srcset="https://blog.tractorzoom.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/Screen-Shot-2021-09-01-at-10.21.52-AM.png 1492w, https://blog.tractorzoom.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/Screen-Shot-2021-09-01-at-10.21.52-AM-300x208.png 300w, https://blog.tractorzoom.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/Screen-Shot-2021-09-01-at-10.21.52-AM-1024x710.png 1024w, https://blog.tractorzoom.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/Screen-Shot-2021-09-01-at-10.21.52-AM-768x532.png 768w" sizes="(max-width: 767px) 89vw, (max-width: 1000px) 54vw, (max-width: 1071px) 543px, 580px" /><figcaption id="caption-attachment-1685" class="wp-caption-text">Here&#8217;s a graphic representation of expected combine depreciation of each of the options John&#8217;s considering. The numbers are pretty staggering!</figcaption></figure>
<div class="captioned-image-container"></div>
<p>The biggest depreciation comes from the newer, lower hour machines. This is to be expected &#8211; but farmers often overlook this, despite it being the largest ownership cost over 5 years!</p>
<h2><strong>Total Cost of Ownership</strong></h2>
<p>Finally, we can add each of the above to get to a total cost of ownership over 5 years &#8211; this also allows us to understand the Cost per Acre per Year for this decision for our 1,800 acre farm.</p>
<p><img loading="lazy" class="size-full wp-image-1683 alignleft" style="font-weight: bold; color: #666666; font-size: 0.8125rem; font-style: italic;" src="https://blog.tractorzoom.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/Screen-Shot-2021-09-01-at-10.07.37-AM.png" alt="graph showing total cost of ownership for a john deere combine" width="1350" height="862" srcset="https://blog.tractorzoom.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/Screen-Shot-2021-09-01-at-10.07.37-AM.png 1350w, https://blog.tractorzoom.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/Screen-Shot-2021-09-01-at-10.07.37-AM-300x192.png 300w, https://blog.tractorzoom.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/Screen-Shot-2021-09-01-at-10.07.37-AM-1024x654.png 1024w, https://blog.tractorzoom.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/Screen-Shot-2021-09-01-at-10.07.37-AM-768x490.png 768w" sizes="(max-width: 767px) 89vw, (max-width: 1000px) 54vw, (max-width: 1071px) 543px, 580px" /></p>
<p>Different combines with different hours can make a massive difference in total cost of ownership!</p>
<h2><strong>The Bottom Line</strong></h2>
<p>When John considered all the costs noted above, this represents a pretty big decision for his farming operation. At the end of the day, it worked out to over <em><strong>$115K difference in Total Cost of Ownership</strong></em> if he bought the S770 with 300 separator hours!</p>
<p>For him, trading in his old combine for a lower-houred combine of the same model is likely the best choice economically. While it may not have been what he was wanting, he&#8217;s a practical guy and that&#8217;s what he&#8217;ll probably end up doing.</p>
<p>Bigger, newer machines theoretically mean newer/better technology and increased efficiency. It&#8217;s always tempting is move to a newer model and lower hour machine &#8211; and we get that. We made a lot of assumptions in John&#8217;s case. You&#8217;ll need to adjust some of these numbers to fit your operation, too. Repairs and down time are a huge cost to consider. Furthermore, fuel costs will likely go up. But at the end of the day, you&#8217;ve got to consider actual combine depreciation cost based on resale/trade-in value. It makes a huge difference!</p>
<figure style="width: 920px" class="wp-caption alignleft"><a class="image-link image2 image2-448-724" style="font-weight: bold; font-size: 0.8125rem; font-style: italic;" href="https://cdn.substack.com/image/fetch/f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fbucketeer-e05bbc84-baa3-437e-9518-adb32be77984.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F0b93e16b-7a18-4529-bd3d-adcd82f6d6a8_920x569.png" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><img loading="lazy" src="https://cdn.substack.com/image/fetch/w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fbucketeer-e05bbc84-baa3-437e-9518-adb32be77984.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F0b93e16b-7a18-4529-bd3d-adcd82f6d6a8_920x569.png" alt="" width="920" height="569" data-attrs="{&quot;src&quot;:&quot;https://bucketeer-e05bbc84-baa3-437e-9518-adb32be77984.s3.amazonaws.com/public/images/0b93e16b-7a18-4529-bd3d-adcd82f6d6a8_920x569.png&quot;,&quot;height&quot;:569,&quot;width&quot;:920,&quot;resizeWidth&quot;:724,&quot;bytes&quot;:57321,&quot;alt&quot;:null,&quot;title&quot;:null,&quot;type&quot;:&quot;image/png&quot;,&quot;href&quot;:null}" /></a><figcaption class="wp-caption-text">Chart above shows all Auction Results from <a href="https://ironcomps.com?utm_source=blog&amp;utm_medium=tz&amp;utm_campaign=combinedepreciation">IronComps.com</a> for John Deere Class 7 Combines in Dollars ($) per Separator hour to illustrate combine depreciation as separator hours increase.</figcaption></figure>
<p>Machinery is the second largest and growing part of the balance sheet, next to land. In profitable times, it becomes pretty important to know how to balance the line between keeping your fleet current and letting upgrade costs get over the top.</p>
<p>So, how do you make sure you don&#8217;t make a $115K mistake? Always do the math, and never leave out the combine depreciation value!</p>
<h2 class="button-wrapper" data-attrs="{&quot;url&quot;:&quot;https://tractorzoom.com/farm-equipment-auctions/category/tractors/&quot;,&quot;text&quot;:&quot;See Upcoming Auctions&quot;,&quot;class&quot;:null}"><a href="https://tractorzoom.com/search?category=Harvesting&amp;subcategory=Combines&amp;sortBy=year&amp;sortDirection=desc&amp;utm_source=blog&amp;utm_medium=tz&amp;utm_campaign=combinedepreciation"><strong>Shop combines at auctions &amp; dealerships nationwide!</strong></a></h2>
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</article>
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The $115,000 mistake…and how NOT to make it.

Cheap horsepower, SoundGard survivors, and temper tantrums.

Interesting tractors and trucks selling soon, and tying up some $60K loose ends…

<p><img loading="lazy" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-1692" src="https://blog.tractorzoom.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/Hero_090121.jpeg" alt="Highly modified red Empire tractor" width="1080" height="1080" srcset="https://blog.tractorzoom.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/Hero_090121.jpeg 1080w, https://blog.tractorzoom.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/Hero_090121-300x300.jpeg 300w, https://blog.tractorzoom.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/Hero_090121-1024x1024.jpeg 1024w, https://blog.tractorzoom.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/Hero_090121-150x150.jpeg 150w, https://blog.tractorzoom.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/Hero_090121-768x768.jpeg 768w, https://blog.tractorzoom.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/Hero_090121-100x100.jpeg 100w" sizes="(max-width: 767px) 89vw, (max-width: 1000px) 54vw, (max-width: 1071px) 543px, 580px" /></p>
<h2><a href="https://tractorzoom.com/equipment/6128df1dcb22c/1947-Empire-88?utm_source=interestingiron&amp;utm_medium=blog&amp;utm_campaign=090221"><strong>See the details on this unique Empire 88!</strong></a></h2>
<p>Back in July, I featured a pretty unique tractor rescued from a bone yard in Sioux City and turned into a hearse! It began life as a Thieman tractor, and Harold Boquist, a tractor collector from Nebraska, turned it into a hearse. (<a href="https://tractorzoom.com/blog/thieman-tractor?utm_source=interestingiron&amp;utm_medium=blog&amp;utm_campaign=090221">You can read about that tractor here.</a>)</p>
<p>When I talked to Harold about the Thieman, I remembered him telling me that he also had another oddball tractor that he would sell later this year. It is an Empire 88, and he said that it is likely the most customized one on the planet.</p>
<p>This week, that tractor showed up on Tractor Zoom, and I knew I had to write about it. This truly is one of the nicest Empires on the planet, and it&#8217;s definitely the most unique!</p>
<h2><strong>The Cliff Notes version of Empire Tractors and their history&#8230;</strong></h2>
<p><a href="https://tractorzoom.com/blog/empire-tractor?utm_source=interestingiron&amp;utm_medium=blog&amp;utm_campaign=090221">I&#8217;ve written about Empires before</a>. They were fairly run-of-the-mill light duty farm tractors built in the mid-late 40s. Empire built the frames in-house, and used surplus Jeep motors and drivelines to make &#8217;em go. Upon completion, they sold them back to the US government under the Marshall Plan. The US government sent these little 40-horse tractors all over the place to help with WWII reconstruction!</p>
<figure id="attachment_1688" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-1688" style="width: 962px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><a href="https://tractorzoom.com/equipment/6128df1dcb22c/1947-Empire-88?utm_source=interestingiron&amp;utm_medium=blog&amp;utm_campaign=090221"><img loading="lazy" class="wp-image-1688 size-full" src="https://blog.tractorzoom.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/ds4QKK6128df1e90f11-copy.jpg" alt="empire tractor badge" width="962" height="671" srcset="https://blog.tractorzoom.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/ds4QKK6128df1e90f11-copy.jpg 962w, https://blog.tractorzoom.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/ds4QKK6128df1e90f11-copy-300x209.jpg 300w, https://blog.tractorzoom.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/ds4QKK6128df1e90f11-copy-768x536.jpg 768w" sizes="(max-width: 767px) 89vw, (max-width: 1000px) 54vw, (max-width: 1071px) 543px, 580px" /></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-1688" class="wp-caption-text">The badge of an empire-builder!</figcaption></figure>
<p>Ultimately, their downfall came when the Argentinian government suddenly declared them unfit for farming. Oddly enough, Time magazine printed a story right about the same time that claimed that the tractors were junk as well. Within months, the company was bankrupt. The remainder of the tractors sold here in North America for about $700 apiece.</p>
<p>I&#8217;m not one to put on the tinfoil hat very often, but the timing sure seems suspect on this deal. I sort of feel like maybe somebody who was pretty well-connected had beef with Frank Cohen (the guy who started the company) and organized this.</p>
<p>But that&#8217;s not really what this story is about. This story is about what Harold did to this tractor when he restored it&#8230;and why.</p>
<figure id="attachment_1691" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-1691" style="width: 980px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><a href="https://tractorzoom.com/equipment/6128df1dcb22c/1947-Empire-88?utm_source=interestingiron&amp;utm_medium=blog&amp;utm_campaign=090221"><img loading="lazy" class="wp-image-1691 size-full" title="empire 88 tractor at auction" src="https://blog.tractorzoom.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/img-11.jpg" alt="Empire 88 tractor" width="980" height="777" srcset="https://blog.tractorzoom.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/img-11.jpg 980w, https://blog.tractorzoom.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/img-11-300x238.jpg 300w, https://blog.tractorzoom.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/img-11-768x609.jpg 768w" sizes="(max-width: 767px) 89vw, (max-width: 1000px) 54vw, (max-width: 1071px) 543px, 580px" /></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-1691" class="wp-caption-text">This is what an Empire looks like in normal form (without the blade). What Harold did with it is truly remarkable! (Click the photo to see the listing!)</figcaption></figure>
<h2><strong>Making an Empire fit for a King and a Queen</strong></h2>
<p>Harold and his wife Wilma are in the tractor hobby together. Always have been. They&#8217;ve really enjoyed putting their unique collection of tractors on display over the years. From the Nebraska State Fair to tractor rides all over the midwest, they&#8217;ve had a blast making new friends and using their tractors!</p>
<p>With this one, though, the restoration was a little different. Wilma needs a scooter to get around comfortably. On a tractor ride, space is at a premium, so Harold found a unique solution to let let both of them ride along, and carry the scooter too! &#8220;If I ride, she rides,&#8221; Harold told me on the phone today!</p>
<h4><strong>The Cab</strong></h4>
<p>The Empire 88 never came with a cab, so Harold solved that problem first. He was at a sale in Iowa when he stumbled upon this cab in the photo below. It was rough, but it was exactly what he wanted.</p>
<figure id="attachment_1690" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-1690" style="width: 918px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><a href="http:/https://tractorzoom.com/equipment/6128df1dcb22c/1947-Empire-88?utm_source=interestingiron&amp;utm_medium=blog&amp;utm_campaign=090221"><img loading="lazy" class="wp-image-1690 size-full" src="https://blog.tractorzoom.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/img-2.jpg" alt="tokheim tractor cab laying on the ground" width="918" height="525" srcset="https://blog.tractorzoom.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/img-2.jpg 918w, https://blog.tractorzoom.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/img-2-300x172.jpg 300w, https://blog.tractorzoom.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/img-2-768x439.jpg 768w" sizes="(max-width: 767px) 89vw, (max-width: 1000px) 54vw, (max-width: 1071px) 543px, 580px" /></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-1690" class="wp-caption-text">This tractor cab came from a rather unlikely source&#8230;a gas pump manufacturer!</figcaption></figure>
<p>The cab was built by Tokheim Tank &amp; Pump Co. out of Fort Wayne, IN. Their main business was gas pumps and tanks and such. However, they did also make a line of all-steel cabs for a few tractors like the Farmall H, M, and Cockshutt 40.</p>
<p>He took it home and then made it wider and taller (kind of the opposite of chopping &amp; channeling a hot rod). When finished, he adapted it to fit on the platform of the Empire &#8211; which he had also made wider and longer. &#8220;If it was going to work, it needed to seat both of us,&#8221; he told me, &#8220;so I made it wide enough to put the two of us up there comfortably!&#8221;</p>
<h4><strong>A place to park a scooter!</strong></h4>
<p>The next challenge was to give the Empire 88 a trunk (or a flatbed, I guess), and a ramp so that Wilma could access the cab. The ramp setup unfolds by a winch. Once unfolded, Harold uses a second winch to pull the scooter up onto the platform. The winches both tie in to the tractor&#8217;s electrical system. All in all, it&#8217;s pretty slick!</p>
<figure id="attachment_1689" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-1689" style="width: 1064px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><a href="https://tractorzoom.com/equipment/6128df1dcb22c/1947-Empire-88?utm_source=interestingiron&amp;utm_medium=blog&amp;utm_campaign=090221"><img loading="lazy" class="wp-image-1689 size-full" src="https://blog.tractorzoom.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/img-1-copy.jpg" alt="red empire tractor at auction with a handicapped-accessible ramp on the operator's platform" width="1064" height="792" srcset="https://blog.tractorzoom.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/img-1-copy.jpg 1064w, https://blog.tractorzoom.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/img-1-copy-300x223.jpg 300w, https://blog.tractorzoom.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/img-1-copy-1024x762.jpg 1024w, https://blog.tractorzoom.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/img-1-copy-768x572.jpg 768w" sizes="(max-width: 767px) 89vw, (max-width: 1000px) 54vw, (max-width: 1071px) 543px, 580px" /></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-1689" class="wp-caption-text">The winch on the right unfolds the ramp. The one on the left pulls the heavy scooter up on to the platform. Neat!</figcaption></figure>
<p>When Harold finished the fabricating, the tractor was treated to a snazzy paint job (which to my eye looks a lot like Massey red and gold, but I&#8217;m not positive of it). It&#8217;s been their parade and tractor-ride tractor ever since!</p>
<h2><strong>What&#8217;s it worth?</strong></h2>
<p>Honestly, I have no idea. We&#8217;ve seen a couple of Empires come through Tractor Zoom over the past few years, but none of them have had this level of restoration or customization. There weren&#8217;t a lot of these tractors sold here in North America after the company went bankrupt in the late 40s, so they are somewhat rare. Of all of them (about 1300), this one is surely the nicest one left. That said, it is customized, and that tends to depreciate the value of rare tractors a little bit. Still, Harold did a terrific job with the workmanship, and it <em>does</em> serve a purpose. It&#8217;ll take a special buyer, but I wouldn&#8217;t be surprised if it brings $3-4000.</p>
<p>At the end of the day, Harold built this Empire 88 because he loves his wife, and because the idea of doing a tractor ride without Wilma just didn&#8217;t sound like much fun. What resulted is a very well-built, very unique tractor that solves a challenge faced by more tractor folks than we probably realize. I&#8217;ll just about guarantee that somewhere, one of you reading this column has already thought of a husband and wife who this tractor would be PERFECT for &#8211; and I really hope you&#8217;ll share this article with them!</p>
<p>The antique tractor hobby is lots of fun, and very family-oriented. Still, due to the nature of the design, it&#8217;s not for everybody. People who love tractors but aren&#8217;t able to climb up on to them for one reason or another are sort of stuck between a rock and a hard place. This little Empire 88 would fix that challenge for somebody!</p>
<p><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><strong>Auction Details</strong></span><br />
Bidding opens: Thursday, September 2, 2021 at 5PM Central<br />
Bidding closes: Thursday, September 9, 2021 at 11:29AM Central<br />
Location: Saint Paul, NE (about 45 minutes or so north of Grand Island)<br />
Auctioneer: <a href="https://tractorzoom.com/auctioneers/sweeney-auction-realty/?utm_source=interestingiron&amp;utm_medium=blog&amp;utm_campaign=090221">Sweeney Auction &amp; Realty</a><br />
Contact: 308.223.0145</p>
<p><a href="https://tractorzoom.com/equipment/6128df1dcb22c/1947-Empire-88?utm_source=interestingiron&amp;utm_medium=blog&amp;utm_campaign=090221"><strong>Tractor Zoom auction listing &amp; a link to place your bid!</strong></a></p>
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Upcoming Farm Equipment Auctions, October 2021

October 20: The Four Corners Construction Company Liquidation Auction, Online Only in IA

October 23: The Fall Equipment Consignment Auction in Indianola, IA

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