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Weak auction prices?

Also, any idea why Abilene Machine owner sold off a lots of his collection? I toured that place in 2012, and for an European that loves old tractors, this was amazing.

I think most of the great tractor arena on the East side of the building is gone now.... Things are changing.
I have plenty of pictures of the unrestored tractors. I am pretty sure that some were restored since and put on this sale.
 
The auction was maybe 40 minutes south of me.

A good friend bought two of the lots... apparently he had more disposable income than me :)

He felt that things were cheaper, too. But then, what do you DO with some of the things (or most all) there? I told him he needn't worry, I wasn't going to come borrow any of it!
 
I really think the effects of time and age on people is starting to show up in the tractor market. The folks that are most interested in this type of equipment and have the disposable income to drop that kind of money are passing on. Younger folks are interested in newer machines for the most part.

At some point soon, people will need to start deciding whether it's more important to get the equipment to people who will care for it and preserve it, OR sell it for $100,000 so you can brag about how much your tractor sold for.
 

Not as many old coots with money that these old machines mean anything to them .
Same thing happens in Automotive collections .
 
Interest has fallen off for most items pre-1970 whether it be farm equipment or otherwise. If you were a 20 year old man during the mid-1960's you are in your mid 70's
today and most likely are facing the prospect of downsizing your life. I know of very few 30 and 40 year old men who get excited over 1940's, 1950's, and 1960's
tractors anymore. If they are into tractors then they want something like a 1066 or 4430.
 
My friend was in the definite minority... about 50, and brought home the waterloo boy and oil pull. He's got the 1066 already...
 
(quoted from post at 09:48:55 06/22/21) My friend was in the definite minority... about 50, and brought home the waterloo boy and oil pull. He's got the 1066 already...
Click to expand...

There will always be exceptions to the rule. You'll run across teenagers that are into the "arcane" stuff.

A teenager isn't going to have $94,000 laying around to buy a 110 year old tractor, though. Very few 50 year olds are in that situation.
 
It's good that we all have varied interests. I wish that I lived in a part of the US where farming was more profitable than around here to have money for such things. I remember a poster on here saying where he was in NW IL it is pretty hard to fail in farming. Here it is the opposite in that you have to be razor sharp mentally or you will be down the road in short order. Sometimes a few bad breaks is all it takes to ruin a farmer.
 
It can be the same most anywhere... there are lots of failed farms in IL, IA, WI as well. In reality, after being in central NY, I'd say one of the major drawbacks to ag there is the lack of other employment possibilities. There are A LOT of farms in IL etc with pretty new equipment, 2000 acres... and a full time job. One has to ask, why go to the effort if you aren't making a living? Or at least most years?

As for my friend, his family had a farm in an area that is mostly now houses, they moved out west of me, and he runs a dump truck company. He has some cattle, some acreage and a heart in farming, but the money comes from trucking stone, etc and not farming.
 
Your observation is quite accurate. I'm happy for your friend in any event. Jobs since the early 1980's are very hard to come by around here. It certainly would help me if I had a quality job to work at versus the hire on Monday and fire on Friday hair trigger employers that are quite common most places.
 
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