December 2020
Kansas Retirement Auction Attracts Big Crowd, with Excellent Results
When you conduct most of your live auctions in the Dakotas, Minnesota, Wisconsin and Iowa, you learn to bundle up this time of year. But when a Steffes Group crew started setting up for a retirement auction in Lebanon, Kansas, Mother Nature gave them a break: Sunny skies and temperatures in the high 60s.
Out came the short sleeves, and the auction drew a big field of bidders. “We had between 150 and 200, with 150 registered bidders and another 411 bidders registered online, and they weren’t afraid to bid,” said Representative Chris Gellner. It soon became clear that the demand was going to be strong for the inventory, which included combines, tractors, trucks and other assets.
But the star of the show was a 2017 John Deere R4045 sprayer, with only 1,065 hours. “Like all of the machinery in this auction, it had been stored in a shed, so it was a beautiful piece. Bidders rewarded the sellers by paying $295,000 for it,” said Gellner.
That and other items underscored the reality we’ve been seeing for months: Pedigreed late model machines with low hours are fetching strong prices, as the cost of new equipment continues to rise.
Bidders also competed vigorously for tractors, combines and other equipment.
The demand for late-model machines played out in the sale of a 2018 John Deere 8345R. The tractor had highly desirable features and 1,974 hours. Accordingly, it brought a high bid of $193,000.
Features also came into play on two “sister” 2015 S680 combines. Hours were almost identical, but one had more features and sold for $185,000. “Both machines were beautiful, and the second brought $157,500,” said Gellner.
View full auction results here: Stones Farms, Kent & Cindy Stones Farm Retirement Auction
