Year of the tractor

IT’S BEEN THE YEAR OF THE TRACTOR

The breaking of drought conditions, a record harvest and extended tax write-offs sent farmers racing to their local machinery dealership in 2020.

Unfortunately, at the same time the world was getting infected with COVID-19 and grinding to a halt.

Now the end of the fi nancial year is upon us and AgFocus is looking back on one of the most interesting years in machinery since lawn mower racing became a thing.

April 2020 was the month to kick it all off , as considerable rainfall soaked into most of drought-aff ected Australia.

At the time, the Tractor and Machinery Association of Australia described April as a “blow-out” month, with tractor sales increasing 40 per cent compared to April 2019.

Supply issues started to appear in September, and the TMA was hearing of six-to-eight-week delivery times on normal ‘in stock’ machinery.

In Wangaratta, sales manager Brendon Gigliotti said North East AG and Industrial had experienced demand “across the board” in 2020–21, with no one product standing out as a best seller.

A Massey Ferguson tractor hauls a Staheli West hay steamer followed by a Massey Ferguson 2270 XD baler at the 2021 Fodder Festival in Elmore. Sales of farm machinery have gone through the roof in the past 12 months.

“Everything from hobby tractors to the big machines and little disk plates to plough tillage was selling,” Mr Gigliotti said.

“The tax write-off defi nitely helped but everything was driven by the good seasons. Milk prices aren’t bad, cattle and crops are good and the sheep guys can’t complain.”

Mr Gigliotti said the most memorial part of the fi nancial year was the machinery shortage.

“People are starting to realise the importance of forward ordering at the dealership now,” he said.

“If you forward ordered you didn’t have much trouble getting what you wanted, but others who walked in expecting to be served like they used to had big waits.

“Right now we’re getting practically nothing from India and Korea. Machinery from those countries is taking up to nine months to come through.”

North East AG also sells secondhand equipment, which has experienced a roaring trade thanks to the demand on machinery.

Tim Edgar from O’Connors Shepparton said the 2020–21 year had been very good all-round.

“During the lockdown period, inquiries actually increased,” Mr Edgar said.

A standout moment for him was the amount of Case IH combine harvesters which sold.

When asked about wait times, Mr Edgar said O’Connors’ large order bank meant supply had been okay at the dealership.

“Tractor stock is getting tight now for June 30 deals, but we have more supply starting to come through,” he said.

“That said, stock for this harvest period is disappearing fast for the coming season on new and used machines.”

At the O’Connors Shepparton branch the best selling machinery overall was Case IH and MacDon harvesters.

TMA said sales of agricultural tractors were yet to experience a drop.

In April 2021 national sales experienced a 19 per cent rise on April 2020.

“The last 12 months have now seen in excess of 15,500 tractors sold in this country, which is 38 per cent ahead of the previous 12-month period (2019–20),” TMA executive director Gary Northover said.

Out of all the sales Victoria has some of the steadiest activity, April 2021 sales matching April 2020 sales; while Queensland is down fi ve per cent of its April 2020 sales and NSW is up 73 per cent.

Combine harvesters are also experiencing strong demand as order intake season gets under way.

In the past 12-month period, combine harvester sales have gone past the 650-unit market — up 530 from the previous 12 months.

“The level of demand being seen in the market continues to surprise, with many suppliers reporting buyers bringing forward purchasing plans to take advantage of the Federal Government fi nancial incentives,” Mr Northover said.

“The challenges in meeting this demand are showing no signs of abating however.”

Recently, the TMA said they were receiving reports of shipping times more than doubling due to the shortage of sea containers and the bottlenecking at Australian ports.

The construction and automotive industry are in similar boats.