Low commodity prices, a struggling ag economy, the future of ethanol markets, and trade tariff turbulence make up a cluster of storm clouds that’s dampening farmer demand for new farm machinery.
Association of Equipment Manufacturers (AEM) senior vice president Curt Blades says the biggest thing that will change the direction of farm equipment sales is “certainty, whether that’s a farm bill or certainty on trade, or certainty on biofuels — certainty is what we need more than anything.”
So far in 2025, farm equipment sales tracked by AEM have continued to slide downward, following a trend that saw 2024 combine and tractor sales in Canada and the U.S. finish the year down double digits.
Speaking this week at the Commodity Classic at Denver, Colorado, Blades says attitude is the biggest factor that impacts farm machinery purchases. He notes that economics, age of machines, interest rates and other factors play a key role, “but a farmer has to feel good about their operation, both for the coming year and for the next five years, before they’re willing to make some of those capital equipment investments.”
In this interview with RealAgriculture’s Bernard Tobin, Blades looks at what needs to happen to clear the storm clouds impacting farmers and the machinery market. When it comes to the Trump administration trade tariffs, he makes it clear that AEM views tariffs as “taxes on farmers — they’re taxes on America in general.”
When it comes to farm equipment, Blades says equipment is made all over the world, including the U.S., Canada and Europe. “But all the machines are made with global parts. So if you think about a tariff and the amount of parts that come from different parts of the world because of specialization, that’s going to have an impact on the price of equipment.” Watch the full interview below.
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