Irish buyers compete at UK machinery sales as prices climb

Irish buyers continued to compete with continental and domestic buyers at UK agricultural machinery sales as stock levels fall.

Plenty of buyers were present at the first of Cheffins’ plant and farm machinery sales in 2017 in Sutton, Cambridgeshire, according to Director of Cheffins Oliver Godfrey.

“With stock levels falling compared to the last few monthly sales, buyers were forced to compete against one another even more if they were interested in a lot,” Godfrey said.

There was a weak inventory for the first sale of 2017. Because there was slightly less choice it caused prices to improve.

“We are short of stock, but we have stacks of buyers. Our team is already trying to drum up interest and source stock for our next sale.

“There is quite a lot of mud visible in the yard and we need some tyres and machinery to fill the space,” he said.

“Currency exchange rates also continued to work in favour of Irish and continental buyers,” he added.

Selling agents Cheffins hold monthly plant and farm machinery sales in Sutton, Cambridgeshire and there was a few new buyers over from Ireland and Northern Ireland at the sale, Godfrey said.

Tractor Sales

Close to 300 tractors went under the hammer at Cheffins’ most recent sale, as well as a host of other agricultural machinery.

This 2012 John Deere 7280R with 4,010 hours sold for £54,000 (€62,267)

“Dealers represented a large quantity of the buyers, but there was also some farmers present at the auction,” Godfrey said.

We did sell some high-value tractors to a farmer in Northern Ireland for use on his own operation. It is always nice to sell direct to the end user.

This 2012 John Deere 6190R with 3,531 hours sold for £50,000 (€57,655)

There was quite a number of quality John Deere tractors on offer at the sale, with three R series models receiving the top prices at the auction.

The top price of £54,000 (€62,267) was paid for a 2012 John Deere 7280R Autopower with just over 4,000 hours on the clock.

This 2014 John Deere 6150R with 3,990 hours sold for £42,000 (€48,430)

A 2012 John Deere 6190R Autoquad with close to 3,500 hours was sold for £50,000 (€57,655) while a 2014 John Deere 6150R Autoquad with just under 4,000 hours went for £42,000 (€48,430).

Meanwhile, trade was also strong for smaller tractors with plenty of interest from both domestic and foreign buyers, according to Godfrey.

2007 Massey Ferguson 5455 with a front loader: £17,900 (€20,640)

A 2007 Massey Ferguson 5455 with front loader with a total of 5,824 hours of work done was sold for £17,900 (€20,640).

There was also significant interest in a 2003 John Deere 6620 Premium which had close to 6,000 hours built up, which had a bid of £16,800 (€19,372) accepted.