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Farm machinery costs as much as 20% higher since 2019

Data from the University of Illinois shows farm machinery costs have risen substantially since 2019.

Farm management professor Gary Schnitkey says every two years the Department of Ag and Consumer Economics collects list prices from equipment manufacturers and dealerships.

“We’re seeing all the costs go up, 5 percent catches a lot of them. And some of them are higher, even up to 20 percent.”

He tells Brownfield they typically see a two to three percent increase.

“And this time, those list prices went up considerably. For example, on some of our tractors we were looking at 12 percent increases. Some of the implements ranged from 6 percent to 16 percent on cost.”

Schnitkey says the report will help custom operators set rates for the next two years.

“All costs are going up, as everyone knows. And I suspect that story hasn’t ended yet.”